Last Friday I visited Furkan’s grave.
This diary is about that visit, establishing a Furkan Dogan Grove and a Gaza Aid Flotilla Grove and a little about the U.S. Government’s recent behavior towards Furkan’s family.
This week I hope to write more about the Mavi Marmara, Gaza Aid Flotilla, what’s happening here and my trip last week.
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We arrived in Kayseri on Friday afternoon and Furkan’s father was still at work in the university so we decided to visit Furkan’s grave before visiting his family. We knew that it was in the Resadiye Cemetery so we stopped and asked for directions. The first man we asked told us to start at the old castle in the center of Kayseri and go south.
As we went south we stopped several more times to ask again, the response was always the same "Furkan?" and then we were told to keep following the road up and to the south.
Furkan’s grave is in a very quiet area several kilometers south of the center of the city which is about 300 m (1000 feet) higher than the city. The cemetery is quite old and is in a peaceful little valley just next to Mount Ali Dag.
I can’t describe how I felt as we got to the cemetery. I was so sad and I tried so hard to find words to say to him but I just couldn’t.
So I just sat next to his grave for a long time. Then I told him how sad I was that he had been killed and that there were many people around the wound who thought of him and thought how brave he was to have gone on the flotilla and told him how sad we all were about his death.
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Furkan’s grave is in a block of 13 graves that his family got two generations ago. That evening Furkan’s father told me that originally there were supposed to be 12 graves - for Furkan’s great grandparents, grandparents and aunts and uncles - but when the plots were measured off it turned out that there was room for 13 graves. For a long time there was a lot of talk in the family about the 13th grave. No one ever thought that it would turn out to be for Furkan.
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I spent Friday evening and Saturday with Furkan’s friends and family. They are doing OK now but it hasn’t been easy. I told them about how all of you had sent your condolences to them and they were very touched and asked me to thank you all.
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I brought up the idea of creating a Furkan Dogan Grove and they thought it would be a wonderful thing to do. We contacted the Kayseri city government and they are arranging a plot of land for it.
I am also trying to set up a Gaza Aid Flotilla Grove here in Antalya.
If anyone is interested in contributing towards these my email address is on my Daily Kos Diary page.
Since winter is coming I hope to plant the trees next spring. I hope to plant fruit trees. Saplings here in Turkey cost about $5.00-7.00 each.
If anyone can give me advice about how I can set up a way for people to participate I would appreciate it.
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A few more pictures of Furkan’s grave are here.
The coordinates of Furkan’s grave are 38°39'41.43"N 35°34'39.44"E.
A picture of the little valley where the cemetery is located is here.
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The U.S. Government’s Recent Behavior
The U.S. Government and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara have been very slow in providing information to Furkan’s family.
Why?
They have told Mr. Dogan that they can’t really provide much information because of Freedom of Information laws. It seems that they feel they need Furkan’s permission before they can release information to his father and mother about his death and the progress of the U.S. investigation into his death.
I am flabbergasted.
How does someone who has been killed give permission to the government so that they can release information about the progress of the investigation into the death of that person? Haven't they ever heard the term 'Next of Kin'?
I’m working on it but if you have any suggestions please let me know.
**** UPDATE ****
The U.S. State Department now lists Furkan’s death as a homicide.
05-31-2010 - International Waters, Turkey - Homicide
Enter from: January 2010, to: June 2010 and choose Turkey as the country on this web page and it is listed there.
http://travel.state.gov/...