Furkan Dogan: 20 October, 1991 - 31 May, 2010
Furkan Dogan would have been 19 years ago today ...
Furkan Dogan would have been in his first year of medical school today ...
Furkan Dogan’s mother, father, sister, brother and friends would have wished Furkan a happy birthday today ...
... but he isn’t, and they can’t.
Because Furkan Dogan was killed, along with eight others, by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara in the early morning of May 31st, 2010 when IDF commandos boarded and seized the Gaza Freedom Flotilla more than 70 miles from the coast of Israel.
Furkan Dogan when he was a baby in Troy, New York
Furkan Dogan in his 12th grade high school classroom - he is in the back corner of the classroom
Furkan Dogan on the Mavi Marmara
Furkan Dogan’s grave in Kayseri, Turkey
Furkan Dogan was born 19 years ago today in Troy, New York. He was born at 1:30 p.m. and weighed a little over 9 lbs. (4.1 kg). He was Mr. and Mrs. Dogan’s third child and had light brown hair as a baby. He grew to be 1.78 m (about 5’ 10") tall as an adult.
This year Furkan was going to graduate from high school and go to university. On May 9th, 2010 he entered the Turkish Foreign Student University Examination because he was a U.S. citizen (Turkish citizens take a different set of examinations).
Furkan got very high marks on his university entrance examination and was going to study medicine at Cerrahpasa University in Istanbul. Before he boarded the Mavi Marmara he filled out his university registration forms and left them with his father so he could post them to the university. Furkan wanted to start his medical education in Turkey and then continue it in the U.S. - probably in New York.
In addition to taking aid to the people of Gaza, Furkan hoped that participating in the flotilla and being in Gaza would give him experience which would help make him a better doctor.
Furkan knew English well and was planning to go to New York this summer after the flotilla to see his hometown again and to learn more about going to university in America.
In news reports Furkan's age is given as 19 because in Turkey ages are given as the year someone is in. While in the U.S. ages are given as how many years someone has completed.
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Furkan Dogan was shot five times by IDF commandos on the open top deck of the Mavi Marmara:
- once in the left leg just below his knee - this bullet shattered the bones in his lower left leg and lodged there,
- once in the left foot,
- once in the back - this bullet tore through his left lung and exit from his left chest,
- once in the back of the head 7 cm (about 2.8 inches) behind his right ear - this bullet tore through his brain and exited from the left side of his forehead,
- and once in the face just to the right of his nose - this bullet tore through his brain and exited 1.5 cm (about 0.6 inches) behind his left ear.
Forensic evidence shows that Furkan was shot in the face at point blank range and at least once while he was lying on the deck of the Mavi Marmara.