tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84238791337431899612024-02-22T17:41:12.497+00:00af samme stof som stofurban wonders...
started in aarhus, matured in istanbul and london.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-66326129392061062272017-11-15T13:28:00.001+00:002017-11-15T13:28:12.756+00:00clumsy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was just going through and clearing my emails in my Admin / IT sub-folder and just came across this... and remembered the chilly and chilled Toronto evening when we shared a plate each of tuna, chicken and aubergine (sorry, eggplant) and sipped on Filipino hot toddies. </div>
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On a day when days have somehow lost their sense and sequence; my mental calendar would tell me that was only 10 days, and about 30C degrees and a 8-hour time difference ago. Where the landscape is awash with sandy yellow submerging with clumsily and hastily made steel and glass of Kuwaiti skyscrapers whereas they would have been much better off keeping to their local tradition and scale, at which they are very good at, I'm reminded of a suburban landscape, colours of which neutralised by the cold, dry air. Only 48 hours after flirting with the feeling with I could just live there with a few very dear people to me (no matter how much and how far back I've known them), would I arrive in New York -- no longer than 48 hours in that magestic city, and it would immediately feel my natural home. And then Kuwait, the Middle East, the sand, the inefficiency, lack of transparency, covered all over in white and oil-dripped sand; another home of the sorts...?</div>
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And then I go back to this email... and I miss Toronto, and the dinner, and the walk... not so much the sore throat but the sweet goodbye.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-68364544965345192272017-11-08T19:48:00.003+00:002017-11-08T19:48:51.027+00:00falls for the falls in fall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A non-descript diner on the corner of a three way junction in a US border town. It’s 11:56 AM, it’s Wednesday.<br />
<br />
I grew up hearing about Niagara Falls; it’s one of those places that kept popping up on travel ads or TV shows in the 80s and 90s, and couldn’t escape the attention of those culturally Americani(z)ed.<br />
<br />
The friendly conductor of the train walks into our ‘business class’ carriage and announces that we will soon be crossing over to the US side of Niagara River. “On the left hand side will be the best view you’ll get all day today”, warns he. “Oh, look, he’s getting a real good picture of that” exclaims the old lady to her husband, who are sat across the aisle from me.<br />
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They’re from Kansas City I learn, about 10 minutes later. She’s got long, grey hair, a very pale lady with ice blue, smiling eyes. Her man is carrying a cherry red stick, he gazes at me underneath his cap, his posture slightly scanted due to his hunched back. They set off from Kansas City to Los Angeles, up the West Coast to Vancouver, then across the maple leafed country to Toronto.<br />
<br />
- Via Rail runs on CN tracks; we yielded 25-50 times and got delayed for 10 hours.<br />
- You must be exhausted. Did it affect your connecting journey?<br />
- No, we’re just tired. It’s just that, we never thought we’d stay in a hostel aged over 80. But, it was good.<br />
<br />
They’ll get to Chicago before returning to Kansas City, to go back to their two dogs. “It’s easier looking after dogs than children at this age” claims the uncie. Aunties asks how many children I have: “no children, nor dogs” say I.<br />
<br />
Border crossings have often been eventful for me. In fact, we were exchanging such stories over the weekend with E., N., Y. and C. on Sunday at Toronto’s Kensington Market.<br />
<br />
I get way more questions asked at this rail crossing than I had at Logan Airport in Boston, last week. Train crossings are always curious things. Especially in this part of the world where they’re rarer, they’re almost archaic and have a vintage quality to them. Suspicions inversely correlate with diversity of nationalities that traverse them. It didn’t help that the border officer back in Boston forgot to stamp my passport. Officials had to go through security database to verify my first entry to the US before I hopped over to Canada. I had to pronounce “architecture” three times to the officers when asked where I worked and reveal I didn’t go to any architecture school — a phrase I had to keep repeating, back in Boston last week.<br />
<br />
It meant I was left behind by the others and running out of time to leave the station for a quick meal but the conductor nevertheless waited for me at the ticket booth. He knew I wanted to ask if I could get a business seat for the remainder of the journey on the US side — a long, 9.5-hours ride, worth the meagre $33 difference. He thought otherwise: “I wouldn’t, if I were you — seats on the coach class are even wider, and all you get is extra water or juice in business”. I felt slight trepidation as the ticket cashier waited for my decision; I didn’t want to hurt their business upon the conductor’s advice... but little did the green-eyed, ruffled bearded , tall man care. “Let me know if you change your mind”.<br />
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I was joined by the blonde, young, on-call assistant conductor walking up the city’s high street to the diner the conductor sent us to, to get a $3 breakfast. She could be a character right out of Fargo. It’s her neat conductor’s suit, Midwest accent, and pale blue eyes against the backdrop of a small, suburban US border town with narrow roads and hanging traffic lights, all catering to my prejudice.<br />
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The diner is shut; I find another one up the road; she says she needs to get back so I foot it rapidly. It sits in the corner of a three-way junction. It’s called “The Why”. That must be the US equivalent of “Neden Urfa” that keeps bemusing us Turkish speakers wherever that restaurant name pops up.<br />
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Two thin, black ladies with braids wait at the door for a table and just before suggesting I claim an vacant bar seat, their three friends walk in. It’s the black kid’s birthday and they hug each other warmly; he’s a little embarassed while his two white friends behind him smile. “Didn’t you get my text? It says ‘sent’ here”. He scratches his right ear and the golden ear ring with a baffled, amused and happy look on his face.<br />
<br />
The kind lady at the bar suggests I can get #2 breakfast and coffee with the only 4 US$ I have in my pocket. They don’t take card, nor will they accept my remaining 2 CAD$.<br />
<br />
- The nearest ATM is by Pops, just up the road. Do you want to order after you get back?<br />
- I’ve got a train to catch. Can I order #3 instead? I’ll leave my jacket, run there and back real quick.<br />
<br />
And off to the races, I go. When the sun’s out, it’s that beatiful, clear, crisp, coldish winter weather out there. I get to the mall, get cash and even a bottle of maple syrup promised to A., my host in New York. When back, I find my breakfast covered over with an additional plate to keep it warm.<br />
<br />
At the end of the bar table is the owner of the dig, wearing a cross over his neck, curiously observing my movements. Including the bacon in the mix might have been my saviour. As I turn further around, I catch the beautiful smile in that black young lady’s face I had seen at the door. They’re now joined by a party of 3 more people. I figure this was a suprise lunch for the birthday boy. Her smile makes me think of B. from high school. I haven’t seen her or spoken to her for 3 or 4 years.<br />
<br />
I leave the nondescript diner on the corner of a three-way junction in a non-descript US border town. Back at the train platform, the conductor, the assistant conductor, an engineer and another man are chatting.<br />
<br />
- Sorry that the diner was closed!<br />
- No problem. I went further up the road to another one. It was pretty good.<br />
- Oh. “The Why?” I was always wondering. How much did you pay?<br />
- They have eggs, toast and bacon for $3.20 and coffee is 95 cents.<br />
- See, that’s great. One time, I took the wife to NY; we stayed right by the Times Sq. Went to that famous diner where they shot Seinfeld episodes. They charge $18.99 for two toasts and coffee!!! And $3 for coffee refill.<br />
- You should have walked away with the mug!<br />
- We didn’t stay long.<br />
<br />
Shortly after that, we left the station. We will be crossing New York State over the next 9 hours, rolling down Hudson and Harlem Rivers into Penn Station. I’ll be doing a lot of reading, preparing for Kuwait while post-industrial fields, empty mining quarries and leafy suburbs will fill the landscape.<br />
When the Maple Leaf service arrives at its destination, I will emerge on to the streets of one of world’s densest cities.<br />
The kids will be celebrating their friend’s birthday.<br />
Readers will be leaving the town’s beautiful, brutalist library.<br />
Diners will be sipping their milkshakes or coffees on a cold, crisp, early winter’s night.<br />
<br />
8 November 2017, Wednesday<br />
Niagara Falls, NY</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-30885358763785338862017-10-26T10:08:00.002+01:002017-10-26T10:08:51.895+01:00dundee arms, formerly aka foo fighters arms, formerly aka dundee arms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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22 Sept. 2017</div>
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Dundee Arms. Thursday night, 11PM. A pub stood here for as
long as anyone can remember. Over the past week, Foo Fighters (yes, the band)
took over the pub and made it <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/music/what-to-expect-from-foo-fighters-arms-2141042" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Foo Fighters Arms</span></a>, a pop-up band pub. The band didn’t turn up
but thousands of fans did, every single hour of every day of the week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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About a few hours ago, all the shenanigans have ended. I’m
sat inside, hearing Ritchie Blackmore rip his riffs. A young couple asks for
pints of Session IPA — pointing at the blue cans in the fridge behind the bar,
she claims her stepfather loved that particular brand of beer. The bartender
advises they go to the nearest off-license to buy some. She repeats directions
given to her, an American pronunciation of “Bethnal Green Tube stop” sounds
friendly out of place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A group of long, curly, blonde haired dudes walk in. They’re
not Deep Purple (who’re not blonde) and they’re asking for a club nearby.
Strangely out of the era their looks represent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A shy boy walks up to the bar and asks for a pint of “<a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0166/2798/files/Roadie_circle-01.png?11362964596032469666" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">the Roadie</span></a>”; my choice of IPA. I’ve always gone for roadies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A man walks up and asks whether I’m writing a book. I tell
him I’m writing semi-fictitious stuff. That I’m making up some of the stuff
that I have or have not seen — as I’m typing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I gave the last new, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2376432/How-Jane-Austen-appear-new-10-bank-note-outcry-men-dominating.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Jane Austen £10 note</span></a> I had in my wallet to the bartender.
Why Foo Fighters didn’t turn up for their pop-up bar is because there’s no back
door entry to the pub. Crowd mitigation out of order. It would be appropriate
if the music mixer behind a bricked cubicle (with a massive TV overhead,
probably showing rugby games on the weekends) queued up The Doors’ Back Door
Man.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A man walks up to the bar with a bunch of brochures in his
hands. He’s told Foo Fighters Arms is over. It sounds like a whole musical
genre has been proclaimed over in a 90’s rock’n’roll roadie movie. I take the
final sip of from my pint of The Roadie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An Irish sounding girl walks up to the bar — she’s recently
moved to London. A Celtic sounding folk tune is heard over on the stereo. My
flatmate texts he can’t make it as he’s too tired while I get my 2nd pint
served. Since each sip continues to taste like I’m chewing on a small branch of
weed must mean it’s not the glass, it’s the actual drink.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of the three blondes who’ve just walked in, one asked for
red wine, another for a Corona (keeps the slice of lime intact) and the final
one a prosecco. That’s what I call diversity; bar the equally standardised hair
dying operation in place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The very important information that they’ll close at 12:45AM
relayed to me may be a curse or a blessing in disguise. I need to leave home at
around 03:30 for my flight to Denmark.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The journey to the bathroom is a peculiar one: as I walk
away from the dimmed Art Deco lighting up the Victorian stairs into an empty
hall, the last thing that would cross my mind is to run into a group of
Icelandic and British birthday crowd who took over my stool. Only one of the
three Icanders isn’t shaven headed but they all smell of lavender amd sweat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A dude was complaining in the toilets that someone walked
out having not washed his hands. He claimed his OCD got the better of him. He
proclaimed: “why not wash your hands? It’s free!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Icelandic crew are slightly disappointed no pastice is
served. The sambuca alternative does not cut it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The long anticipated Old Fashioned is ready. The dude who’s
kindly asked for permission to ‘borrow my stool’ had long gone and once the
Icelanders have left, I’m back on my stool. The noise level has gone up by a
few notches and Nirvana is on stereo.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The more I write and observe, the more I get
counter-observed. Is it the recently acquired self-proclaimed author’s gaze I’m
receiving reactions to or is it just it’s getting very crowded?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I get wrongly served a pint of soda after I’d gotten served
a G&T, by the same man. First single malt request comes in just as a super-oriental
Rock The Casbah cover kicks into the stereos as the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
crew (had appeared while I was in the loo) go mad.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A super drunk local dude asks me about lagers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Half an hour later.. suspecting his accent and acquainting
all the while, he turns out a Mancunian. Construction, Principal Tower, the
Queen, pension age, Spain, Montenegro, his daughters and family, 3AM shifts,
are amongst 100s of stuff we talk about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He’s missing few teeth. He rolls his o’s to u’s as a proper
Northerner. He’s baffled to hear I’m Turkish. He’s obsessed with Spain. He only
took a week off in the past 3 years. He doesn’t like the fancy lager offered on
tap.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He hits up on one of the 3 Corona, Prosecco, Wine blondes
and I’m relieved. I’m relieved I can write again. I’m relieved he subscribes to
the standard — so, my prejudiced observsation stacks up. Shame on me. Shame on
whom? They’re almost kissing and I couldn’t care a tiny less. But he’s cool.
He’s a <a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/OUEArjor-MbyCV6GqLU85Hk9jQI=/300x300/v1.bjs1NTQ3OTM7ajsxNzQ2NjsxMjAwOzIwMDA7MTMzMQ" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Danny Boyle character</span></a> that didn’t make the silver screen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He is hating his Camden Hells. He was here all along for
Amstel. I’ve got 3 more hours to waste. A direct reverse correlation between
alcohol level and striving to keep awake will play against me. Where do I cut
it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The blonde approached by my Mancunian takes up on the OCD
guy. He runs away. She asks me how to get back to the bar. Her lips might
exlpode. An Icelander walks past. I’m worried about my flight. The stomping on
the timber stairs is mixed with vanilla. Vanilla came apparently from our
Mancunian’s e-cigarette. So much for the pension scheme.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nirvana’s on again. Smells Like Teen Spirit.<br />Feels like teen years.</div>
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Feels like I’m done.<br />
This is Dundee Arms.<br />
It’s 00:44.<br />
London’s a tough place.<br />
It’s not been easy.<br />
I love London.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-70045713640789589582017-10-05T10:45:00.000+01:002017-10-05T10:46:00.627+01:00pride in our parks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I received a message on LinkedIn asking me whether I wanted to share a regeneration project I was involved in to be promoted by some online publication. The request didn't appear anything much more than an attempt to aggregate some success stories for a self-proclaimed publisher and their blog/book/magnum opus.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, I tried to come up with something worthy of a mention and moments before I would receive a notification on my Twitter feed of a retweet by <a href="https://twitter.com/RioOnWatch">RioOnWatch</a>, I reminisced of an emotional moment just about 4 years ago these days from Rio de Janeiro.<br />
<br />
At the time, I was in charge of coordinating and running the floor for the <a href="https://lsecities.net/ua/conferences/2013-rio/">Urban Age 2013 Conference</a> -- as Rio was gearing up for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, we were investigating major investments (mainly in transport and regeneration) and whether they related to / tried to alleviate some of the chronic problems facing the city.
We wanted to highlight Parque Madureira as one that gifted the city with a public asset in a once redundant / obsolete part of the city.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.archdaily.com.br/br/789177/parque-madureira-ruy-rezende-arquitetos">architects in charge of the project</a> presented the project at the conference. While prepping for the actual conference, testing A/V and lighting, we've run each presentation to the desired setup and presentation sequence. One of the technicians in charge for the technical desk first erupted to shouts, laughters and excitement which were then slowly left to a mix of emotions and tears. He later told me he grew up in the area of regeneration, and was now using the park and very proud of it being showcased as a <a href="http://theconversation.com/dont-believe-the-doom-mongers-the-olympics-have-changed-rio-for-the-better-64225">prime example of regeneration</a> at the Conference.<br />
<br />
This, for us, was a testimony of a story of success and one that probably merits a narrative and a reminder at times when there's little appetite or faith left in mass regeneration. At a time when I've been desperately searching for some inspiration, how I recall the joy and pride in that man's eyes...<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-48940952260348862262017-02-20T15:24:00.001+00:002017-02-20T15:24:39.845+00:00as the desert runs into the sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When you’re left dehydrated for four days in a desert, you begin to lose sense of direction, walk in circles and eventually starve yourself to your inevitable end. <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160304-us-mexico-border-fence-wall-photos-immigration/">US border officials know this too well</a> and are often left collecting corpses beyond recognition of those who desperately try to make it across the ruthless Sonoran Desert. That, or they encounter them during their journeys and take them away, but not all those journey-makers prefer this latter outcome. Exploited by traffickers on the Mexican side of the border, if they can manage to complete their perilous walks, they hope to find a safe haven, and sometimes find themselves knocking on strangers’ doors, only to hope that they’d extend a helping hand rather than turning them to the authorities.</div>
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As fatal as they are, deserts can be incredibly inviting geographies; with no end in sight, an infinite depth of field and an offer of wilderness that us humans have long let go of our lives, which immediately draws one’s gaze. Borders on the other hand, especially those with walls, fences or any other invisible apparatus of control are usually repulsive. In the case of Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki’s <a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/berlinale-2017-el-mar-la-mar-review">“El Mar La Mar”</a>, these attributes are reversed; or rather merged: the Mexican-US border at once draws the pair in to tread a careful and sensitive excursion around it. They were taken by both the landscape and the hard border on a trip from New Orleans to San Francisco and started to storyline what is truly an intense documentary of survival and expulsion.</div>
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Shot on a Super 16, the film is a visual feast of landscape imagery, combined with some incredible and innovative sound design. As the southern Arizonian images of nature, wildlife and cowboys blend into whitened- and blackened-out images, uninterrupted testimonial interviews with border officials and journey-makers alike are mixed with field recordings, sometimes in their raw format but most times manipulated with additions of reverb or stretching out of frequencies. Hardly any of this comes as misplaced as they create an environment that is both very impressionistic but also abstracted to such extent that Mexicans' heart-wrenching stories create the incredible tension that the film rests on.</div>
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The film is split into three sections titled: “Rio”, “Costas” and “Tormenta”. I had my own interpretations but also went to ask the directors why they did not translate those titles, to which they replied they wanted the audience to keep engaging with the film by researching them if necessary and that they had only finished editing 5 days prior to the screening! But as a contextual point, the film's opening title "Rio" begins with a flickery image recorded from a moving vehicle, which, as the camera zooms out, slowly morphs into a recognisable image of a metal fence. It is one of the most dynamic scenes of the entire film, as the rest is very much made of a static (and stunning) visual language. But, despite that slow pace, the film is anything but stasis. The directors did an incredible job of marrying their audio-visual interpretations with people's testimonials and allowed for these to speak for themselves, and safely stayed away from taking a stance.</div>
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The shortest description I could make for the film would be “excruciatingly beautiful”. As I arrived in Berlin on Sunday late afternoon, I was still filled with certain inspirations I had acquired over the weekend. Ending up at strangers’ house late on Friday night, finding myself playing percussion in an impromptu house jam session, and meeting the same incredible people who had put out an exhibition at St Pancras Parish Church’s Crypt Gallery the next evening had already filled me with much anticipation, as if the prospects of going to Berlin, one of the most special places in my life, was not enough.</div>
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Titled “CAPUT”, that exhibition that displayed works from artists from France, Greece, Italy, Senegal, Turkey, the UK and the US not only responded to its own setting so intelligently, but also portrayed the <a href="http://cryptgallery.org/event/caput/">interplay between life and death</a>, the dynamic and the static. Everything I saw at El Mar La Mar seemed to have this incredible point of reference to works I saw and experienced at the exhibition. Can’s video installation complimented by sound recordings from the materials he used was as genuine as Bonnetta and Sniadecki’s mix of the harsh audio-landscapes, metallic surfaces and the soft human touch of border-gazers. Beyza’s poetry and grainy video footage were almost a response to the filmmakers’ own use of artistic language, through blur and abstraction. Having experienced a monochromatic part of her video, I could not help myself but remember how El Mar La Mar’s brutal black or white backdropped scenes of testimonials merged into the landscape photography. And Merve’s three paintings, with a varying tones of red, green and beige from vivid to pastel had defined my interpretation of the exhibition: although she refers to themes of harvest and blossom, their spatial features and subtle lines gave me an immediate feeling of rugged but tested landscapes and borders. Her painterly abstraction did not give me a feeling of exclusion; on the contrary a sense of invitation and intrigue.</div>
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So, it was almost hardly a coincidence when the Berlinale presenter on stage addressed her first question to the filmmakers about the painful beauty of the film and how its poetry-like structure almost made Sonoran Desert an appealing place. My second question was about the two men who walked for 8 days and ended up at knocking at the ranch the filmmakers were staying at. They connected them with humanitarian focussed organisations, while receiving their testimony of the journey. The men were very tired, sleep and water deprived over the final few days of their walk and had almost acquired a totally indifferent feeling to the emotions they were suffering from, except, when they talked about a fellow female traveler who died as they had to leave her behind, one of them started sobbing. I wanted to know how the directors approached these men about a story so traumatic and had just taken place: apparently, the men wanted to put their story out and the filmmakers were, by this point, experienced enough to create the optimal distance that allowed them to investigate deeply with true interest but remain emotionally stable as not to take a subjective stance. <a href="http://www.arsenal-berlin.de/en/berlinale-forum/news/single/article/6546/170.html">That's why this film was so powerful.</a> So human, despite very few humans seen in footage.</div>
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Writing this text took me longer than I anticipated. In between the 11 films I saw, friends I met, very different environments I have been in (both physically and spiritually), my initial feelings towards El Mar La Mar stayed the same. If anything, they have been supplemented by various inspirations through the week, culminating with an unexpected approach on the dancefloor at the end of a long clubbing night (and morning) with the statement “can I dance next to you; you look so happy and make others happy” — something you don’t expect to hear much in Berlin, the ultimate individualist capital of hedonism.</div>
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But, that was also reminder of how much we seem to strive for these interactions and the need to really understand and communicate what we individually and collectively go through, whether this be with complete strangers or our neighbours. In fact, often is the case that the more we connect, the less rigid those definitional boundaries become. Like the first scene in El Mar La Mar where the fluid image turns into a hard fence, or the weekend in London that prepared me for my journey to Berlin… with gratitude to everyone who keeps inspiring, old and new alike.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-2016833642403101532017-02-06T12:15:00.001+00:002017-02-06T12:15:45.665+00:00cruel sun on a fake spring's day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
the sun came out today. when i was least expecting it. and when i was certainly not ready for it. when it came out briefly on saturday, i was again neither expecting or prepared for it. but, it came with warmth, with a hint of smells of flowers, with long walks, hat shops and unexpected pub stops. it came in the form of pale ale and sushi. and when it left, i could do without it for a while. now that it's back, i don't know what do with it.<br />
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...because it wasn't real spring, and it turned out it wasn't here to stay.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-40226199538319534712017-01-08T19:30:00.003+00:002017-01-08T19:30:57.317+00:00Here comes the piss truck<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“Here comes the piss truck” they were yelling and laughing. I don’t know why they call it that, but its arrival felt like a regular proceeding to the end of another working day for the <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.columbiaroad.info" href="http://www.columbiaroad.info/" target="_blank">Columbia Road Flower Market.</a> Street markets are strange, in the sense that they have a single day working week; albeit an intense one at that.</div>
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Stranger is the <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.philosophyfootballfc.org.uk/3sided.php" href="http://www.philosophyfootballfc.org.uk/3sided.php" target="_blank">three-sided football</a> league we play in. A single, two-hour endeavour, first Sunday of each month. Less stranger is ‘planned engineering works’ that take place across various public transport infrastructure networks of London. Which is why, I had to cycle on a city bike to Tower Bridge, and run to New Cross thereafter, courtesy of my bike’s broken pedal and the festive period that prevented a quick fix.</div>
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That stretch of South London on any given Sunday is primarily home to communities of Afro-Caribbean origin who stroll between their homes and those of their relatives and their local centres of religious affairs. Congregations in front of brickwork, concrete or <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://goo.gl/maps/ecCekaySQQG2" href="https://goo.gl/maps/ecCekaySQQG2" target="_blank">makeshift churches</a>, Victorian, postwar, or semi-urban houses are celebrations of colour and glamour.</div>
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Running on a side street somewhere between South Bermondsey and Surrey Quays, I came across a lady, all dressed in white except for her golden necklace and the grey earphone through which she was euphorically talking to a relative. Her posture could not have been any calmer, though. She was taking small and calculated steps and owned the very pavement we shared for those few seconds. She smelled of summer; the streets <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/smells-of-london-1" href="http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/smells-of-london-1" target="_blank">smelled of River Thames’s low tide</a>. By the time it reaches London, the river picks up some salt and it was this indistinct trace of smell of salt that was helping my head keep clear.</div>
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The game went well; we did a good job. It’s now 3 games without a loss; a straight out win, followed by two winning draws. We jumped on the unreliable Overground on the way back, which was now running a more regular service. I took my usual route from the station but instead of cutting directly across to my street, my feet dragged me across Columbia Road (next street up) to see the market day come to its conclusion. Only few more stalls were up, and there has been carnage of flowers; those that did not make the cut and were not walked home by young couples and aspiring flatmates.</div>
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A very loud truck started its engine and started rolling up the street. When it finally stopped before the last stall standing with a loud roar, the driver jumped out to the yells and laughs of the traders. They called it the ‘piss truck’. Another week had just ended with little out of the ordinary. The ‘piss truck’ was about to start its duty of sweeping away the end of the week as I hastily, but calmly, took this picture.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-8537142098449828262016-09-03T17:46:00.001+01:002016-09-03T17:58:47.636+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 Summers ago, me and my flatmate took a trip down to Congo. We didn't venture out all the way to the actual country; crossing the Thames was good enough. At the Young Vic, we were treated to a 3-hour long drama about the rise and the fall of Patrice Lumumba. At every moment, it felt like, we were in Kinshasa or Kisangani, following the dreams and aspirations of a young and rowdy idealist. Little did we know that the stellar performance was portrayed by none other than Chiwetel Ejiofor, until we saw him on the silver screen a few months later with 12 Years a Slave, earning him a nomination for the Oscars...</span></span><br />
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If Joe Wright's "A Season in the Congo" at the Old Vic was (goo.gl/9XUWcN) as much an architectural reconstruction of the Congo in the 1950s, Onashile's setup in the tiny Blue Room of the Southbank Centre could not have been any more minimalistic, yet all the same representative of a nondescript, imaginary music club in Glasgow.
Yet, the four female actors; Teri Annn Bobb Baxter, Jamie Marie Leary, Diana Yekinni, and chieg among them Sabina Cameron took us back and forth between Scotland and Kalakuta, Lagos. Tolu's dreams were made and quashed between the dance floors of The Shrine and the toilets of a Glasgow club. Running just short of an hour, on a stage of a few square feet and a few props; the play, as part of the Africa Utopia weekend at the Southbank Centre, ironically clashed but also complemented the textile and souvenir stalls upstairs and the food market just outside the building.
With the actors' final moment of reckoning against the male gaze, the male oppression and an homage to Fela Kuti and his fight against colonialism and corruption, the stage and the spectators were set ablaze. It's almost as though my current flatmate saw it coming when she told me as I was leaving the flat earlier: "I'm sure you're really going to enjoy the performance!"</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">]This side of the river is home to so much significance and magnificence in my life. I walked to my bicycle which I had locked to my favourite ever cycle rack in the entire universe (the magical story from March 2016 here: goo.gl/N6mNmo). </span><br />
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As I was cycling home, felling all inspired and still ablaze, I was confronted by the "Great Fire 350", urban, public installation in front of the St. Paul's Cathedral. Only two days ago I had met a friend here and was telling about how the architectural marvel that is St. Paul's is only over 3 centuries old in its current incarnation, owing to the Great Fire of London (1666), which, among many catastrophes, rewarded to London and cemented the influence of great Sir Christopher Wren.
Now, here, an event was taking place to "celebrate" the great fire and its (extremely important) place in the history of London. On the grounds, where, few years ago we were hearing Julian Assange shortly before his captivity at the Ecuadorian Embassy, when "Occupy London" began, where, for months in, months out, tourists to London would share the space with dozens of tents.
... And there I was thinking... just a while earlier, what other city in the world could pull off a Colombian weekend and an African weekend and an X, Y, Z weekend one after another in the same, public space. What other city in the world "celebrates", with a degree of humility, and a big dose of resilience, a major catastrophe that brought its capital city to its knees from 350 years ago?
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">London. Noone can come between us, not even Theresa May!</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-85728865078316518002016-07-29T16:38:00.001+01:002016-07-29T17:36:22.498+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">After a 5-minute deliberation or a 15-minute drivearound, I parked the car on Esplanade by North Derbigny. It looked safe enough to escape a parking ticket, yet shady enough to warrant an overnight break-in. At this point, I rated the former over the latter. I got out of the car and looked around. The driver of the car behind ours was inside and gestured at us. He was about to rest the case on both parking tickets and safety. He was to be the Damiel, watching over Wim Wenders's Berlin. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">He came out of his car and asked for some change. I gave him the four quarters I had in my pocket and turned to him to add: "I only have four quarters in my pocket." </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">He replied, with his thick Southern accent: "I need the cash for the tank, man. I need to get to my job." By this point in the trip, I was able to articulate a fair ratio of the Southern accent thrown at me. By this point in life, I was able to articulate largely how genuine such requests were meant. But I only had four quarters in my pocket and I gave him all.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I knew exactly which direction we needed to be headed. I played dumb to waste time, so I could observe the man's next moves. If he were to break into the car and even if that took place hours later, I had a sense I could be able to tell, if I observed long enough.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I turned to Z. and pretended to check our destination on Google Maps. Damiel came forth and asked if we needed help. We didn't need any help. Not from him, nor from Google Maps. I knew exactly where we were going. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I turned to him and said: "Sure, we are trying to get to 623 Frenchmen." We were following the advice of S. who was going to host us the next evening, whom I had not seen since we finished Uni. The Spotted Cat was one of his favourite in town!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Damiel knew. He lifted his head, quickly turned his slender body on his feet and walked back towards his car, murmuring: "just hold up, I'll walk you there."</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">"You don't need to bother man, but as you please" was a redundant British politeness. The Creole kindness swiftly ignored it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">We crossed the street and started walking south. By the next block we were already back in French Quarter keeping our direction until Burgundy, one of the few southeasterly crossing diagonal streets into Frenchmen. He exchanged greetings and handshakes with a few people on the Esplanade. I asked him about the devastation caused by Katrina. He told us everywhere around us flooded except for Bourbon Street: "the rich are always protected!"</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">He wanted to make sure I knew exactly where we turned left and then right again, so I could find our way back easily. But we weren't walking back to the car at the end of the night. We didn't sleep in our car. He did.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Damiel was a 53-year old man who occasionally did labour work. Whenever he could find one. And whenever he could put together enough money to put gas in his tank to drive there and pay the $10 upfront to secure accommodation and shower for the three days he would spend out there. He had three daughters, aged 31, 29 and... before he could tell us the other's age, he got interrupted by a local. They've had a quick chat.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">"Aaahhh, you want to know more about Katrina", he said half jokingly when I asked him another question. He hadn't seen his daughters in many years. They lived in Texas with their mother. Did they now also have a stepfather? He was living to see them again, as soon as he could. He lost them, as he lost all else to the storm.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">"If I came to your town, I would want locals like you to show me around. That's why I am walking you to your destination" said he, while pointing out at a few restaurants and bars he said we could check out. We knew exactly where we were going. He knew exactly where we were going. He was sharing his life, and his city with us. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">He didn't mix Turkey with Kentucky when I told him where we were from, unlike that young police officer on the highways of Mississippi who stopped me the day before. That officer had advised me "to watch yourself in New Orleans; it can be a dangerous place." So far, it was nothing but a city watched over by angels.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">"Are you Muslims? I turned to Allah one day" he exchanged. He would later leave us with an "alhamdulillah".</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">15 minutes had passed since we started walking. The mild tunes of jazz had started to mix with the progressive drum beats as the scent of gumbo was merging with the stench of running sewer. We were</span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> treading less carefully to avoid the dirt. His large feet were on auto-pilot. His large smile would reveal his missing teeth. His large soul kept us company all the way through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">We exchanged hugs and went on about our dues. As Damiel left us, he noted: "You left your car in a risky spot. But for tonight, it is the safest in town."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">A gig followed the dinner. We ran into K. that evening and talked about how New Orleans made us feel. She'd been there for a few weeks, we had, for just over 24 hours. Z. and I shared the mutual feeling of magic. Post-Katrina gentrification had so far taken little out of it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I made the quick walk next morning to pick up the car. Z. was preparing to check out of the hostel. It was yet another very warm and humid late-May morning. The previous day's long walks through Treme, Bayou St John, the City Park, Mid-City and Algiers would leave way to a very long drive via Alabama coastline and Selma to Atlanta. The city was preparing for the Memorial Day and the long-weekend holidayers were slowly getting ready to hit the roads back. The river breeze washed over the fresh beignets.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Most of the cars parked around ours had seemed to have left long ago. Ours was intact. Damiel's was behind it. He was sleeping in his car. I hesitated. I struggled to leave without a goodbye, I struggled to decide whether I should wake him up to offer more money; not in return for his company or even guardianship, but because he said he needed it. </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I thought better of waking him up. How difficult was he finding to fall asleep? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">How little did I know about the sleeping rituals of a man who had to make a habit of living in his car. He was under a blanket and that is when I had realised, in broad light, how crowded inside of his car was. It was as I was leaving him I realised, we never learned each other's names.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-20067862638648257592016-07-18T18:18:00.000+01:002016-08-01T23:52:39.755+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When J. pulled me aside, my phone had been dead for just short of two hours. When he reluctantly asked if I knew what was going on, he probably did not genuinely think I did not. Despite our age difference and having only seen each other a few times in our lives, I trusted he knew me well enough to recognise a man in me whose ears were often on the ground. He might have also sensed that I am someone who emotionally connects to those, who may be thousands of miles away.</div>
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That reluctance, helped by A.’s initial support would do just about enough to keep my nerves in check. Now I knew for a fact that the sickly feeling I had been having in the past hour was telepathically linked to what was going on back home. J. looked worried, though. For a man who made the bold decision with his wife to take their family to a 10-day long trip across the country on the day its main airport had seen the worst terror attack in its history; for a man whose country has seen no fewer problems than mine, his eyes laid bare the truth. Things looked to be seriously getting out of control.</div>
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I rushed downstairs to make a few phone calls. Had Z. found a safe haven? Mom and Sister should have been alright, far from the centre of it all, but how did they feel? Where was Dad? They must have been trying to reach me… People around me started to ask how I felt, a question I thought I’ve heard all too often lately, in between Brexit and all sort of troubles in Turkey. Somehow, I was unable to give a concise answer, the painful indifference I wanted to resort to, I too often have in the recent past, was nowhere to be found. Lack of a clear answer to the simple question of ‘what is going on?’ was weighing too heavily. After all, this wasn’t one of those events with grave consequences on my life in which I had no say, or those where the privileged status of mine and those around me would keep us ‘statistically’ safe. This was a moment of great uncertainty, and was already traumatising those I most cared about.</div>
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As the sense of urgency started to give way to confusion and disgust, I tried to collect myself, and decided to follow A.’s advice, not to spend the rest of the night on my own. The inevitable death to my phone’s battery in a few hours’ time would also mean an unavoidable distancing from constant flow of information. It didn’t mean emotional detachment, but gave enough breathing space to avoid suffocation through the thick and humid air of Venice.</div>
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Wherever I went over the weekend, I was greeted with the natural, inevitable question – trying to make sense of the events with the little information at hand and communication I could keep with those back home. There has recently been a running gag with friends back home: how the UK politics, for once, has stolen the scene from the Turkish political landscape. While I heavily continued to comment on mainstream British politics recently, I felt at such unease to even come up with meaningful deliberations of thoughts and feelings in this latest saga. It was not all that different from June 2013 – where I would find my hands tied, fully submerged in front of my office computer in London on a Friday evening, watching developments unfold thousands of miles away. My boss R. would sympathise and let me take the earliest possible flight so I could be with those who I loved – the same R., who on Friday night put his head against mine and consoled me. No trip was to be had, though, all access was removed.</div>
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Over the years, I’ve reluctantly learned to tame my emotions towards incidents that are out of my immediate control or reach – at least to such an extent that I surprise myself as remaining one of the calmer people in a group of acquaintances when a major incident takes place. Combined with our day’s horrific sense of the normalisation of the evil, this has helped me distance myself from the immediate feelings of devastation and threat… an involuntary and compromised resilience of some sort. I am also trying to take the optimistic view on things in life, often conflicting with my true feelings and often with the risk of appearing naïve or ill-conceived [legitimising the evil] by those whose opinions I care about.</div>
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One of the greatest travesties of our times is our indifference to the nuances of mass sufferings around us. There are too many of them and adjusting our moral compasses to build a hierarchy amongst them has not helped either. The mainstream media has a lot of blame to take here. And what little of the nuances mainstream foreign media covered over the weekend has been short-handed, if not ill-conceived. It was almost a return to the early days of Erdogan’s ascendancy to power – the simple narration of dichotomy had prevailed.</div>
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And it is then, I finally started to reflect on the numerous conference sessions and exhibitions I experienced in the last few days and search for a meaning behind the events over the weekend and how to position one for the future. Forensic Architecture’s work at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forensic-architecture.org%2Fevents%2Freporting-front-venice-architecture-biennale-2016%2F&h=8AQFh_YL4AQGFCeJgf4UPvKRW6fLGXAExS4X2xSh9NTsJUQ&enc=AZN43WbikAijvNOkHwSBdiUEHTNiUxa_IihV3Wc8AkjtbptUIi9PII7_RzwXl09W6cCXhKDNGAGTBbO6C6mpaSAMhz-O_kHRLwhN6p9XwYxS_e6lmN0Od1bVcuJv6MID7YCqchQKyb2FIbBXcFfwDRf7ziV34iNfOJopF_HjnW1dCkIvU0s_EcgVYT6ryDzG7Xg&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.forensic-architecture.org/…/reporting-front-ven…/</a>) is one of those few pieces that respond directly, and with strong relevance to its title and its brief – Reporting From the Front. Visually constructing the scenes of drone strikes at victims’ households by weaving forensic data into a re-rendering of architectural details communicated through various forms of narrative, the exhibition shakes your indifference and detachment from all forms of physical and geographical sense of being and puts you right into the thick of it. Three case studies follow the scales of Afghan families’ kitchens to Gaza residents’ streets and the vast Mediterranean that migrants so desperately try to cross. To those who pay even the minimum of attentions, there is no catastrophe deprived of our senses.</div>
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Perhaps the inability to 'report from the front' as I often do, was what was getting to me. And perhaps, unlike Gezi Park, but in light of all these sensations, I was internalising and was internalised in the events that unfolded over the weekend – distancing was ever more difficult but somehow the rupture felt ever more real. So much so that my often-found optimism left its way to confusion and a form of mutism. As the aftermath started to unfold through Saturday and Sunday, it was more apparent that the necessity to own the narrative of inclusion, togetherness, and resistance to oppression and the tyranny of the majority is urgent. For everything we would wish to turn a blind eye, we shall be reminded of our collective duties. And for every moment we lose hope, we need to keep investigating, forensically, to find and pave our path to recovery.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-19991787369540737592016-07-02T19:18:00.001+01:002016-08-01T23:52:16.864+01:002 July 2016 Remain March<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span data-offset-key="2d56u-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Few images from today's march; and some thoughts on it:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I can't remember the exact number but it is probably already over double-digits, the number of marches and protests I have attended in London. This is one of those that I wanted to take part in, but found it a little difficult to associate myself completely, for a number of reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">First of all, it would have benefited everyone if this were held before the Referendum, not after. As in this case, as a protest march, not only were its effects very limited; had it been held before, it could have helped expose the bitter lies of the Leave campaign before voting took place. Whether that would attract attention and swing votes, we'll never be able to know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The march started at Park Lane and ended at Parliament Square, a very familiar route for anyone who's attended one of these. Last year, following an unprecedented surge and devastating loss of lives at the seas of migrants hoping to flee hardships in their countries, we marched on 12 September 2015, in solidarity with them. Sadly, it had very little effect on government policy: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34139960">Prime Minister Cameron had announced UK would help a mere 20,000 refugee seekers until 2020</a>. The Home Secretary Theresa May is now hoping to replace David Cameron as the Tory leader and future PM.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Ironically, that march took place on the day Jeremy Corbyn was announced as the new leader of the Labour Party, trying to heal wounds caused by a slightly unexpected defeat at the general elections earlier in May. The newly elected leader, and a beacon of hope for the progressive sects of Labour supporters (and others), </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34234679" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">addressed that rally</a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I felt similar vibes along the march today: there was definitely more of a 'feel good' atmosphere than one would expect. It was more of a celebration of London's multiculturalism and diversity, as a reminder of its richness that, as the argument has long taken hold, is under threat with Brexit. </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36692990" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As BBC has put it,</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> "... [t]here is barely an organiser in sight and what police presence there is is very low-key - but this outpouring of feeling is also quintessentially British: Calm, polite and orderly."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">I find this optimistic attempt naive and problematic. It is detracting from the root of the problem and runs the risk of creating a false sense of solidarity at a time of great uncertainty. There are battles to be fought, and it requires energy, long-term strategy and resilience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">More problematic is the view that many Leave voters will take, with this march: at worst they will see it as divisive, both in terms of its narrative and its geography; they will certainly feel as if their vote is being dishonoured; and at best, as a naive attempt with no result whatsoever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The march and some of the slogans / banners, along with the debate in the past week or so expose some great democratic deficiencies in the United Kingdom: many now wish the Parliament to resolve the Brexit issue over a vote. My initial reaction to this is simple and straightforward: it was the Parliament who voted to take Britain to war in Iraq. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">That those who are not happy with a public opinion in the form of a Referendum would wish to use liberty to change the rules of the game can be damaging in the long run, as it creates institutional discrepancies. I will not go into another debate on the extremely significant methodological deficiencies of a Referendum and its validity here, as I have done that earlier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">But, it helps to remember some of multiple issues with the system we have here: from lack of proportional representation, which was challenged and quashed by a vote on Alternative Vote Referendum in 2011, to the deeply entrenched and male-dominated power politics within the mainstream Labour and Conservative Parties in Westminster. What we have been witnessing at the Parliamentary Party level debates in both since the Referendum results is testimony to that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">What this march, both at a personal and a general level, helped uncover, once more: how people organise through social media to gather in thousands within a week and demand their right to protest and receive the necessary support to use the city infrastructure to hold it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">This, viewed in light of how such demands are handled in Turkey, despite spending almost a decade here, still amuses and inspires me. In Turkey, such events often end with tear gas and water cannons... </span><a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/748885446051131392" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">and speaking of water cannons, by the way</a>.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The march once more exposed the toxic, disgusting lies the Leave campaign threw at the British public, and as much as it inspires me to continue helping this exposure, it further breaks my heart to see how a large part of the Leave voters believed in them, wholeheartedly. At a personal level, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/grungium/status/748536800369598464" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I have been trying to expose these and will try to continue doing so</a>.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Finally, as I was gathering my thoughts on today and in general, lying down on the grass in Hyde Park, I was overhearing dozens of conversations around me, in almost as many languages. A moment of thought of London losing this very character that makes it so special weighed heavily on me.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-84403066342956981202016-06-25T13:17:00.002+01:002016-06-27T10:17:11.164+01:00Brexit, Scotref, Petition...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Update, 27 June Monday:<br /></div>
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as reported in the Guardian and found in a new Survation poll, "with the Record now openly supporting Sturgeon’s preparations for a second referendum, its poll also found that more SNP supporters voted leave than other parties: 29% of SNP voters backed Brexit, compared to 27% of Scottish Tories, and 17% Labour and 16% Lib Dem voter." (<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2FEA6NJ6&h=NAQHO0j0JAQExFFqmIc8Ru91Vag7rDypM5y5Bf-G1FgTYKA&enc=AZPuwWQ2n30e3uTWOsBG12WmhyUABH0mIs3JH8zWqHn4cG2FJtGumkrsZr7bOiN7qSMosh2iiTkA29Qg_DYFRDp_7fVq67tQdthUHHimmxHkAUM8KUwdU9QYA5Xs4fjQ-H8Gq-y_2bQT1IuD4f5TEjruZl3t5xqOWHCF1vo12oOa2q2CBRTYjGePXWRqgMuYtFU&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/EA6NJ6</a>)</div>
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After all, it may have to do with pro-independence SNP supporters not necessarily objecting to t<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">he Leave outcome wholeheartedly.</span></div>
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So, you're probably already aware of the popular petition being circulated since yesterday and has attracted over 1.3 million signatures at the time of posting (<a href="https://goo.gl/Bgqqyq" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/Bgqqyq</a>). The Independent has already reported it could not find any evidence that such an EU or a UK law exists to lawfully demand a 2nd referendum (<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-petition-latest-eu-referendum-rules-change-force-second-vote-poll-government-a7102486.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.independent.co.uk/…/brexit-petition-latest-eu-re…</a>) and prior attempts did not fully succeed, but it is a worthwhile attempt, especially consider<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ing how problematic the methodologies behind such a defining referendum are. However, even if a 2nd referendum were held, my money is on Leave returning an even higher victory (unfortunately!). And among reasons why that would be the case, here is one, that attracted my attention when I checked the map of the signatories of the petition.</span></div>
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Below are two images: the proportion of Remain voters across the UK and signatories of the petition:</div>
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The image on the left represents the proportion of Remain votes. Darker the tone, higher the Remain proportion, and as we all know well by now, darker tones are concentrated around Scotland, London and Northern Ireland (as well as parts of the Southeast, North Wales and West Midlands).</div>
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The image on the right represents the distribution of signatories to the petition = people unhappy with the result = mainly Remain voters. Darker tones mean more signatures. The darker tones are concentrated around London, the Southeast and Northern Ireland.</div>
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Normally, you would expect these two maps to mimic one another. And you do see a one significant difference: Scotland!</div>
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From what I can gather now (and it's simplistic and early I know), this is probably due to:</div>
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Scotland being happy to have voted Remain and justified themselves a 2nd independence referendum and that they prioritise this over the Brexit catastrophe (which, I would totally understand).</div>
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Can anyone think of any other early, possible reason?</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Image: </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36616028" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>uk-politics-36616028</a> <span style="font-size: xx-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Image: </span><a href="http://petitionmap.unboxedconsulting.com/?petition=131215" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>petitionmap.unboxedconsulti<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>ng.com/?petition=131215</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-10218480226418553132016-05-07T12:06:00.000+01:002017-03-26T21:31:18.740+01:00Temple of Hope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tempelhofer Feld was operating as an airfield as early as in 1909, however, </span><a href="http://www.berlin-airport.de/en/company/about-us/history/tempelhof-airport/" style="font-family: inherit;">its designation as Berlin’s main airport and its expansion began in the 1920s</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, which took on a whole new meaning following the establishment of the Third Reich, as Nazis decided to turn it into a ‘large airport’, dovetailing their ‘great’ idea of Germania. Situated in the south of central Berlin, in the district (Bezirk) of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, it was famously used by the Allied Powers for </span><a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/berlin-airlift" style="font-family: inherit;">an airlift in 1948-1949 to come to the aid of residents of West Berlin</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> whose access to crucial supplies were blocked by the East German authorities. Through those 11 months, the residents of West Berlin’s only hope of survival was goods received from the air, and Tempelhof provided the necessary base.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Long gone are the days of divided Berlin and the site, referred to in official Berlin maps as the ‘ehemalige Flughafen Tempelhof (the former Tempelhof Airport) was turned into a massive public space, a green refuge in a city that does not otherwise lack green space all that much anyway. It has remained popular with locals who use the site for various activities ranging from barbecuing, flying kites, or <a href="http://awesomeberlin.net/activities/explore-tempelhofer-feld/kreuzberg-neukolln">playing mini golf</a>. It was my local running spot when I lived in Neukölln in the Spring of 2013.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ‘Tempelhof Question’, the challenge to come to a collective decision on what to do with a site of such significance in scale in a very central location in Berlin, a city whose 1990s oversupply of housing in the hopes of making the capital great once more, is acutely falling short of providing shelter for its diverse and ever growing population has caused much controversy in the recent past. The Tempelhofer Feld visitors enjoy 386-hectare of open space (1.5 times the size of Monaco) and the park is home to urban gardening beds, sitting adjacent to a major mosque and public pool. <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksentscheid_zum_Tempelhofer_Feld_in_Berlin">A public referendum in May 2014</a> turned in favour of those trying to protect the site from any future development by putting in restrictions for planning consent but the discussions were already at their peak shortly before I ended my 3-month long Berlin stint at the end of May 2013. Berliners decided to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/mar/05/how-berliners-refused-to-give-tempelhof-airport-over-to-developers">rid the city officials and their business developers of a very profitable deal</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And as soon as I moved back to London, the protests in Gezi Park erupted in Istanbul and I found myself reflecting on this very recent Tempelhof experience. Gezi protests had come at the tail-end of a streak of incidents where spaces frequented by the public with embedded memories were being streamlined to redevelopment programmes, stripping them of their former qualities: in most cases limiting public access and as in the case of Gezi Park, completely transforming the former functions of what is one of a handful of parks in central Istanbul. I was able to observe the developments around Gezi Park just as closely, in flesh and in spiritual solidarity, as I was for Tempelhof.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, a discussion barely registered in the public domain in 2013 is surrounding Tempelhofer Feld. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/world/europe/tempelhof-airport-once-a-lifeline-for-berliners-reprises-role-for-refugees.html?_r=0">The hangars of the former airport are now homes to around a 1,000 refugees </a>who have fled from conflict zones, primarily from Syria. Last night, I attended an evening of performances by three teenagers who live in the makeshift, temporary housing allocated for the refugees. <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eins-komma-zwei-quadratmeter-berlin-tickets-24656105074">Titled ‘1.2 Square Meters’, the performances</a>, theatrical insofar they were on a stage and the audience faced them, and otherwise very real, were a combination of spoken word, some singing and dancing, and a recitation of a scripted text reimagining the ages old pan-Arab dream in the embodiment of the Palestinian Uday, ultimately rejected by Abdulrahman and Moamen, the Syrian kids whose survival reflected a simple hope of survival in a foreign country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The evening was organised by Alexander Schröder, an actor, director and a drama teacher at the Universitaet der Künste, Berlin, who revealed he sneaked into the refugee encampment to ‘seek out his neighbours with the honest and a great feeling of curiosity’ adding that it is this ‘curiosity that would help people integrate with one another’ as against a top-down dicta of what integration means and how it should be achieved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the past two months, I have been volunteering as a performer to the ‘immersive theatre’ experience called You Me Bum Bum Train, a show in which I took part as audience in 2011. An audience member goes through ‘scenes’ that reflect real-life situations and put the audience member on the spot, to react to the environment surrounding them — one of the scenes mimcking the <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/05/welcome-to-fortified-europe-the-militarization-of-europes-borders/">the painful and often disastrous journey</a> many migrants resort to between Calais and Dover, in the hopes of a better life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The testimonials from audience members who go through the experience all reflect one thing: they could not have imagined being put through such stress in real life. They immediately sympathise with the plight of people who seek refuge in a foreign and largely a hostile environment. I was proud to take part in a minute role in this mega-production, whose producers are now dismantling the set and the props and will donate tonnes of spare materials to people across campsites in Calais.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the end of the 1.2 M2 performance, we took a quick break and re-emerged at the performance room of the DTK Wasserturm. <a href="http://www.dtk-wasserturm.de/html/Geschichte.html">A 130-year old building that served as a source of life for Berliners</a> in this part of Kreuzberg nowadays houses a youth and culture centre and were generous enough to allocate the Theatergruppe Tempelhof space to practice and perform. We heard Alexander’s introductory speech and had a chance to ask questions to the kids. The excitement with which they put their performance together and the childish mockery they make of each other and the world was clearly observed. They were enjoying themselves and said they all wanted to ‘continue doing more theatre’. The challenges are profound: they are struggling to be ‘formalised’ through paperwork which is causing them all sorts of logistical problems. They are being shuffled across different areas of the camp with each attempt to best manage the limited shelter resources; some of the kids now have access to schooling (though they, like all kids, do like to skip classes), and there are curfews in place to make sure they get back to their shelters before too late. While intra-community issues seem to be at minimum from what we’ve heard, separation of boys’ and girls’ lives also mean they cannot often come together to play, and train. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While the audience, probably all very curious about the journeys these kids have had to go through, tried to keep the focus of the questions on the performances, one audience member couldn’t help but ask what the kids ‘felt towards the people who smuggled them on boats from Turkey to Greece’, which, by that point, as we learned, was the way most of them made their way here. The interpreter who has a shared destiny with the boys mainly shrugged her shoulders but the kids were not shy about revealing the hard truth that is clear to all of us: they were harassed, exploited and exhausted. They all shared one sentiment, too: they missed their mothers. They were sent by their families, probably in order to resist being taken up by Daesh or suffer from conflict, but also to seek hope for the rest of their lives, just about starting in earnest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a humbling evening to finish off a week-long trip to Berlin that started with a stag weekend and included frequent visits to meet old friends, make some new, and places that bring back tremendous shared and personal memories in a city that I have always had very special connections to. At the nearby ‘Kneipe’ we deliberated questions raised by the audience and tried to understand a little more about these kids’ worlds, helped by Malte who has been working with them for the past three months. Exposing kids to such traumas and confronting them with questions might have come across more disturbing to us than it was for the kids actually. Their focus seemed to be getting on with the rest of their lives — however, as they had claimed in some of their spoken words, they have so far not found the ‘heavenly spoils’ they were expecting from Germany. But then as Aisha put it bluntly, they haven’t really seen much of the world except for Tempelhof, though Alexander is now trying to take them on tours across the city. With open eyes and minds, they’ll hopefully be cherishing each and every moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tempelhof, a temple of hope, is also deliberating its own future, once again. Only three years after securing public backing in restricting development on the parkland, a new question looms large: should the restriction be lifted so that permanent structures can be built to accommodate the ever increasing number of incoming migrants? Or would this open the floodgates to nullify a legacy of collective decision-making and legal ownership of public commons, i.e. a new era of laissez-faire for future developments across Berlin’s held dear public land and properties? Opinions are divided and politicians use them to their will: ‘hippies who want to protect Tempelhof won’t help migrants’ is a potentially cynical incursion, and a tough one to stand up to. Perhaps, the new neighbours will start weighing in on the issue — after all this area has borne hopes of survival for many, across generations, and it will continue to do so.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-50598241009424627102016-04-25T12:31:00.000+01:002016-05-12T12:40:59.116+01:00Collecting evidence on Old Street cycle-lane and cycle-spaces<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of you may have seen the roadworks around Shoreditch that lasted a good few months. <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-1">A lot of enhancements have been made to separate bicycle traffic and stopping positions</a> (around traffic lights) from motor vehicles and pedestrians who extensively use the crossing at Old Street and Great Eastern Street junctions. I pass by the area almost daily, either to commute to work or recreationally as I live nearby. A lof of time and money have bern invested, and the outcome, notwithstanding some design problems (i.e. moving pedestrian crossing further north of the bike crossing is confusing, although understandable given the cycling route via Pitfield Street), is quite successful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38;">You've also seen me sharing articles and personal thoughts on negotiation of right of way and traffic duties between various road users and perceptions different types of users have on one another. My general thoughts can be summarised as: "a lot of cyclists put a bad name into cycling through careless and selfish rule breaking while many (but a minority of) motor users, primarily motorcyclists, black cabs and white vans are outright disrespectful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was just cycling from Bethnal Green to Holborn and saw a black cab pull into the newly painted bicycle box on the left hand lane, slightly further up than the demarcation line on the right hand line to allow cyclists a crucial head start in conjunction with the all new bicycle traffic green light that goes few seconds before cars, a phenomenon new to London but one I was already used to from my times in Denmark and Germany a whole decade ago (thanks for slowly catching up London!) at what is a very busy road junction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I waved at the driver and signalled he should be waiting at the line before the box. I know from previous experiences and common sende that it is not required of them to do so if they got stuck there whilst on the move from a previous green light. I've also sadly come to accpet deivers turning left do not need to wait for a bicycle on their rear mirror while this was a major offence on Danish traffic and having been on both ends of the stick (a cyclist and a car-driving pizza delivery boy) in Dennark, I saw how important it was... only to see it as a fantasy here. Anyhow, deliberate trespass of bicycle boxes is a serious offence which motorcylists commit all the time and get away with. This black cabbie should have known better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And knew he did -- his blunt response to me was: "well I'm suprised you didn't contravene like all your mates do!" My calculated response for which I only had a few seconds to devise was to advise him to not be prejudiced and that two wrongs don't make a right. To which, he responded by saying "it's not prejudice, if majority of cyclists do not follow the Highway Code".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The articles and thoughts I'd shared before all signal at the same direction: <a href="http://www.planetizen.com/node/81826/why-do-people-hate-cyclists">road users do not trust one another, and both pedestrians and motorised users have less of a favourable opinion about cyclists</a>. Even would-be cyclists suffer from this as they feel the roads are too dangerous, perhaps not necessarily implying potentially hostile behaviour against them but clearly observing the chaos with which the London roads operate. A lot of this bad name has been bestowed upon cyclists by their own attitudes, and this is not limited to contravening red light and annoying both drivers and pedestrians but also disrespecting zebra crossings and just foul attitude towards cyclists altogether.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was surprised to see, how in Berlin, cyclists take liberty in facilitating pavements and disobey traffic lights -- an argument often put forth by anti-red-light coalition of cyclists in London as 'those rules are made for drivers and cyclists are incentivised to take shortcuts or streamline traffic'. Well, the truth could not be further from it, and for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: the very different cultures of negotiation between road users in the UK and in Germany; the very different road infrastructures (compare London's mainly narrow streets and pavements to Berlin's wide avenues and pavements) and the sheer population density and moving patterns. Despite my limited knowledge of the discussions taking place in Germany, I think they need to debate their negotiations, too, as once I started cycling regularly in Berlin in 2013, having had lived and cycled in London for over 6 years, I found it confusing and challenging.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But that aside, the divide widens and the problem aggravates in a city like London where cycling numbers are going up and the infrastructure is barely keeping apace. In the hierarchical order of risk to road users, it is natural that the cab driver's behaviour and excuse is beyond proportionality. Yet, the responsibility is shared. The reality is his views won't change overnight by simply getting asked by cyclists to respect the demarcation lines. My intervention seemed to help, though, as he stood right before the bicycle box at the next traffic lights where I gave him a thumbs up. It certainly did not help to see careless cyclists crossing red light (one very fast and at a time when pedestrian lights turned green) on the other side of the road, though. The cabbie might have even asked himself why I wasn't picking on and shouting across the road to the other cyclists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although the repercussions will vary significantly, the multi-layered responses should be clear and work in parallel: (unfortunately, and as I hate to advocate this) implementation of law should be stricter; all road users should be much better informed and this could easily be facilitated by signage campaigns at traffic lights (just as is being done on buses and other vehicles); road infrastructure should certainly be upgraded faster; and regressive policies, against which I loudly advocated, such as Boris Johnson's move to allow motorcyclists use bus lanes should be reversed as it settled in a culture of motorcyclists continuously growing an unchecked level of self-confidence in breaking the rules.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To put it in the shortest and bluntest way possible: we all have to be a lot less selfish and a lot more selfless.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-40678717222841180922016-03-17T12:36:00.000+00:002016-04-27T12:37:41.027+01:00lucid disguise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: center;">Of all the possible juxtapositions in this part of </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/eastend/" style="text-align: center;">#eastend</a><span style="text-align: center;"> this has always intrigued me the greatest: </span><div>
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In the foreground is Carter House of H<a href="http://spitalfieldslife.com/2015/04/10/at-the-holland-estate/">olland Estate</a> by <a href="http://www.eastendhomes.co.uk/">East End Homes</a> in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/spitalfields/">#spitalfields</a>, a typical 1930s social housing estate, home to a large Bangladeshi community who has made large parts of<a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/bricklane/">#bricklane</a> what it is today (on that note: brick lane has been a street of constant transformation over the past century and a half, something that's got frequently missed out on the anarchists vs. cereal-maker gentrifiers debate last year). In the background is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nido_Spitalfields">Nido Building</a> functioning primarily as a private student accommodation unit. In any other context, a building whose architectural style I find more appealing than other people may, its cladding and dominant blue hue convey to me a false interpretation openness and transparency.<br /><br />Both estates/buildings are located within the borough of Tower Hamlets, where its edge with the City of London is defined by Middlesex Street, right beside, to the west of Nido Building. The borough council's revenues from Nido's development may even have helped preserve and maintain Holland Estate to date, although we know there is an <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32707564" target="_blank">imminent threat of destruction</a> to pave way for a new development. <div>
<br />This is a site that sits right in between recently developed, tourist-attracting Spitalfields, developing and startup/incubation promoting, Norton Folgate, rapidly changing, looks-more-like-Manhattan neighbourhood of Aldgate and of course, the behemoth that is the City of London. All of these areas historically, as well as economically established and diverse, naturally prone to phases of structural transformation. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cutlerstreet/">#cutlerstreet</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/clothierstreet/">#clothierstreet</a> existing and transformed (<a href="http://www.discountsuitcompany.co.uk/about/">Discount Suit Company</a>) textile and fashion stores are all reminiscent of the huge legacy of this particular site of East End. No wonder why, of course, the pedestrian footfall on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/brunestreet/">#brunestreet</a> where this photo is taken is almost zero while city workers, students, walking tours, lunch breakers flock to arteries and avenues nearby. <br /><br />Yet in the middle of this mish-mash, what stands out for me is how Nido Building's almost curtain/wall-like shape cuts Holland Estate from the rest of its surroundings in a way no other block of buildings are so visually overshadowed by other City towers that are architecturally so much more forthcoming and eye-catching, such as the Gherkin or Heron Tower just further south. You could argue that this wall protects Holland Estate in a symbolism representative of urban walls we know of our recent past, be it the Berlin Wall, Iron Curtain or the Western Wall. And for that reason, like all other walls before and after it, to me it represents a threat and a cursing in not so much disguise...</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0Spitalfields, London E151.5191426 -0.07383949999996275451.5167741 -0.07888199999996276 51.521511100000005 -0.068796999999962749tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-14175037349357778522015-08-12T22:53:00.001+01:002015-08-12T22:53:13.254+01:00probably the most inspirational city in the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3RyeRWsNZnxPuIuQRD9EPkbipXUkJNTehdNtCiL-qPMo_6TS2hcaLhYXEUv82NzsmysNhybAL4ozyq7XC5NKXwNn2wzdgUETFkg1Uk0DnBAtsch-gcvigkEQ8w0xioL63q7x_gIHVCs4/s1600/IMG_1154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3RyeRWsNZnxPuIuQRD9EPkbipXUkJNTehdNtCiL-qPMo_6TS2hcaLhYXEUv82NzsmysNhybAL4ozyq7XC5NKXwNn2wzdgUETFkg1Uk0DnBAtsch-gcvigkEQ8w0xioL63q7x_gIHVCs4/s320/IMG_1154.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As I was growing up, I could only take
Istanbul’s “suburban” trains very few times, usually on trips to my
grandmother’s house on the residential Marmara Sea waterfront neighbourhood of
Kucukyali. Berlin and Hamburg’s S-Bahns truly prepared me for the colourful
above-surface experiences of a city commute. That’s why I feel a special
connection to London’s Overground and the opportunities it gives one to travel
across this mega-agglomeration’s distinct “villages”. That is of course, when
you don’t have the time to walk through them for hours and hours in. Yet, there
is another mode of transport, in between the two, that repeatedly reminds me
why London is probably the greatest city on earth!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When you feel you’ve run out of ideas, just
get on your wheels and cycle through the city’s neighbourhoods – it is almost
irrelevant whether you are north or south of the river, heading east or west,
as long as you are within the “outer circles”. And when you do, you know
exactly why it is one of the most inspirational, and special “place”s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I often hit the Regent’s Canal when I look
for such inspirations – not only for the strong bond I’ve developed with it
over the years but as its (though it’s hard to talk about the Canal as a single
entity when it has so many constituent parts) ongoing transformation from
London’s most underrated (or least appreciated) feature to that of a flaneur’s
magnet always offers new sights and negotiating the narrow towpath with fellow
wanderers and cyclists often makes for a slightly tense and enjoyable journey.
However, after an averagely boring day’s work, a few hundred yards’ worth canal
ride around King’s Cross and the urban jungle around it did not suffice – which
is when I decided to take it to a next level to visit my friends’ bookshop/coffee
in Leytonstone… starting the journey all the way from Camden Town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">First you gaze at all the tourists who are
busy gazing at every possible clichéd image of Camden they’ve read in their
guidebooks and wonder how people never get tired of it. Kids selling (and
consuming) weed still hang out on the Kentish Town Rd. side of the canal, while
punks walk across the bridge on Camden High Street; the
food/tourist-trap-souvenirs stalls near the stables are busy as always and
people try to look for traces of the late Amy Winehouse among the busy
neighbourhood’s streets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The crowds give way to the residential and
urbane setting of Kentish Town, where I lived for three months back in the
spring of 2008, the wealthy/yuppie locals mingle in the slightly run down Victorian
pubs and I notice further new developments near the beautiful red-bricked old
public baths (now run as a private sports/leisure centre). The main road with
its Phonecia (Middle Eastern grocery store), Nandos, and The Oxford (pub)
hasn’t changed a bit as I turn right to take the hill up to Tufnell Park. A
quick glimpse at Boston Arms where I recall promising myself years ago that I
would go for a pub quiz and I turn onto Tufnell Park Rd, a wide, leafy, quiet
road, which to my surprise, I have never passed through before. It is
non-descript as it could exist anywhere in London, yet, you know it firmly
belongs to this city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Because nowhere else, it would meet a road
like Holloway Road, where crowds of young, black school kids play at the
traffic light in front of the majestic and run-down Odeon Holloway while all
sorts of small late afternoon/early evening trading take place in the side
roads leading to Finsbury Park. I take one of them, passing close to Crouch
Hill via Hornsey Rd, where I lived for about a month last winter, in between
moving around. K. must either be on the way or just have made it home from work
along the same roads I am roaming now. As I turn towards Finsbury Park, the
smell of curry and kebab mix together, which will stick in the air for a good
mile until Manor House when kebab will compete dominate the scene. S.’s
grandparents lived just south of here – I recall our journey to the Emirates to
watch Arsenal play Partizan, also joined by K. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At Manor House, turning left will take me
to Haringey, and to one of countless trips to one of the famous Turkish
restaurants or shops that sell everything, like that evening when I joined M.
in his attempts to find a Turkish teapot. When I had first arrived in this town
in 2007, I knew very few people and when I. invited me to a Halloween party,
and our long-lasting friendship started that evening with her and C., I had no
idea we ended up at someone’s house party in this area. But I remember my last
visit to Finsbury Park, the proper park, again, in 2008, to Rise Festival where
people gathered for music and fun with a purpose: to keep racism out of the
streets of London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Further down Seven Sisters Rd. the
Reservoirs stay to my right and the famous Woodberry Down Estate, now leaving
way to a contemporary (read ugly) skyscraper appears where F. did her Master’s
thesis project, speaking to the estate’s residents and producing artworks that
recorded their memories of life in this northeast London social housing estate.
Rows of further estates dot this highway-like road as cars speed-race past me –
I forget to take Amhurst Park and continue on Seven Sisters Rd, to cycle past
the very street I walked with Z. and E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>only two weeks ago on our way from Dalston, musing about London’s
architectural and social diversity and the fate of the Alevi minorities and
their political struggles. I finally hit High Rd. to turn righ at the
magnificient St. Ignatius Church, built between 1894-1911 in two stages upon
the invitation to Jesuits, who form an integral part of Umberto Eco’s novel The
Prague Cemetery I’ve recently been reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">However, the short climb from High Rd. to
Stamford Hill brings you to the largest centre of Hasidic Jews in Europe and
sidelock-haired men joined by their wives pushing double-baby prams appear
suddenly. Only 5 minutes ago, the front sign of what looked like a
left-from-the-70s hotel read the name “Kent” and now that has transformed into
Kadimah Hotel, advertised as a kosher B&B. On the climb down to Clapham, I
notice gigantic new housing, typical of the current trend, the light
brown-stone styled façades with floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded by private
greenery and inner courtyards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Lea Bridge Rd takes me to all the way Leyton
and this stretch is reminiscent of a drive in a continental European highway
with huge, Italian furniture shops are joined by scrap metal and tyre yards as
I cycle through my 5<sup>th</sup> borough following Camden, Islington,
Haringey, Hackney, now into Waltham Forest. On the edge to Wanstead, I arrive
at my destination, 45 minutes and 14KM in – at All You Read is Love, run by my
beloved Danish sibling duo A. and K. I only sent them a picture from Stonehenge
last weekend as I was walking around in the region – my first encounter with
Stonehenge was with them at our first trip to End of the Road Festival in 2008…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">… only to realise they close the
bookstore/coffee shop at 7PM and I am half hour late! Yet, this allows me to
continue cycling back homewards before the dark and before my sweat dries out.
Going through infamous Leyton where most people still have false and unfounded
interpretations of, I remember another Halloween party, from 2009, the only
other time I’d visited the neighbourhood before A. and K. set up shop here.
That is of course, discounting the 2013 New Year, where I accidentally took the
bus N55 almost all the way to Baker’s Arms – a place I was always curious
about, like one of those endstations of an Underground line that you never make
the journey to… and today, I even passed by it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The way back is a journey through
ex-industrial Londo, via more curry-towns and the behemoth that is the Olympic
Park. I grab a quick panorama of the Stadium shot after breezing past the new
homes and the much-acclaimed Chobham Academy – the Stadium where I have the
fond memories of performing at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics
and soon enough I am once again crossing over the water to Hackney Wick, the
hipster/clubbing mecca, which, to me, is still first and foremost that place
where people saw us on the streets with our costumes and couldn’t believe their
eyes a few years ago…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And it is now home territory, through the
massive park Queen Victoria “gifted” to this part of London because the
easterly winds always kept this side of the Thames estuary dirty with the
port/industry smog until half a century ago and the “notorious slum dwellers” of
London needed some fresh air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">23 KM and just over an hour in – having taken
in another set of 6-7 different worlds, past the postcodes N1, N7, N4, N15,
N16, E5, E10, E11, E15, E20, E9 and E2 and I remember R.’s words, 11 years ago
when she told me how much she was loving London with its culture, geography and
people. 11 years ago, it wouldn’t cross my mind I would live here one day. 6
years ago still, I didn’t have the confidence to claim I would eternally fall
in love with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-6328204718338742432015-04-30T09:56:00.000+01:002015-08-12T22:54:01.402+01:00Lest the Ground Forgets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Commissioned by and published on the ArteEast Magazine's ArteEast Quarterly Spring 2015 issue. With gratitude to Ipek Ulusoy Akgul and Raja'a Khalid. The original piece <a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/" target="_blank">can be read here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<div style="border: 0px; color: #4f3d3f; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; width: 600px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the Prince of Wales made an intervention to ask the authorities in the UAE, it was about saving a cultural and historical asset that was of national significance to the Emirati on a land that belonged to them<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[i]</a>. Twenty-one years later a similar request was made by the Prince, to the Qatari wealth-owners on a land they owned for a major development scheme. This time, though, that piece of land happened to be in the heart of London, which is today itself trying to cope with a similar urban challenge of its own: defining a patchwork of a city with its ever-expanding catalogue of high-rise towers and ultra-modern developments – many of which are now financed by investments from the same region that it has, in the past, acted as a protectorate to.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #4f3d3f; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; width: 600px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The relationships between the British and those in the wider geography of the Gulf are deep and long-lived. As Britain increased its influence in the Middle East from the 19<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10.5px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century onwards, it has forged a 150-year old history in the Omani Gulf – their ever-increasing paternalistic assumption of a protectorate role reached a peak with the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in the late 1950s. This model of indirect control through ‘local collaborators’ can be said to exist today, in even more complex form where some of the roles are now reversed. That the UAE is now proudly showcasing a collection of recent landmarks, finds no barrier to warrant a title reflective of a very popular contemporary theme on urban landscapes: <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">memory</em> and<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">identity</em><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[ii]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the same British engineers who worked for the development of the Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait surveyed the Dubai creek for dredging and widening to expand the infrastructure to serve a larger metropolis, loans were granted by the Kuwaiti and Qatari ruling families through the intermediary of the British Bank of the Middle East (formerly British Imperial Bank of Iran). The British Bank of the Middle East then provided services beyond that of a commercial bank and helped cement the emergence of modern Dubai. The flexible master-plan prepared by British architect/planner John Harris provided the framework for future development, as Dubai set up its own national bank in the late 1960s. Dubai’s own oil exports began in 1969 and led to the rapid expansion of the city from its initial layout, which consisted of three neighborhoods, Deira, Al Shindagah and Bur Dubai, around the Creek, a formation established long before the arrival of the British, owing to the city’s history of pearl diving and trade<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[iii]</a>.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #4f3d3f; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; width: 600px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the rulers decided they no longer needed to keep some of the earlier settlements, al Bastakiya<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[iv]</a> was amongst those slated for demolition in the 1980s, in order to open up space for a new skyscraper complex. In came the Prince of Wales, to pledge a convincing appeal to his hosts to keep al Bastakiya intact. At the time, Prince Charles was widely known for his favorable attitude to conservation and a severe dislike of the increasing “vertical, straight, unbending, only at right angles – and functional” architecture in London<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[v]</a>, a staunch position he maintains till today. Chief amongst his most recent victims has been architect Richard Rogers whose schemes for Paternoster Square and Royal Opera House projects were famously slashed by the Prince’s intervention<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[vi]</a>.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #4f3d3f; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; width: 600px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As seen with the case of al Bastakiya, Prince Charles’ ideas on architecture have always reached a zone of influence far beyond the boundaries of the British Isles, not just in geography but monetarily too. The latest row caused by the Prince has been over the Chelsea Barracks redevelopment in Westminster. When British newspapers reported in 2009, that the Prince had written to the Qatari Diar to pull back its support from Rogers’ scheme; the whole episode let to a lawsuit for damages of up to £81 million to property developers<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[vii]</a>.</span></div>
<h6 style="border: 0px; color: #4f3d3f; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/OmerImage_1.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="OmerImage_1" class="alignnone wp-image-15916" src="http://www.arteeast.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/OmerImage_1.jpg" height="394" style="border: 0px; color: transparent; font-size: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="538" /></span></a></h6>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #4f3d3f; font-size: 8pt; padding: 0pt;">Renderings
from the Richard Rogers’ proposed. Withdrawn after a special request by
Prince Charles to the Qatari Diar.<br />Credit: </span><span style="color: #4f3d3f; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #39c9ff; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0pt; padding: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.primeresi.com/" target="_blank">Chelsea Barracks, Rogers Stirk
Harbour + Partners</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></h6>
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<span style="color: #4f3d3f; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></h6>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="OmerImage_2" class="alignnone wp-image-15920" src="http://www.arteeast.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/OmerImage_2.jpg" height="381" style="border: 0px; color: transparent; font-size: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="537" /></span></h6>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 0px; font-size: 8pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Squire & Partners’ approved scheme, on the way to realization.<br />Credit:</span> <a href="http://www.primeresi.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.primeresi.com</a></span></h6>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, despite the Chelsea Barracks fiasco, it is surprising to see just how much of London’s architectural portfolio is affected by Gulf investment. The Shard, the tallest building in the European Union is the jewel in the crown of a wide London real-estate portfolio enjoyed by the same Qatari Diar, which includes, among others, the town’s infamous shopping center, some of its most expensive residential units, a portion of its stock exchange, the American Embassy, and a major investment, the East Village, around the site of the London 2012 Olympics<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[viii]</a>. Funnily enough, the Shard was one particular architectural centerpiece for which the then Deputy Prime Minister issued a planning consent despite heavy opposition from heritage bodies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Qatar’s neighbors just across the bay, too, have aggressively been investing to get valuable pieces of the city, and although they have recently failed to buy the signature financial district of Canary Wharf in London<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[ix]</a>, the Mayor of London goes to work every day on land developed by financial resources from Kuwait. In 2012, Saudi Arabia invested £60 billion into the UK, while Abu Dhabi’s royal family have become the largest landowners in Mayfair (after the Duke of Westminster) following their own continuous investments since 2006 now valued at of £5 billion<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[x]</a>,<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xi]</a>. Some of these projects are naturally faced with much inspection for example, a deal struck with the Bahraini Government in 2013 to help build a new community on a 500-hectare land in the south of the country received much scrutiny from the British public with respect to the latter’s way of dealing with democracy protests during the “Arab Spring”<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xii]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gulf countries are, of course, not alone in investing in one of the most liquid real-estate markets, as their share of investments is on par with those from the Chinese, and also the Norwegians through their government-backed pension fund, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds <a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn13" name="_ednref13" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xiii]</a>. Owing partly to the less hospitable atmosphere in the United States following the 9/11 attacks, as well as the deep-rooted ties between the Gulf and the UK, the latter has found a source of bullion. It is with relish that the Mayor of London accentuates the city’s status as the unchallenged holder of the “unofficial title as the ‘eighth emirate’”<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn14" name="_ednref14" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xiv]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Propelled by this resurgence in its upmarket real-estate, this “eighth emirate” has been forced to make a decision on what type of preservation it should turn its back on: the much-loved landscape or the early-20<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10.5px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> century planning ideal that has come to protect much of what still makes Great Britain a mixed land of post-industry and greenery. “Growing up” or “growing out” have been the two alternatives, and the former has been the favored option with demand for high-rises increasing on an annual bases<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn15" name="_ednref15" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xv]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Known largely for investing in the trendier areas of Mayfair where Gulf buyers are estimated to be making 10 per cent of all purchases, money has started to pour across the city with an eye to reap the highest benefits from its recovering housing market<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn16" name="_ednref16" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xvi]</a>. However, not all of this skywards growth is associated with creation of new human environments. The increasing number of “ghost blocks” has been an outspoken phenomenon<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn17" name="_ednref17" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xvii]</a> and with acute housing crisis becoming one of the key talking points for the upcoming general elections in May, there emerges a discrepancy between these new towers of steel and glass and the land upon which they sit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While this special relationship between London and the Gulf continues to receive a helping hand from the Mayor with his occasional trips to the latter region, there seems to be very limited space left for the Prince who would much rather these skylines be built elsewhere: “It would be a tragedy if the character and skyline of our capital city were to be further ruined and St Paul’s dwarfed by yet another giant glass stump, better suited to downtown Chicago than the City of London”<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn18" name="_ednref18" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xviii]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">London’s newly found excitement<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn19" name="_ednref19" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xix]</a> in ushering foreign investment is counterweighed against its attempts of creating “new old neighborhoods” as part of a legacy plan that sits within a much larger framework of its urban desires<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn20" name="_ednref20" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xx]</a>. This sentiment repeats itself in the Gulf, which also grapples with contemporary and contrasting views on urbanism. As new developments in the Gulf continue to mimic Los Angeles or Las Vegas<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn21" name="_ednref21" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxi]</a> more than the Londinium of the Romans, it is difficult to fully explain the rich legacy from which one should expect to draw a different diagram of what “Middle Eastern / Arab / Islamic urbanism” may be. If Richard Rogers is one of today’s most established architects in the UK, Sir Norman Foster’s name will be even more familiar to those in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates; his firm’s work includes the National Bank and the International Airport in the former and the Index Building in the latter. An ideologue by his own definitions, his vision for the future may have been a motivation for his selection by the people behind the Masdar City development in Abu Dhabi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Masdar City, to which the Prince of Wales was once made a patron, is principled on the buzzword of current urban times: “sustainability”. It would be a major mistake to single out Masdar as an outlier in the long Middle Eastern tradition of sustainable architecture and urbanism. The project’s ambitions to create a zero-carbon city with its reduced need for energy and water borrows from a long tradition of effective architectural principles developed around these geographies. The city’s tight and dense grid is a direct response to the Islamic urban principle of narrow streets allowing penetration of light and circulation of air, many examples of which can be found not only in the winding streets of Andalucia in southern Spain but in the historic neighborhoods such as al Bastakiya in Dubai<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn22" name="_ednref22" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxii]</a> — whose famous wind towers motivated the Prince’s calls for preservation, have been interpreted with a modern twist at one of the few buildings, namely the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, that have been realized in what otherwise has been an ill-fated project due to the 2008 financial squeeze<a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_edn23" name="_ednref23" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxiii]</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The question regarding the quality of the urban environments in which we live has, intrinsically, as much to do with the aesthetic principles with which they are built, as it has with what sort of human environments they create and who calls the shots (and how) on who will be experiencing these environments, if anyone at all. Just as the Harris master-plan provided a backbone to what was to follow, the opposite forces now leave significant marks on the capital of the once-protectorate. It may help to let go of foregone titles, in favor of a more consistent dialogue, both within and with one another.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[i]</a> Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, “Breathing Life into Bastakiya and the History of Dubai,” <em style="border: 0px; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The World Post, Huffington Post, </em>August 5, 2010. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sultan-sooud-alqassemi/breathing-life-into-basta_b_488900.html" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sultan-sooud-alqassemi/breathing-life-into-basta_b_488900.html</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[ii]</a> “Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the UAE,” <em style="border: 0px; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">National Pavilion UAE, Venice Architecture Biennale.</em> <a href="http://nationalpavilionuae.org/architecture/2014-2/" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://nationalpavilionuae.org/architecture/2014-2/</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[iii]</a> Stephen J. Ramos, “The Blueprint: A History of Dubai’s Spatial Development Through Oil Discovery,” Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, June 2009.<a href="http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Ramos_-_Working_Paper_-_FINAL.pdf" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Ramos_-_Working_Paper_-_FINAL.pdf</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[iv]</a> Now renamed Al Fahidi Historic District.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[v]</a> “A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the 150<span style="border: 0px; font-size: 10px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace,” May 30, 1984.<a href="http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/speeches/speech-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-150th-anniversary-of-the-royal-institute-of" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/speeches/speech-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-150th-anniversary-of-the-royal-institute-of</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[vi]</a> Robert Booth, “Richard Rogers: ‘Prince Charles wrecked my Chelsea project’,” June 16, 2009.<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jun/16/richard-rogers-prince-charles-architecture" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jun/16/richard-rogers-prince-charles-architecture</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[vii]</a> Sarah Bell, “Prince Charles’s role in battle of Chelsea Barracks,” June 26, 2010.<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10282415" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10282415</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[viii]</a> Jon Henley, “How much of London is owned by Qatar’s royal family?” December 9, 2014.<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/dec/09/london-qatar-royal-family-regents-park-200m-palace-harrods" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/dec/09/london-qatar-royal-family-regents-park-200m-palace-harrods</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[ix]</a> Kate Allen, “Songbird board rejects Canary Wharf bid,” January 12, 2015.<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab9521b4-9a6d-11e4-9602-00144feabdc0.html" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ab9521b4-9a6d-11e4-9602-00144feabdc0.html</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[x]</a> Taher Al-Sharif, “Two-Way Traffic”. July 24, 2013.<a href="http://www.majalla.com/eng/2013/07/article55243729" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.majalla.com/eng/2013/07/article55243729</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xi]</a> Sam Webb, “How wealthy Gulf Arabs are buying up huge swathes of the capital – and now make up a tenth of all buyers in exclusive Mayfair” August 17, 2014. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727212/How-wealthy-Gulf-Arabs-buying-huge-swathes-capital-including-150m-Mayfair-property-year-alone.html" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727212/How-wealthy-Gulf-Arabs-buying-huge-swathes-capital-including-150m-Mayfair-property-year-alone.html</a> (last accessed January 7, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xii]</a> Cahal Milmo and James Cusick, “First Poundbury, now Bahrain: Should Prince Charles really be selling town planning to despots?” May 14, 2013. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/first-poundbury-now-bahrain-should-prince-charles-really-be-selling-town-planning-to-despots-8616371.html" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/first-poundbury-now-bahrain-should-prince-charles-really-be-selling-town-planning-to-despots-8616371.html</a> (last accessed January 20, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref13" name="_edn13" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xiii]</a> Ivana Kottasova, “China and Qatar buying London properties,” November 11, 2014. money.cnn.com/2014/11/11/real_estate/london-real-estate-property/ (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref14" name="_edn14" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xiv]</a> Ben Flanagan, “London mayor expects ‘spacecraft full of bullion’ from Arabian Gulf to land in his city,” February 26, 2015. <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/london-mayor-expects-spacecraft-full-of-bullion-from-arabian-gulf-to-land-in-his-city" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/london-mayor-expects-spacecraft-full-of-bullion-from-arabian-gulf-to-land-in-his-city</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref15" name="_edn15" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xv]</a> Kate Allen, “Forest of luxury flats rises on London’s skyline,” March 15, 2015.<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a4df73e0-c96d-11e4-b2ef-00144feab7de.html#axzz3UZj1Plbj" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a4df73e0-c96d-11e4-b2ef-00144feab7de.html#axzz3UZj1Plbj</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref16" name="_edn16" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xvi]</a> Lucy Barnard, “London counts on safe-haven appeal for Middle East real estate investors,” August 20, 2014. http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/london-counts-on-safe-haven-appeal-for-middle-east-real-estate-investors</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref17" name="_edn17" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xvii]</a> Nicholas Shaxson, “A Tale of Two Londons,” April 2013.<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/style/society/2013/04/mysterious-residents-one-hyde-park-london" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.vanityfair.com/style/society/2013/04/mysterious-residents-one-hyde-park-london</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref18" name="_edn18" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xviii]</a> “A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales…’’ <em style="border: 0px; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ibid</em>. (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref19" name="_edn19" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xix]</a> Rowan Moore, “How a high-rise craze is ruining London’s skyline,” December 2, 2012.<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/dec/02/london-high-rise-craze-ruins-skyline" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/dec/02/london-high-rise-craze-ruins-skyline</a></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref20" name="_edn20" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xx]</a> Ricky Burdett, “The London Olympics – making a ‘piece of city’,” August 1, 2012.<a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/london-olympics-making-piece-of-city-burdett/" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/london-olympics-making-piece-of-city-burdett/</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref21" name="_edn21" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxi]</a> Murray Fraser, and Nasser Golzari (eds.). <em style="border: 0px; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Architecture and Globalisation in the Persian Gulf Region</em>, 2013, p. 21.</span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref22" name="_edn22" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxii]</a> John Lockerbie, “An approach to understanding Islamic urban design,”<a href="http://catnaps.org/islamic/islaurb1.html" style="border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://catnaps.org/islamic/islaurb1.html</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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<span style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.arteeast.org/2015/04/14/lest-the-ground-forgets/#_ednref23" name="_edn23" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">[xxiii]</a> Nicolai Ouroussoff, “In Arabian Desert, a Sustainable City Rises,” September 25, 2010.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/arts/design/26masdar.html?_r=0" style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; color: #39c9ff; font-size: 13.3333320617676px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/arts/design/26masdar.html?_r=0</a> (last accessed March 30, 2015).</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-12076633578286496422015-02-08T00:03:00.001+00:002015-02-08T00:03:50.149+00:00But Capitalism is Realism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I got to learn to love Rothko. I was taught to appreciate Beuys, Baselitz, Balthus. I am not sure if the letter B was a coincidence but it wasn't difficult to fall in love with Bauhaus anyway. I always had a thing for orderly shaped structures. In my first ever visit to Berlin in a cold August day in 2005, the Bauhaus Archiv was amongst my first stops, along with Neuenationalgallerie. The efficient linear geometry must have appealed to what my friends regard as my highly analytical mindset. In Turkish, there are a few sayings on people with perfectly "cornered" (or rather right-angled) attitude/mindset/life view -- they are a bit "thick". And so was I, perhaps. That is why Kandinsky came along rather easy, and so did Malevich (and I am sure this is blasphemous).<br />
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In any case, this is not about throwing in some major 20th century modernist artists names out there to prove a point. It is about the feelings and thoughts that crossed my way today when I went to see the Sigmar Polke exhibition at Tate Modern, on its penultimate day. It wasn't a perfectly planned day and in fact I had no intention to see the exhibition. A former opportunity I had with Z. was quickly replaced by heavy indulgence in cheese and wine at Gordon's Wine Bar. The exhibition's posters had not appealed to us (and in fact, I now think they are poor representations of the contents of the exhibition) and I for one, had almost no information on Polke and his work. Maybe I'd heard his name in passing in one of those Uni. courses where I was taught to appreciate everything Beuys had to offer to the world -- Beuys, whose disciples (and amongst his fierce critics) included Polke himself, of course.<br />
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Today's programme came out of the blue, as well -- or rather out of my wardrobe necessities. If the Argos branch in the Cannon Street Underground Station (yes, there is an Argos on the Underground/Rail Station, which I believe is a good way of utilising some spare storage space) wasn't the only Argos in the vicinity to keep some much-needed wooden hangers in stock, I would have never gotten to write any of this. When my flatmate O. said he'd go see the Polke show and enjoy some fish & chips near Waterloo, I could not think of a better scenario in which I could burn some much needed post-battered cod calories one a journey on the bicycle back via Cannon St. where I could also pick my hangers up... Little did I know, I'd end up indulging myself in deconstructing my own myths on the superiority of the post-war artistic movements, including American take on abstract expressionism, which of course followed from my deepest appreciation of the modernist arts and design movements, at the core of which sat the inter-war period preceding, but not necessarily rendered irrelevant for Polke's references. Wasn't it at Tate Modern, some years ago, I saw works of Otto Dix and others and re-established for the xth time that times of hardships bring about some of the most sincere and sensical pieces of art --- well, all generalisations aside, Polke's 1960s welfare, baby-boomer, West German fuelled art came as a slight refreshment and a cure to a stomach consumed by deep-fried crisp.<br />
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There are a few benefits to studying history and sociology for four years: you know (to some extent) what happened at certain periods of time in certain parts of the world and you can most often find discourses, trends, contexts to link things with one another -- especially if you are a bit "thick" like I am. So, it is of little wonder that I usually enjoy the contextual framework of major art exhibitions the most, and there is as much context as there is history. With some decent descriptive guidance, it is very easy to appease me with any exhibition Tate Modern would put together. </div>
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After that due introduction, I should strive to explain why what I got out of Polke's work was still so significant in its own right: First of all, what I learn from Tate Modern's description of Polke's work and its carefully curated sections that include one on "Modern Art" where he criticises the works of Malevich, Pollock, and the American Pop Art, yet by utilising some of their distinctive forms (and at this point, I have no other guidance into Polke's thinking than what I am reading on the descriptions at the exhibition and what I am seeing), is at least a challenge to some of the artistic values I have been taught to appreciate. Moreover, perhaps, it is one of those great intra-art-scene playfulness that these "great artists" played amongst themselves. Polke, to being with, is hardly outside the establishment, something neither he nor the exhibition has any attempt to disguise. It is his critical approach to what he is dispensed at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf that creates the much celebrated artistic figure by the end of the 1960s. And it is this celebration, amongst what the dawning of the post-war West German society brings to convenience his later departures from the urban, from the mundane, and towards the spiritual (by way of experimentation of drugs, of course).</div>
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Polke's subtle but unsettling relationship with his predecessors and contemporaries and some of my "artistic heroes" is at first satirical. Ridiculing the African interest in early modernist painting, undermining the t-square is all entertaining and provocative but, as can be expected, Polke is very much moved by the very tools of the great works and he is no short of implementing similar methodologies both during his earlier and later years. What is most impressive is his experimentation with new methods -- whether that be unique materials deployed on his canvases, or the break away from the standard canvas as we know it -- yet Polke's outputs, as compared to his contemporaries has but got the thinnest boundaries to tell them apart.</div>
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The crux of my unexpected date with Polke is how I seemed to find myself appreciate the methodologically subtle but visually strong response Polke had to his contemporaries, which, in turn becomes his own undoing. Polke, in my opinion, is another one of those great post-modern artists before the dawn of post-modernity and is a great modernist long after modern movements (as we know them, in this geography) have been abandoned. Not that Polke has any claim to any of these entitlements anyway (my information is solely based on information boards and the curation with which I am made to appreciate his work) -- the artist seems to have successfully avoided unnecessary publicity.</div>
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What is left, then, is all the emotions one goes through when you see the progression from his small-scale drawings and sketches of the early 1960s, to reach levels of certain transcendence in 1970s and depiction of paths beaten to Afghanistan and Pakistan and engagements with peoples and produce of a new geography and semi-experimental videos to gigantic canvases spanning East-West German borders to Papua New Guinea. And as personal as they are, how I took in all of that is much harder to describe and share --- for all I know, the more accommodating I become in my own fallacies, the wider the spectrum becomes. Polke certainly gave me a good nudge with that.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-14425339449991009812014-06-17T23:23:00.001+01:002014-06-17T23:23:20.499+01:00Kucuk parklar ve kocaman yurekler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bugun ogleden sonra bu ufak parkta, bankta oturuyordum. Tesvikiye'nin ortasinda, yani basindaki yuksek yogunluklu mahalle sakinlerinin nefes alabildigi parkta. Cocuklar top oynarken, yanimdaki teyze pasajdaki caycidan bana kahve ismarlamayi teklif etmis ISID'in nasil bir orgut oldugunu soruyordu. Kurtler'i anmadiysa da Turkmenler kadar Aleviler'in de aci cektiginden bahsederek... Otoyollarin kenarindaki yesilliklere mahrum birakilmayacak kadar eski, yogun ve zengin bir muhitten bahsediyoruz elbette.<br />
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Dun aksam eve donerken ise aklimda su soru vardi: Istanbul'daki yesil alanlarin duzgun bir envanteri cikarilamaz mi? Bundan kastim yalnizca planlarda 'yesil alan' olarak gorunen yerler degil elbette - yol kenari peyzajlari, betona donusmus parklar ya da asosyal kamu alanlarini kapsayan degil, gozlemler, anketler, etrafindaki orulu bolge ve ulasim aglari ile birlikte kullanim odakli bir envanter...<br />
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Gelgelelim bu aksama. Merter'de ufacik bir park olan 29 Ekim Parki'ndayiz. Yanibasindaki 3M Migros'un yaklasik 3te biri bir alana yayilmis, kentin en onemli 2 (yakinda 3 olacak) karayolu arterlerinden birinin dibinde, hafif metro koprulerinin altinda bir park. Gerginlestirilmis perdeye Can Dundar'in yonettigi 'Gozdagi' belgeseli yansitiliyor. 55 dakika icerisinde, Gezi Direnisi'nin ilk 48 saatinde gozlerini yitiren 6 genc uzerinden siddetin devlet eliyle kamusallastirilmasini irdeliyor Can Dundar. 'Goz' betimlemeleri ile aciliyor Can Dundar'in kendi anlatimiyla seslendirdigi belgesel.<br />
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'Gozumuzun onunde bulunan bir parkta' 'Halkin direnisinin goze batmasi' gibi betimlemeler kadar ilk 48 saati anlatiyor olmasi da Can Dundar'in, hassasiyet dahilinde bir manidarlik iceriyor.Iktidarin surekli olarak 'ilk 2 gunden sonra isin icine siddet unsurlari girdi' demesi, ilk 2 gun gerceklesen akilalmaz siddeti manasizlastirirken, ilk 2 gunde gozlerini, uzuvlarini, hayatlarini kaybedenlerin acilarinin dinmeye vakit dahi bulamadigi muteakip gunlerde yasanan (ve o gunlerde Iktidar'in iceri sizarak kiskirttigini Gezi'de fiziksel olarak bulunmus hepimizin gozlemledigi) karsilikli siddet iceren unsurlari da tartismanin merkezine oturttugu o cirkin anlatidan da bir adim geri atip, ilk gunlerdeki enerji ve odak noktasini tekrar animsatmaya calisiyor Can Dundar.<br />
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Bununla ilgili olarak da utangac bir tavri yok kendisinin. Gosterimden sonraki aciklama ve sorulara verdigi cevaplarda tutarli, akilci ve samimi konusuyor Can Dundar. Acikcasi Gezi sonrasi yalnizlastigini, yalnizlastikca da romantik olarak etkisizlestigini dusundugum Can Dundar'a karsi onyargiya sahip oldugumu hissediyorum. Esasinda Park'taki gosterim ortaminin (55 dakikalik gosterim boyunca surekli alkis, yuhalama ve tezahuratlarla izlenen bir filmden bahsediyoruz) da eslik ettigi bir ruh halindrn bahsediyoruz. Can Dundar'in niyeti unuttugumuz birlikteligimizin gucunu tekrar hatirlamak ve park park gosterimlerde, Forum'larda potansiyel enerjimizi animsamak.<br />
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Bu hususta gosterimlerin yalnizca park ve salonlarda toplu halde yapilma amacini akilci buluyorum. Tabii siklikla ifade edilen 'tefeciye tefe satmak' riskleri ile bu enerjinin sindirilmesi riskini es gecmeyerek. Seyircilerden biri soruyor: 'Gezi'de Iktidar hazirsizlikti, artik her tepkiyi ezebiliyor. Peki bundan sonra nasil hareket edecegiz?' Can Dundar, toplumsal ve orgutsel muhalefete inaniyor.<br />
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Benim de inandigim bir kac metod var, konusup, tartisip uygulamaya gecirmek icin efor sarfedilebilecek. O meshur 'dinlemek istemeyenlerle nasil iletisecegiz?' sorusuna yanit olabilecek. Bunlardan biri, yasadigimiz sehri enine boyuna daha iyi tanimak olabilir mi? Forumlarin bunu sosyal boyutta bir nebze yaptigina eminim ama planci, mimar ve tasarimcilara da cok is dustugu kesin. Sokaga cikmayi hatirladik ya, neye sahip oldugumuzu veya neyin eksik kaldigini da kagit uzerinden degil, sokaklarda, parklarda, mahalle aralarinda anlamaya, anlatmaya ihtiyacimiz var. O parklari, o mahalleleri korumak icin gozlerini kaybedip bu aksam gosterimde bizleri yalniz birakmayanlarin istegi de bu yonde - buna istersek 'borc' diyelim, istersek 'dayanismanin dayanilmaz hafifligi'...<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-39291988860445851322014-04-01T13:55:00.000+01:002014-04-01T13:55:01.476+01:0030 Mart 2014 Yerel Secimleri, Elektrik Kesintileri ve Cekismeli Iller<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">AKP secimi hangi illerde yakin goturuyordu, elektrikler nerelerde kesildi ve bunun sonuclara ne gibi etkileri olmus olabilir?! </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />Oncelikle su bilgileri gecelim: veritabanimiz iller bazinda Buyuksehir ve Merkez Ilce Belediye oylarindan olusmakta. Yani, ilce ve sandik ozelinde yasandigi iddia edilen usulsuzlukleri yakalamak icin cok buyuk bir olcekteyiz (sandik ve ilce verilerini Excel formatinda paylasabilen olursa, ona da bakabiliriz).</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />Ayrica, 'elektrik kesilen' iller verimiz de Twitter'da dolasan ve 21 ili kapsayan haritaya, Zaman ve Hurriyet Gazeteleri'nden okudugumuz makalelerde ismi gecen 3 ilin daha eklenmesiyle olusan 24 illik bir liste. Bu illerde ne zaman, ne kadar sureligine, tam olarak nerelerde ve neden elektrik kesildigi ise muamma olmakla birlikte, calismamizin spekulatif etkisini pek artirmakta.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />Ve dolayisiyla ne gorduk (ya da ne goremedik?): Asagidaki haritalarda ozetlendigi haliyle, elektrik kesintisi ile iller bazinda oy oynamalarinin cok da etkili olmadigini gorduk. O halde buyurun bakalim haritalarimiz ne diyor...<br /><br />Anekdotlar esliginde, 30 Mart 2014 Yerel Secimleri'nin yapildigi gun 24 adet ilde elektrik kesintilerinin olduguna dair bir bilgi edindik (Harita 1'deki siyah renge boyanmis iller).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">AKP'nin, iller bazinda yarisi basabas goturdugu illeri tespit ettik. AKP'nin kazanmis ya da kaybetmis olsun, ilk 2'ye girdigi ve en yakin rakibiyle arasindaki farkin en fazla %1 (koyu), %3 (orta) veya %5 (acik) oldugu illeri, 'sicak iller' ('saibeli iller' diyeni de var) belirledik (Harita 2).</span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nb494IasSD4/Uzq2vM3nVoI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/9bSMxpzE6nM/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nb494IasSD4/Uzq2vM3nVoI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/9bSMxpzE6nM/s1600/2.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Daha sonra elektrik kesilen iller ile AKP'nin secimi yakin goturdugu illeri gosterip (Harita 3),<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTg0U2zkXkU/Uzq2vBS-UZI/AAAAAAAAB2M/Z1IjUfJwjoU/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTg0U2zkXkU/Uzq2vBS-UZI/AAAAAAAAB2M/Z1IjUfJwjoU/s1600/3.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Esasinda AKP'nin bu illerden kazandigi (ya da kazandigi soylendigi) yegane 2 il olan Ankara ve Ardahan'i goruyoruz (Harita 4).</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vviCWVaVgA/Uzq2vFIXlaI/AAAAAAAAB2U/8QGR0BkiuK0/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vviCWVaVgA/Uzq2vFIXlaI/AAAAAAAAB2U/8QGR0BkiuK0/s1600/4.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Son olarak da, AKP'nin ilk 2'de bulundugu 77 ilde en yakin rakibi ile olan net oy farklarinin %10 oldugu (eksi ya da arti) 32 ildeki oy ortalamalarini alip, bunu elektriklerin kesildigi ve kesilmedigi iller arasinda karsilastirdik. Elektriklerin kesilmedigi yerlerden, elektrigin kesildigi yerlere dogru AKP'nin yarattigi oy farkinda pozitif bir egim olup, bunun 'statistically significant' olup olmadigina baktik. Tabii ki, herhangi bir significance'a ragmen, oy kaymalarini sadece elektrige baglayamayiz, ama daha derin bir analiz yapmak icin de elimizde yeteri veri yoktu. Sonuc olarak bu analizde de gorduk ki, her ne kadar elektrik kesilmeyen illerde 0.7%lik bir oy farki ile kaybediyor, ve kesildigi yerlerde %0.6 ile kazaniyor, dolayisiyla elektrik kesintisi oy ortalamasinda + yonde %1.3luk bir oynamaya tekabul ediyor gorunse de, bu averajlardaki farkin istatistiksel olarak 'significant' oldugunu goremiyoruz. Bununla ilgili 32 ilde, AKP'nin kazandigi ve kaybettigi 16sar il ve elektriklerin kesik oldugu 9 ve olmadigi 23 il arasindaki oy farklari da bir sonraki calismaya....</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-46670980395841968232014-03-29T18:19:00.001+00:002014-03-29T18:19:44.879+00:002014 Yerel Secim Notlari III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Secimler oncesi son mesajim ve atamayacagim oyumun rengi:<br /><br />Sirri Sureyya Onder'in konusmalari hakkinda paylasacagim dedim yorumlari paylasmak icin bir turlu vaktim olmadi. Onu da derinlemesine paylasmadan genel yorumlar biraz haksizlik olacak aslinda. Hem vakit darligindan, hem de dinlemesi en kolay ve keyifli olan Sirri Sureyya oldugu icin heralde bir turlu gerceklesmedi bu eyler, ama bir yandan <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">da hepimizin en cok ve yakindan takip ettigi aday oldugu icin umarim bu istisna mazur gorulebilir.<br /><br />Daha once IBB icin 3 onemli aday hakkinda da 3er tane onemli arti ve eksi gozlemlerimi derledigim bir ufak not hazirlamistim, onu paylasmak faydali olabilir. Esasinda, belli konu basliklari altinda kentsel politikalarin karsilastirildigi bir yazi yazmak isterdim fakat bu cok guc: Birinci nedeni, Kadir Topbas disindaki adaylarin genel olarak konularin icini dolduracak kadar veri saglamiyor olmalari. Sirri Sureyya Onder (ve Pinar Aydinlar) yerel yonetimin siyasi felsefesi disinda yerel secimlere dair hicbir bulgu paylasmiyorlar. Sarigul'un projelerini de tutarli ve manali bir butunun parcasi olarak ele almak zor. Halihazirda iyiden iyiye genel secim havasina burunmus (yalniz bu ilk degil, her genel secimin yerel secim, ve yerel secimin genel secim gibi tartisildigini unuttuk sanki) bu ortamda, isin halen 'yerel' boyutunu da gozeten su yorum/sorulari paylasmak istiyorum:<br /><br />Sarigulculer:<br />+Oy oranlarina gore AKP hegemonyasini kiracak en guclu adayin Sarigul oldugu malum. CHP ve Sarigul ozelinde oy vermek isteyenler disinda, Sarigul'e gidecek oylarin onemli bir kismi bu sebepten gelecek.<br />+Sarigul, Sisli'de 38%, 65%, ve 56% oylarla 3 donem secilmis bir Baskan. Genis kitlelerden oy aliyor, yaptiklari islerin cogu onemli destek goruyor. 15 yildir Belediye yonetiyor, hirsli, caliskan bir siyasetci (her ne kadar bunun kotu yanli egilimlerini gozlemlemis olsak da).<br />+Beyanlarina gore, isin uzmani danismanlarla calisacak ve Belediye Meclisi'nde tek basina hareket etmeyecek (ilce belediye baskan adaylarinin belirlenmesinde oynadigi etkin rolun hem bir pazarlik, hem de bu sebepten oldugunu da dusunebiliriz).<br />Fakat,<br />-Gozlemledigimiz kadariyla katildigi programlarda duzinelerce verisel (hem de cok basit) hatalar aktariyor, anlattigi projelere hakim bir goruntu cizmiyor ve bunlari genel bir cerceveye oturtmak cok zor.<br />-Orgutsel (Parti) sicili zayif, dolayisiyla uzerinde vurgu yaptigi takim oyunu / katilimci (vatandas anlaminda olmasa da) ya da hesap verilebilirlik/seffaflik konusunda guvenilirligi kusku verici.<br />-Gezi'de nerelerdeydi? Cemaat'e ne kadar ve ne acilardan yakin? Sosyal demokratliktan gercekten ne anliyor? Bu gibi daha genis sorular ise zaten cogu kuskucunun en cok sordugu sorular.<br /><br />Sirri Sureyyacilar:<br />+Sarigul'e de, Topbas'a da verdigi yanitlar muntazam, bilgili ve yerinde. Cok iyi bir muhalefetci oldugu gercek. 2011 secimlerinden beri de TBMM'de aktif ve coklukla neredeyse fanatizm derecesine varilan bir destek gordugu bir muhalefet izliyor ve genel siyasetin tekduze ve sikici (ve en onemlisi de, icine kapanik) resmini biraz degistiriyor.<br />+Gezi'de, yaptiklari kahramanliklarin yaninda, 2011'de secildigi secim cevresi olan Istanbul 2. Bolge vatandaslariyla birlikte hareket eden, MV olup da gercekten secildigi secim bolgesinde siyaset icra eden az sayidan biri.<br />+HDP'nin katilimci, ileri goruslu, tabana yayilan siyasi bildirgesinin temsilcisi. Siyasi felsefe baglaminda gorusleri tutarli ve samimi.<br />-Yerel yonetimlerde tecrubesi yok ve bu onemsiz bir baslik degil. Esbaskan adayi Pinar Aydinlar'in bu konudaki sicili daha da zayif.<br />-AKP-B/HDP gorusmeleri, Ocalan'in niyeti ve HDP'nin ortaya cikis zamanlamasi kusku uyandirici. Ocalan-AKP gorusmeleri disinda Kurt Hareketi'ni temsil eden bir siyasi acilimin gorunurde var olmuyor olmasi, ve HDP'nin ozellikle bu konuya vurgu yapiyor olmasi icinde tutarsizliklar barindiriyor.<br />-Istanbul'u, anlattigi ideoloji baglaminda yonetmesi imkansiz ve bu sadece karsisinda Ankara olacagi icin de degil. Kaldi ki, fikirsel altyapi ile, olasi siyasi ortaklari/calisma arkadaslari ile nasil bir uyum saglayacagi uzerine de suphe uyandiracak hareketleri oldu.<br /><br />Topbascilar:<br />+Lami cimi yok, belediye baskan adaylari arasinda konuyu en iyi bilen (en iyi uygulayan demiyorum) Topbas. Sunumlarini dinlerken de, itiraz edilip karsisina gecilebilecek (ki cokca madde var) en rahat aday -- bunda iktidar olmasinin getirdigi dogal bir durum da var.<br />+10 yildir Istanbul'un basinda, 5 yil da Beyoglu'ndaydi, oncesinde de Erdogan'a danismanlik yapti. "Territory"sini biliyor. Her ne kadar cogumuz hakim olmasak/sevmesek de, yonettigi 14 milyon nufusluk cografyada bir cok bolgeye, ve o bolgede yasayanlara hakim.<br />+Halen, toplumun onemli bir kismindan destek alabilen bir siyasetci.<br />-Erdogan'in gudumunden cikamiyor. Erdogan'in gidici oldugunu dusunsek bile, yapilmis tahribat ve yapilacak tahribat yeteri kadar zayif bir karne olusturuyor. Bir onceki maddede + hanesinde olan toplumun bir kismina yakinliginin aksine, onemli bir kismi ise onun (veya partisi) icin sadece birer istatistiksel veri. Ozellikle, anlami hicbir sekilde doldurulmayan "kentsel donusum" projelerinde de goruldugu gibi, insan odakli kentlesme cozumlerinden cok uzak, buyuk projelerin altinda imzasi var.<br />-Kurdugu IMP'yi (ki kadrosunda zayifliklar da vardi) koruyacak kadar dahi isin arkasinda duramadi. IBB'nin daire mudurleri sadece "evet efendim"cilerle dolu ve kadrolasma konusunda da derin supheler uyandirdi. Bir takim lideri ya da oyuncusu goruntusunu veremiyor.<br />-Gezi hakkinda en ufak bir olumlu cikarim dahi yapmayan (yapmaktan itina eden) birinden, bundan sonraki donemde farkli bir tavir beklenebilir mi?<br /><br />Genel gozlemlere donecek olursak:<br /><br />Tayyip Erdogan'in uluslararasi arenada kredisi tukenmistir. Kendisi, er ya da gec gidecektir. Bu secimde Istanbul ve Ankara'yi kaybetse dahi gitmeyebilir (ama surec hizlanabilir), ama mutlaka gidecegi asikar. Cumhurbaskani olamayacak ve 2015 Genel Secimleri'nde agir bir darbe alirsa, layikiyla son bulacak hukumranligi. AKP giderken arkasinda cok ciddi bir iktisadi, siyasi ve toplumsal enkaz birakacak. Bu enkazi toparlamak kolay olmayacak ve Yerel'de de, Genel'de de, ciddi calismalar gerektirecek. Ama Yerel yonetimler de simdiki secimle temeli atilan olusumlarin 2015'ten sonra cok onemli bir teskil edecegini lutfen unutmayalim.<br /><br />Soyle dusunelim: Belediye Baskan ve Meclisi (Ilce), en yakin cevremizi duzenleyen kurumlardir. Buyuksehir Belediye Baskani ise, Belediye uyelerinden olsan Meclis'i ve buyuksehiri idare eden bir koordinatordur. Bunlarin arasindaki uyum, Ankara ile olan uyum kadar onemlidir ve bahsi gecen enkaz calismalari yapilirken, en az Genel politikalar kadar onem arz edecektir.<br /><br />Bu yuzden, yarin Istanbul'da verilecek 3 oyun 3'u de birbiriyle baglantili olarak ve birbirinden bagimsiz olarak onemli:<br />1. Belediyelerinizde, Meclis uyeligi icin fikirlerini savundugunuz, desteklediginiz partilere oy verin.<br />2. Belediye Baskanlari icin, adaylarinizi tekrar gozden gecirin ve lutfen hem benimsediginiz adaya, hem de partisiyle birlikte, Buyuksehir Belediye Meclisi'nde temsiliyetinin onemli oldugunu dusundugunuz partiye oy verin. Bu ikisi ayni partiyi gostermiyorsa, aradaki secimi dikkatli yapin.<br />3. Buyuksehir Belediye Baskani icin ise, 1. ve 2. maddelerde oy verdiginiz kisilerin (tum Belediye Baskanlari ve Belediye Meclisleri'nin 5te 1 uyeleri) olusturacagi bir Buyuksehir Belediye Meclisi'ni yurutmesini dilediginiz kisiye oy verin.<br /><br />1. madde vereceginiz en onemli oy! Evet, 3. madde (Buyuksehir Belediye Baskani) degil, cunku 1. maddedeki oy, ne olursa olsun bos olmayan bir oy. Hem yerel Belediyenizi, hem de Meclis'ten Buyuksehir'e gidecek adayi, hem de "Turkiye genelinde yerel secim sonuclari" dendiginde 31 Mart'ta da, 2015 Genel Secimleri'nde de, donup bakildiginda istatistik ve toplumsal algi olarak onem arz edecek oy o. "Secimlerde guclu bir HDP istatistigi olsa fena mi olur" diyenlerin oyu da o, "AKP'nin oy kaybina ugradigini gormeliyiz" diyenlerin oyu da o. Lutfen, oylari ve sonuclari birbirine karistirmayalim.<br /><br />2. madde vereceginiz oy belki de aralarindaki en zayif halka. Hem halihazirda bir cok ilcede baskan olacaklar belli, hem de bu oy istatistiksel olarak daha az sey ifade edecek.<br /><br />Gelelim 3. maddeye: Sarigul veya Topbas'a verilmedigi surece malesef sonucta etkisi olmayacak olan oy (bu, malesef, basit ve dogru bir istatiksel bir gercek)!<br /><br />Iste bu yuzden ben Sisli Belediyesi'nde oy verebiliyor olsaydim oylarim su yonde olacakti:<br /><br />Belediye Meclisi - HDP; cunku her ne kadar HDP ile ilgili bazi suphelerim duruyor olsa da, Buyuksehir Belediye Meclisi'nde olasi HDP'li uyelerin nasil siyaset izleyeceklerini gormek istiyorum. HDP'nin Turkiye'deki siyasi aktorlerden biri olmasini, en azindan onumuzdeki kisa vadede gormek istiyorum. HDP'nin Sisli meclis uye adaylarindan <a aria-haspopup="true" aria-owns="js_74" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=553650460&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/larafresko" id="js_75" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Lara</a>'yi destekliyorum).<br /><br />Belediye Baskani - Uzgunum ama yanitim yok, oy veremeyecegimi bildigim icin adaylari inceleyemedim dahi.<br /><br />Buyuksehir Belediye Baskani - Cok uzun fikir teatileri, git-gel'lerden sonra oyumu Mustafa Sarigul'e verirdim. Sunu eklemeliyim; Sarigul'e verirken var olan supheler kadar, Sirri'ya verilecek bir oyda da suphelerim olacakti (yaris Sarigul/Topbas degil, Sarigul/Onder arasinda olsaydi).<br /><br />Bu kadar kamplasmis bir siyasi ortamda, icinde AKP, HDP, CHP ve olacaksa diger parti uyelerinin de oldugu bir Buyuksehir Belediye Meclisi'nin olusmasini temenni ediyorum. Ozellikle Gezi surecinden beri devam eden kentlesme uzerine olan tartismalarin devam etmesini, tabanda baslayan, Forumlarda sekillenen calismalarin surmesini, Meclis uyelerinin attigi imzalarin, toplanti notlarinin paylasilmasini, tartisilmasini, su doneme kadar tartistigimiz, konustugumuz, one surdugumuz fikir ve onerilerin canli kalmasini diliyorum. Gezi surecinde 'Belediye Meclisleri'ne adaylar belirleyelim', ya da bir parti uyesinin dedigi gibi 'amac aslinda Meclis'te muhalefette olmak' gibi mutevazi gorulebilecek ama cok onemli amaclarin sonuca ulasabilmesini diliyorum.<br /><br />Unutmayalim ki, 31 Mart'ta cok farkli bir Turkiye'ye uyanmayacagiz (olayi romantize edecek gazetecilere, ve Borsa'da olacak kisa donemli oynamalara aldanmayalim). Yerel secimler her seyi degistirmeyecek, ama belki bazi sureclere etkide bulunacak. Aslinda bu secimler oncesinde gereginden fazla mesai yaptik ama bundan dolayi yakinmaktansa, bundan elde edilen kazanimlari ileri goturebildigimiz yeni bir doneme...<br /><br />Yarin oy kullanacak ve ozellikle de oy sayiminda bulunacak herkese sevgilerle...</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-50983053324179397462014-03-19T16:23:00.003+00:002014-03-19T16:37:37.467+00:002014 Yerel Secim Notlari II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Kadir Topbas’in, CNN Turk Bastan Sona, 14 Mart
2014 tarihli programindan edindigim izlenimler su sekilde:</div>
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Genel gozlemler:<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Topbas’in, Sarigul’un adini aciklamadan, Sn. Aday diye
bahsetmesi, Erdogan’in da yaptigi (ve AKP’nin kamu iletisimcilerinin
kendilerine tembihledigi gibi) cok samimiyetsiz bir durus.<br />
- Bu program boyunca da malesef, zayif ve konuya hakim olmayan gazetecilerin
yonlendirmesi ile, cok daha kapsamli olabilecek bir tartisma, bircok acidan
guduk kaldi. Ornegin, “Istanbul’un en buyuk sorunu ulasim der herkes”
minvalinde yapilan aciklamalar, “herkes”in yalnizca belirli bir zumreden ibaret
oldugu gercegini ortbas etmemeli. Bu programda da, ‘ulasim’, ‘yesil’ vb..
konular ana basliklar olarak konusulur ve halen anlamini doldurmadan
kullandigimiz ‘kentsel donusum’ ara sicak olarak servis edilirken, ‘konut’ gibi
belki de tum kentlerin en onemli basliklarindan biri, nedense ancak ve ancak
‘yapilasma’ basliginin altinda teget olarak incelenmekte.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Topbas, Baskan olmanin da getirdikleriyle, bekledigimden
de sakin ve soyledikleri hakkinda kendinden emin bir durus sergiliyor, ama bu
isin arka yuzunde, Erdogan’in politikalarindan sapamayan bir Buyuksehir
Belediye Baskani oldugunu dusundukce, durumun vahameti daha da fazla beliriyor.
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Kampanyanin genel gidisati hakkinda:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Baskanlik sorumlulugunu kabul ederek, ve Istanbul’un
modernlesen bir sehir oldugunu iddia ederek, son donemdeki gelismelerin
(sokaklarin) kaygi verici oldugunu ve bundan nemalanmak isteyenlerin
tetikledigini soylerken, secmenin ve halkin sokakta olaylari kabul etmeyecegini
iddia ediyor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Gezi Parki olaylarini, bir onceki Kasim’da baslayan yol
insaatlarinin uzantisi olarak gorerek, burada yapilacak bir olasi AVM’yi
gormezden geliyor (Topbas, her ne kadar icinden bunun aksini dusunuyor/istiyor
olsa da, Erdogan’in ‘oraya ne olursa olsun AVM yapacagim’ dedigini unutmusa
benziyor. Bu en iyi ihtimalle bir unutkanlik, ama muhtemelen inkar veya algi
yonlendirme – nedense program yurutuculeri Erdogan’in aciklamalarini Topbas’a
sormadan Ismet Berkan konuyu degistirdi).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buyuksehir’in yetkileri ve pratikleri:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Topbas, burada, daha once kendisinin sikinti hissettigini
de soyledigi, Ankara’nin karisma isinden gene sikayetci oldugunu belirtirken,
bunlarin merkezi hukumetin kamu yararina yaptigi projeler oldugunu, ve
itirazlarin ise ilce belediyelerince yapilmadigini soyluyor. Teknik olarak
dogru olsa dahi, Sarigul’un de kendisine yonelttigi, bunlarla neden bir Baskan
olarak yakindan ilgilenmedigi sorusunun yaniti cevapsiz kaliyor. Bu
elestirisini de Sisli’ye yonlendirmesi, zaten manidar. Gel gor ki, Topbas’in
bahsettigi “ilce belediyeleri isterse Bakanlik tasarruflarini yargiya goturur”
zaten halihazirda Mimarlar ve Plancilar Odalari’nin siklikla basvurdugu ve
Turkiye’de islemeyen bir surec (yargi kararlari verilene kadar genelde projeler
coktan baslamis oluyor). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- 0 kodu ile yaptigi onergeleri, Akif Beki ve Ismet Berkan,
Ali Sami Yen arazisine yoruyor, ama konuya biraz hakim olanlar, 4. Levent ve
Maslak’taki gokdelen yapilanmalarinda, emsalin uzerinde insaat yapabilmek icin
proje yuruten yatirimcilardan bahsedildigini anlayacaktir. Ironik olan su ki,
Topbas, CHP’li Besiktas ve Sisli Belediyeleri’ne gonderme yaparken, projelerin
sahipleri olan yatirimcilarin (Kiler vb..), AKP ile olan iliskilerini gormezden
geliyor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buyuksehir’in sevaplari ve gunahlari:<br />
- “16/9 bizim hatamiz” ozelestirisi yapiliyor. Hata, stratejik ve mekansal
planlama bazinda ele aliniyor ama her nedense yogunluk ve arazi verileri ele
alindiginda bahsi gecen turde bir projenin ne kadar yuksek binalarla
uygulanabilecegi ve bu uygulamanin Tarihi Yarimada silueti uzerindeki potansiyel
etkisinin anlasilamayacagi tezini uretiyor Topbas. Kendisine hatirlatmak
gerekir ki, Barcelona’da da, Londra’da da (ve daha bircok tarihi sehirde),
projeyi muaf tuttugu ‘gorus acisi analizleri’ siklikla yapilmaktadir. Hatta,
Bogazici Imar Kanunu ve koruma kurallari da bu ilkelerle hazirlanmistir ki,
Zeytinburnu – Sultanahmet iliskisini bundan muaf tutmak kesinlikle abesttir.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Tapeler’e referans vererek, tapeler’in dogrulugunu da
teyit etmesi enteresandi.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ulusal olcekte onem arz eden projeler:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Haydarpasa’da IBB’nin Ulastirma Bakanligi (ve TCDD) ile
imzalanmis olan Protokol’e gonderme yapiyor Topbas. 2000’de Haydarpasa-Kadikoy
icin duzenlenip, sonuclari kaale alinmayan tasarim yarismasina deginmiyor bile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gezi Parki ve Taksim Meydani:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Gene teknik olarak hakli bir mevzuda, Buyuksehir Belediye
Meclisi uyelerinin islevsizliginden dem vuruyor Topbas. Fakat bu islevsizlige
gelen surecin nasil gelistigini de dusunmekte fayda var. Her halukarda, bu
savin isaret ettigi bir gerceklik var: mumkunse Buyuksehir Belediye Meclisi’nde
muhalif olabilecek, ve bu muhalefeti vatandasla paylasacak kisi/kisilere
muhakkak ihtiyac var (iktidarin hangi partide oldugundan bagimsiz olarak ifade
ediyorum); ki, bu Gezi sonrasi tartismalarda da sikca konusulan bir konuydu.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Gene bu hususta, IBB’nin verdigi planlara atif yaparken
Topbas, nedense gene planlarda olmayan 3. Kopru’den veya Erdogan’in “oraya AVM
dikecegiz” soyleminden kesinlikle bahsetmiyor bile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Olaylarda IBB’nin mallarinin ve calisanlarinin aldigi
zararlardan bahsetme dilinin Melih Gokcek’in tavirlarindan hic bir farki yok.<br />
- Taksim Meydani’na halen yesil konulmamasini savunmasi, malesef uzucu ve komik
– ama bir yandan da Istanbul’daki butun mimarlik fakulteleri icin iyi ve basit
bir case study. Dokunulmamis, temiz bir calisma alani (ironik).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taksiler:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Taksi araclarinin uretimi veya uretilecek araclarla ilgili
mevzuatla birlikte, suruculerin (Londra’daki gibi) gececekleri egitim/sinav ve
sertifikasyon programi ile ilgili proje fikirlerini aktariyor. Bu satirlari
okuyan cogu kisiyi (ben dahil) fazla ilgilendirmedigini dusunmesem de, taksiler
ve duraklar hakkinda boylesi detayli aciklamalar yapmasi da ilginc; fakat
mevcut baskan olmasi da, konusmanin geri kalaninda oldugu gibi burada da fark
yaratiyor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
IBB Projeleri, Muteahhitleri ve Taseronlari:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- 10 yilda 1,448 adet proje yapilmis. Baskan, muteahitlerle
gorusmez, ihale sonuclari hakkinda bilgi sahibi olurmus. Sirri Sureyya Onder’in
iddiasina gore projeleri 8-10 muteahitler gerceklestirirken (heralde buyuk
projeleri kastetmisti), Topbas, beklendigi gibi bunlari yalanliyor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Mahmutbey-Kabatas metrosunun simdiki ihalede neden Mecidiyekoy’de
bitirildigini aciklarken, Besiktas bolgesinde tarihi eserlerden dolayi sorun
cikabilecegini, bu kismi daha sonra tekrar ihale edeceklerini soyluyor.<br />
- Projelerdeki ihlallerin tamamiyle denetlenemeyecegini soyler ve en kaliteli
islerin cikarilmasi icin efor sarfettigini soylerken, her nedense (ozellikle
Erdogan’in her seyle ilgilendigini dusunursek) pek de inandirici gelmiyor.<br />
- Taseronlarin calisma kosullari ile ilgili topu Calisma Bakani’na atiyor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
AVM cilginligi ve yuksek yapilar:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Dunyada kentli ve kirsal nufusun esitlenmesi ve
kentlesmenin hizla devamindan dem vurarak, ve Paris ve Londra’dan ornekler
vererek, yuksek yapilarin belli boyutlarda ve bolgelerde yapilabilecegini
aktarirken Maslak, Atasehir ve Kartal’i adres gosteriyor. <br />
<br />
Istanbul’da planlama:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- 1/100.000lik Masterplan’a gonderme yaparak, bu planin
yururlukte oldugunu, ve plani hazirlayan IMP’nin, plani hazirlama gorevini
tamamladigi icin kapandigini soylerken, 2 onemli noktayi atliyor goz gore gore:
1. Masterplan’in bircok maddesine sadik kalinmiyor (ve Masterplan’da Kopru,
Havalimani konularina da Sarigul’de degindik) ve IMP de sadece Masterplan’i
hazirlamasi icin olusturulmus bir yapi degildi (ki, zaten Trakya Bolge Plani’ni
hazirlamis olmasindan bahsederken IMP’nin baska gorevleri oldugunu da acik
ediyor – zaten, IMP kapatilmis olsa da, orada calisan bircok arkadas belli
gorevlere devam ediyor. IMP’nin kapatilma hikayesi de tamamen Erdogan’in,
boylesi bir kurumu (Topbas’a danismanlik edecek) istememesinden
kaynaklaniyordu).<br />
- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Derken Topbas (daha sonra Sarigul
programinda da bahsedildigi gibi), planlara konulmayan Havalimani ve Kopru’nun
ranti engellemek icin oldugunu soyledi. Bu, dogru olamayacagi gibi, bu tur
riskleri engelleyebilmenin yollari zaten var.<br />
<br />
Ulasim:<br />
- Sarigul’un de bahsettigi yogun metro yatiriminin diger kentlerde devlet
tarafindan yapildigini, Istanbul’un belediye imkanlari ile yaptigi yatirimlarin
tek ornek oldugunu iddia ediyor.<br />
- Bedava otobus ulasim politikalarina, ‘yasal olmadigi’ gerekcesiyle karsi
cikiyor. Bir yandan hakli oldugu gibi, ayni zamanda bedava su dagitan CHPli
Osman Ozguven de hala hatrimizda. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- “Her Yerde Metro, Her Yere Metro” prensibini surdurup,
havaray vb. yatirimlarin gercekci olmadigini iddia ediyor. Gene Sarigul
yazisinda metro uzerine de daha kapsamli bir tartisma yapilmasi gerektiginden
bahsetmistik.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Ulasim hizmetlerinin yerel yonetimler tarafindan
yurutulmesini istedigini, Marmaray hizmetinin de IBB tarafindan yurutulmesini
savundugunu belirtiyor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Deniz tasimaciligi hakkinda hakli ve haksiz oldugu
noktalar var: evet, insanlar denize inmezlerse, denizden ulasimi kullanmazlar.
Ama bir yandan da, Bogazici’nde mevcut Bogaz Hatti’nin islevi cok dusuk. Avrupa
ve Asya yakasinda birbiriyle alakali bolgelerin birbiriyle baglantilari zayif. Ayrica
Istanbul, sahil seritlerinin kamuya acik olma orani bakimindan en fakir
kentlerden biri. Halen de, yapilan Galataport, Halic Limanlari, Haydarpasa
(dusunulen) vb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>projeler de sahilleri
kamuya acmak yerine, var olan trendi devam ettirmeye yonelik.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Belediye’nin Borclari:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Belediye’nin borclarinin ‘saglikli’ bir seviyede oldugunu
belirtirken, bir onceki soruya cevaben “Nurettin Sozen’den aldigimiz borclar”
(Erdogan’in donemini kastediyor) diye yaptigi cikis ile, Melih Gokcek’in
surekli tekrarladigi “Murat Karayalcin’dan aldigimiz borclar” soyleminden
farksiz bir tutum sergilemis oluyor. 1994 yerel secimler Turkiyesi’nin
bulundugu nokta ile bugunleri karsilastirmak o kadar abest ve samimiyetsizce
ki…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Otoparklar:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- IsPark’in ‘resmi degnekci’ yakistirmalarina, ileride daha
fazla bolge ve sehir otoparklari acilacagini soyluyor. Insanlarin tepkisinin
‘neden sokagima park edemiyorum?’ soylerken, nedense Londra’da oldugu gibi,
sokagina (ya da ilcesine) park etmek isteyenlerin belediyeye vergi odediginden
dem vurmuyor acaba? Bu hususta Sarigul de, Topbas da, populist politikalar
gozetliyorlar.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parklar ve yesil alanlar:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Aktif yesil alan olarak 26 Milyon m2 alan ilave edildigini
belirtiyor Topbas. Istanbul’daki kisi basi yesil alan 8.43 m2 derken, ormanlarin
bu istatistige katilmayacagini soyluyor (bir anda aklim Rio’daki kentsel ormana
gidiyor, o da katilmiyor muydu). Her halukarda, “Istanbul’un yarisi orman”
derken Topbas, kesilen agaclardan da bahsetmeliydi belki de. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Ismet Berkan dogru bir uyarida bulunup, Belgrad
Ormanlari’na arabayla gidildigini, mahallelerde yesil alan olmadigindan, bunun
‘kentsel donusum’le (ki, bu kullanimi ile terimi Turkiye’de ortalamanin dahi
ustunde kullanma basarisini gosteriyor) gelistirilip gelistirilemeyecegini
soruyor: Topbas’in yaniti, CHP’li ilce belediyelerine serip, AKP belediyelerini
ovmek oluyor. Gene de, burada, ozellikle yusek yogunluklu merkezi bolgelerde
yesil eksikligini malesef Topbas’tan da cok onceki sureclere dayandirmak ve
kapsamlica tartismak durumundayiz.<br />
<br />
‘Kentsel Donusum’ ve konut politikalari: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Tapu ve kayitlardaki sorunlarin imar izinlerine etkisini
tartisirken, 10 yil icerisinde Buyuksehir’in kapsamli bir envanter calismasi
yapip yapamayacagi sorusunu da yoneltmek gerekir Topbas’a. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Topbas gene muhim bir konuda, ve uluslararasi
karsilastirmalarla, konut cozumlerinde geride kalinan noktalari on plana
cikariyor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Fakat, Ismet Berkan’in ‘sehir merkezindekileri Tasoluk’a
yolluyorsunuz’ itirazina Tasoluk’u overek verdigi cevap kufur gibi.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Sulukule’deki binalari da begenmedigini ekliyor. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sonuc:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Dogal olarak halihazirdaki Buyuksehir Belediye Baskani
oldugu icin, Topbas’in aktardiklari, bilgi ve tartisma acisindan Sarigul’e gore
daha doyurucu. Uslup ve usul olarak da Topbas’in daha ‘profesyonel’ bir goruntu
cizdigi gercek, fakat burada Akif Beki ve diger yorumcularin da kentsel
konularda birikim eksikliklerinin, Topbas’in tartismalari rahat goturmesine cok
ciddi duzeyde yardimci oldugu da gercek.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Tam da boylesine kozlari varken, Topbas’in, en buyuk elestiriyi
aldigi konu olan, safi AKP yandasligindan hic bir sekilde siyrilamamis olan
goruntusu, zaten herkesin malumu olan Turkiye’deki yerel siyasetin en ciddi
handikapini dupeduz ve tekrar gozler onune seriyor. Topbas, aslinda
bekledigimden de fazla kursun sikiyor ayagina. Tekrar hatirlatayim: bu
yazilanlar, halihazirda zaten AKP’ye oy verip vermememe meselesi degil. Bir
Belediye Baskani’nin dogru ya da yanlis yaptiklari hakkinda dahi ne kadar
gercekci konusabildikleri ile ilgili. Topbas, bekledigimden de savunmaci, ve
tabii secim oncesi surecte, AKP gudumunden uzaklasamayan (bu surec 2010’dan
beri boyle) bir goruntu ciziyor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- Topbas’in belki de soyledigi en dogru sey ‘korku uzerine
siyaset yapiliyor bu ulkede’ derken ki yaptigi elestiri. Korkmak icin yeteri
kadar sebep olustugu kesin, ama Topbas’in bahsettigi bu toplumsal hastalik
malesef cok uzun zamandir mevcut.</div>
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- Sonuc olarak, insanin Kadir Topbas’i dinlerken incinmemesi zor! Oncelikle, adaylar arasinda yerel yonetimler ve
kentlesme uzerine cok acik ara, kapsamli olarak konusabilen kisi Topbas. Bunda,
meslegi ve tecrubesinin katkisi da var ama iki nokta cok muhim: Birincisi, Topbas'in kendi belediye
olceginden verdigi her yanit, ister istemez merkezi hukumet duvarina carpacak.
Konut politikalarini konusurken TOKI’den bagimsiz, ulastirma projelerini
anlatirken Bakanliklar’dan muaf, deprem/afet onlemleri anlatilirken olusturulan
duzmece yasal mevzuatlara takilmamasinin imkani yok. Ikinci olarak da, Kadir Topbas'in Dr. Mimar sifatina ragmen, Istanbul'da son 10 (ve hatta 15) yildir yapilan cok buyuk yanlislari, AVM'lesen sehri, yikimsal kentsel donusum projelerini, mekansal olarak ayrisan sehri, ve hicbir sekilde cozulmyen konut, trafik, vb.. sorunlari da goz ardi etmemek gerekiyor. Bu hususlarda, Topbas'in, halihazirda Erdogan'in yikici projelerine karsilik ayakta durabilecek ve olumlu katkilarda bulunabilecek adimlar atmis oldugunu soylemek kolay degil.<br />
- Beni bu programda sasirtan sey,
Kadir Topbas’i daha da az birikimli beklemis olmam, ama bir yandan da daha az AKP
propogandacisi gormus olmayi dilemem. Halihazirda, onumuzdeki 5 yil daha
Istanbul’un basina olma ihtimali en az Sarigul kadar yuksek olan birinden
bahsediyoruz ve yaptiklari da, yapacaklari da, yapmak isteyip yapamayacaklarini
da cok iyi tetkik etmek de yarar var. Is icraata gelince Topbas bazi konularda bir iki adim onde olsa da, yapilanma, planlama, surdurulebilirlik konularinda karnesi cok zayif. Butun bunlarin uzerine de bagli oldugu parti ve Basbakan mekanizmasi, zaten ilk secildigi gunden beri, bircoklarinin nezdinde kayip bir birliktelikten soz ediyoruz. Gonul tabii ki Topbas-Erdogan’li bir
AKP’nin Istanbul’da hukum surmeye devam etmesinden yana degil, ama olasi bir
senaryoda, gerekli muhalefetin nasil surdurulebilecegine dair notlarimizi
buraya dusmek onemli.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-43077198208717177062014-03-17T21:57:00.003+00:002014-03-17T22:50:25.397+00:002014 Yerel Secim Notlari I<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Malum, hepimizi bir secim heyecani sardi. Benim icin ise, artik kentlesme konularinda calisan biri olarak, olaylara tape'ler ve genel secim politikalari disinda, sadece duydugum/gozlemledigim seyler uzerinden biraz ozetleme ve not dusme yapmaya calismakta fayda goruyorum. Once, 3 onemli aday hakinda notlar aldiktan ve paylastiktan sonra, onumuzdeki gunlerde bunlari daha detayli bir sekilde karsilastirmali olarak analiz etmeye calisacagim.<br />
<br />
Mustafa Sarigul'un Tarafsiz Bolge Programi (gecen Cuma ciktigi Teke Tek Programi'na referansla)'nda soyledikleri uzerine aldigim notlar su sekilde. Yarin, Kadir Topbas'in katildigi programlar/konusmalar, haftanin ilerleyen gunlerde de Sirri Sureyya Onder'in aciklamalari ve diyaloglari uzerinden benzer gozlemler aktarmaya calisacagim:<br />
<br />
Genel gozlemler:<br />
- Genel olarak ozguveni yuksek, nazik ama kibirli ve samimiyet konusunda suphe yaratir bir tavri var. .<br />
- Bazi soyledikleri ezberden ve fazla hazirlanilmis gibi geliyor kulaga. Acaba bazi seyleri soylerken tam olarak kavramadigi, icsellestirmedigi seyleri mi aktariyor?<br />
- “Acaba benim rakibim Kilicdar… pardon Erdogan mi, Topbas mi” darken Freudian slip mi oldu?<br />
- Program cok fazla danisikli dovus havasindaydi. Zira format olarak Fatih Altayli’yla yapilan programa cok yakin oldugu gibi, ayni zamanda, bazi sorular sanki onceden hazirlanarak sorulmus, yanitlar da ona gore aninda ve beklendik sekilde verildi. Ornegin, Sarigul “metro ve havaray” hakkinda konusurken, Ahmet Hakan’in “Neden hocalara danisiyorsunuz?” sorusu ya yersiz, ya da onceden Sarigul’e yanit verilmesi icin hazirlanilmisti. Gene, Sarigul “Kent Parklari” projesini aciklarken Ahmet Hakan’in saskinligi da enteresandi: zira, Sarigul’un ayni projeyi Fatih Altayli’nin programinda tanitisini izledigine eminim. Hatta kendisi de daha sonra Topbas’in Sarigul’un projesi hakkindaki sorusunu da ilettigine gore, projeden kesinlikle haberdar.<br />
- Genel olarak proje bazli konusarak televizyona cikan adaylarin sacmalama oranlari yuksektir. Bu sekliyle, daha once kisa konusmalarini dinledigim Sirri Sureyya Onder’i, yalnizca bu kriterden (dusunsel vb. kriterleri yok sayarak) dahi daha samimi ve tutarli bulmak zaten beklenir; fakat bunun uzerinde tekrar Sirri Sureyya Onder’in konusmasini inceledigimizde yorum yapmakta fayda var.<br />
- Sisli’de yaptiklarini ve Istanbul’da yapacaklarini anlatirken, Sisli’de yapmadiklarini – bircok insaati ayni firmalara ihale ettigini, kaldirimlari taciz eden, kaldirim olmayan yerlerde yayalarin cektigi cileleri, insaat alanlarinda cevreye verilen rahatsizliklarin yaya nezdinde yarattigi sikintilardan bahsetmiyor.<br />
<br />
Secim kampanyasinin nasil gittigi sorusu uzerine:<br />
- Anket: Anket yaptirmadigini, secim bolgelerini gozlemledigini ifade ediyor. AKP’yi yakaladiklarini iddia ederken, sadece gozlemlere dayandigini soyluyor.<br />
- Sarigul, CHP’nin Istanbul’da zayif oldugu bolgeleri ziyaret ettigini ifade ediyor.<br />
- Halkin tamamina hizmet getirecegiz soylemini tekrarliyor.<br />
<br />
Secim soylemi olarak “Otekisi Olmayan Istanbul” uzerine:<br />
- “Otekisi Olmayan”in “otekilestirme” uzerine vurgu yapip yapmadigini soruyor Ahmet Hakan, ayni zamanda 1994’deki Refah Partisi soylemine gondermede bulunarak.<br />
- Sarigul, ‘sevgisizlik uzerine bir cevre olusturuldu’ elestirisi getiriyor.<br />
<br />
Gezi Parki:<br />
- Kadir Topbas’in ‘Belediyeler Birligi Baskanligi’ sifatina ragmen kent meydanlarini kullandirmadigi uzerine yorum yapiyor.<br />
<br />
Kadir Topbas:<br />
- Daha once pozitif devam ettirdigi kampanyasinda Kadir Topbas’la Twitter uzerinden atismasinin normal oldugunu karsiliyor, ‘dostlarin konusabilmesi, iletisim halinde olabilmesi gerekir’ diye niteliyor.<br />
- Okmeydani, vb. yerlerde CHP secim burolarina yapilan saldirilar karsisinda Kadir Topbas’i goreve cagiriyor.<br />
<br />
Ofke/Saygi:<br />
- Haksizliklara karsi ofkeli olacagini, karsisina gelen, planli provokasyonlara sessiz kalmayacagini, “teneke gibi durma” dedigi kisinin de CHP Genclik Kolu Baskan Yardimcisi oldugunu, onu motive etmek icin soyledigini ifade ediyor.<br />
- Kendisine yumurta atan AKP Genclik Kolu’ndan gence tahammullu davrandigini iddia ediyor.<br />
- Eskiden, diger siyasi liderler meydanlara geldiginde, CHP’nin ve kendisinin meydanlari bosaltarak yer verdigini, artik boyle nezaketlerin kalmadigini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Yolsuzluk:<br />
- Erdogan’in CHP’nin Sarigul’u vakt-i zamaninda yolsuzluk uzerinden sikistirmasinin simdiki durumla bir tezat olusturup olusturmadigi sorusuna Sarigul, o olaylarin siyasi nedenlerle hazirlandigini ve sonunda da kendisinin aklandigini aktariyor.<br />
- “Kilicdaroglu durust olmayan kimseyi CHP’de barindirmaz”.<br />
<br />
Ilce adaylari:<br />
- Belediye baskan adaylarinin kendisi tarafindan secilip secilmedigi sorusuna, onerdigi bir iki meclis uye adaylarinin dahi parti tarafindan secilmedigini belirtiyor.<br />
- Aylin Kotil’in, halk tarafindan secildigini belirtiyor.<br />
<br />
Kendine Sarigul diye hitap etmesi:<br />
- Kibir olmadigini ve alisiklik oldugunu soyluyor. Kibirlenmedigini ve boburlenmedigini soyluyor. Bunu Altayli’ya da bu sekilde iletmisti.<br />
<br />
Rakip kim:<br />
- Kadir Topbas’in sahaya yeni ciktigini, rakibinin Erdogan’mis gibi gorundugunu, algilandigini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Cemaat baglantilari:<br />
- Her cemaat ile, Ermenilerle, Yahudilerle, vs.. bagi oldugunu soyluyor. Dersanelerin kapatilmasini dogru bulmadigini, bu gunlerde her konunun Gulen Cemaati’ne baglandigini dusundugunu soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Belediye calisanlari:<br />
- Calisanlarda ayrim yapmadigini, turbanli bircok calisani oldugunu, ANAP’tan belediyeyi devraldiginda isten cikarma yapmadigini, ve bundan sonra da sozlesmeli isci calistirma konusunda da hassas kalacagini belirtiyor.<br />
<br />
Istanbul Projeleri – Ulasim:<br />
- “Ne kadar cok yol yaparsiniz, trafigin yogunlugunu o kadar cok artiriyorsunuz. Bir Hocam dedi ki ‘ya Sarigul, sen tunelleri artiralim diyorsun ama, tunel artirman trafigi rahatlatmayacak ki’” diyerek, toplu ulasima yatirim yapacagini soyluyor.<br />
- Istanbul’da yapilan metro insaat oranlarini Sangay ve Yeni Delhi ile karsilastiriyor. Topbas’in buna karsilik verdigi “oralarda merkezi hukumetlerin yatirimi olduguna” karsin da, “Marmaray’i da burada Hukumet yapti; IBB de burada merkezi hukumetten yardim alsaydi” ima ediyor. Kendisinin 5 yilda 200 km. metro yapacagini iddia ediyor. 10 Milyar Dolar’i metro butcesine ayiracagini soyluyor, IBB’nin 5 yillik 60 Milyar Dolar olan butcesinden. 6da 1, herhangi bir yatirim; ozellikle metro gibi, Bati ulkelerinde tartisilmaya baslanan yatirimlar icin cok yuksek bir oran. Fakat, tabii, zaten halihazirda IBB Ulasim AS’nin 100lerce km. projeler ihale halinde; onlar tamamlandigi takdirde zaten 200 km. sozunu tutmus olacaktir.<br />
- Park + Ride sistemleri ile birlikte Havaray’in tartisildigini belirtiyor. Metrobus hakkinda (ki, gene batili akademik calismalarda Metrobus ovguyle bahsediliyor (isletme ve guvenlik handikaplari disinda)) olumsuz konusuyor.<br />
- Trafik ulasim masterplani yenilenecek.<br />
<br />
Kent parklari:<br />
- Maslak’ta Orduevi’nin yanindaki Golf Kulubu bolgesinin park yapilacagini soylediginde, bunu nasil basaracagi ve Ordu’dan izin alacagi soruldu.<br />
- Topbas’in “Kent Parki yapacagim diyen adam Sisli’ye 15 senede park yapmamis” elestirisine, “380 tane park yaptim” yaniti verdi. Bu biraz Erdogan’in diktigi agac sayisindaki abartiya benzedi.<br />
<br />
3. Havalimani:<br />
- “3. Havalimani’na karsi degiliz, 3. Havalimani kentin yararina olacaksa, olmali”. IMP’nin hazirladigi 1/100.000’lik planda Silivri’ye (aslinda Silivri’nin batisina) islenen havalimanini hatirlatiyor.<br />
- “Neden Ataturk Havalimani genisletilmiyor?” sorusuna yaniti, yeni yapilacak bir pistin yeterli olmayacagi gorusunde. Silivri’yi gosterdi (acaba orada satin almadigi arazi kaldi mi? Ayrica Silivri ve cevresinde yapilasma hakkinda ne soyleyebilir? Esasinda, 1/100.000’de Silivri’ye havalimani yapilmasinin baska bir sebebi de, deniz uzerinden tasimaciligin Istanbul’a ugramadan Silivri – Gebze hatti uzerinden yapilmak istenmesi gibi entegre ulasim planlarina dair bir vurgu yapmadi; bu konu hakkinda ne kadar bilgisi oldugu hakkinda da bir fikir edinemedik.<br />
<br />
Kanal Istanbul:<br />
- Bogaz ve denizlerde yaratacagi cevre tahribatini one surerek karsi oldugunu belirtiyor.<br />
<br />
3. Kopru:<br />
- Kopru konusunda olumlu ya da olumsuz bir sey soylemezken, kopru insaati icin kesilen agaclari konu ediyor.<br />
- Fatih Altayli’nin programinda “Kanada” olarak ornek verdigi yer, her nedense Ahmet Hakan’in programinda “Tayvan”a donusuverdi.<br />
<br />
2B ve Tapular:<br />
- 2B’nin rant malzemesi olmamasi icin, 2B alalarinda yasayanlara sembolik fiyatlara verilmelerini savunuyor.<br />
- Istanbul’un planli gelismesini one surerken, tapular konusunda da vatandasi magduriyetten arindiracagini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Su:<br />
- Istanbul’da su sorunu oldugunu iddia ediyor; Topbas’in “Istanbul’da musluktan su iciliyor” iddiasini yalanladi. Sehre iki tane baraj yapilmasi gerektigini ve deniz suyunun degerlendirilmesi gerektigini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Atik su:<br />
- Aritilan atik su oranlari hakkinda Topbas’la arasinda veri farki var. Cuma gunu Yenikapi’daki aritma tesislerinde inceleme yapacagini ve sonrasinda aralarindaki farkin biyolojik aritmadan mi, baska sebeplerden mi oldugunu (yalnizca on aritma yapilip yapilmadigi) aciklayabilecegini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Kent muzeleri:<br />
- Sirkeci ve Haydarpasa Garlar’i Buyuksehir’e ait degiller; bu projeler nasil gerceklesecek? Daha once Orman Bakanligi’ndan, Maliye Bakanligi’ndan aldigi yerleri ornek gostererek, bunu gene gerceklestirebilecegini iddia ediyor.<br />
<br />
Ogretmenler icin ucretsiz ulasim:<br />
- Neden yalnizca ogretmenlere ucretsiz ulasim? Diger kamu calisanlar onemli degil mi? Ogretmenlerin dusuk ucretler aldigi ve dolayisiyla zihinlerinin rahat olmadigindan istinaden bu oneriyi getirmis.<br />
<br />
Ucretsiz Internet:<br />
- Sisli’de yaptim, Istanbul’da da yaparim diyerek, tum gencler icin (universitelerden baslayarak), meydanlara yayilarak her yere ucresiz Internet’i yayacagini belirtiyor.<br />
<br />
Ali Sami Yen Arazisi:<br />
- 2009’da hazirladigi projeyi gostererek, IBB’yi ayri tutarak, TOKI’nin bu projeyi ustlendigini ve bir sey yapamayacagini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Yeni yapilanmalar:<br />
- Ahmet Hakan’in “Istanbul’da yeni bina istemiyoruz” yorumuna “IMP basarili bir projeydi, Ankara’dan bir talimatla dagitildi” cevabini verip, IMP benzeri bir buroyu tekrar kuracagini belirtiyor. Istanbul’un planli gelismesi gerektigine vurgu yapiyor. Su anda Istanbul’u tamamiyle Erdogan’in talimatlarinin yonettigini belirtiyor.<br />
<br />
Taksiler:<br />
- VIP Taksiler’i yasaklayacak.<br />
<br />
Taksim Meydani:<br />
- Proje yarismasi acilacak. Juriye, her partiden teknik eleman alinacak. Yarismada ilk 3’e giren projeler halk oylamasina sunulup, 1. olan proje uygulanacak. Ornek olarak da Halide Edip Adivar Kultur Merkezi’nin proje yarismasi ile yapildigini soyluyor. Kadikoy, Uskudar vb. meydanlari proje yarismalarina acacagini soyluyor.<br />
<br />
Halk Otobusleri:<br />
- Halk Otobusleri’nin temsilcileri ile gorusecegini soyledi ama neden bunu yapacagini pek anlayamadik. Deginmisken, Halk Otobusleri’nin musteri icin yarisarak insanlari oldurduklerine de deginseydi keske.<br />
<br />
Sonuc:<br />
Sarigul, belki de, kendisinden cok da beklenebilecegi gibi, ozguvene dayanarak, Sisli’deki populerligini de dayandirdigi ‘yaptiklarim, yapacaklarimin teminatidir’ anlatisina yaslanarak, Ahmet Hakan’in da kendisine yaptigi asistleri degerlendirerek ve genel olarak elestirildigi yolsuzluk vb.. ithamlari, hukuki acidan sicilinin temiz olmasi uzerinden yanitlayarak sunumunu yapti.<br />
<br />
Aktardigi projelerin hatiri sayilir kisminda, genis bir olcekte ve tam olarak tatmin eder bir sekilde, bilimsel yanitlar vermedi – ilerlemis toplumlarda tartisilan metro konusunu, sanki elzem bir projeymis gibi savunmasi, tartismalarla birlikte belli acilardan kabul goren metrobus’u sadece yonetsel yanindan elestirmesi gibi konularda zayif karnini gosterdi.<br />
<br />
Yer yer kibir, hirs, ozguven ve pasif-agresif tavirlari, samimiyeti hakkinda soru isaretleri uyandirirken, genel olarak populist tavrinin belli kesimlerde oy oranini artirabilecegi on gorulebilir.<br />
Son tahlilde, tek basina bir figur olarak, onemli soru isaretlerini barindiran; bahsettigi gibi bilimsel ve ekip calismasi uzerine calisacaksa da, pragmatik bir bakis acisiyla, ‘is gorecek’ bir portre cizdi Sarigul. Istanbul’un hakettigi bir belediye baskan adayi mi, bu baska bir tartisma konusu. Cevabi belki de diger adaylar, ve politikalarini tartistigimizda ortaya cikacak.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-75938097345772028522013-05-06T13:04:00.002+01:002013-05-06T13:05:59.971+01:00Berliner Mauer geek's early moring cycling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On
early May Bank Holiday in the UK, I took the opportunity on the back of
an unexpected early wake-up, to trace parts of the Berlin Wall along
the Mitte-Kreuzberg border. As I randomly happened to be cycling
from the Charite, southwards on Wilhelmstrasse, I realised I would cycle
through Zimmerstrasse where the wall once stood.<br />
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Utilising my Berlin Wall App, I decided to check out some of the la<span class="text_exposed_show">ndmarks in the area, starting with this observation tower on Erna-Berger-Strasse, to the right of the picture. To the left of the picture, on the background, you can see the building
of the Federal Ministry of the Environment - where a part of the wall
has been preserved and integrated into the building. So, actually, on
the ground floor, when you look through the front window, you see pieces
of the wall, next to which the canteen workers were heaving their
breakfast before the morning shift. </span></div>
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I
only recalled visiting the Topografie des Terrors (TdT) on one of my
earlier visits to Berlin (during 2005-2008 period) after I came across
again, this morning, on Zimmerstrasse. The building to the right is
the current Federal Ministry of Finance - at the centre, you can see a
stretch of the wall, with the exhibition (TdT: <a href="http://www.topographie.de/en/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.topographie.de/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>en/</a>) to the left of it.</div>
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The Ministry of Financ<span class="text_exposed_show">e
building also happens to be the House of Ministries during the DDR
period - somewhat the epicentre of DDR government politics.In 1965, a
man named Heinz Hozapfel made a spectacular escape, with his family,
from the top of the building: He hid in the toilet for the evening, and
after the nightfall utilised a rope (with help by others) as a cableway
to launch the family and glide them to freedom over the Wall.<br /> </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span class="text_exposed_show">Here is a Spiegel article from the time: <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-46273676.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.spiegel.de/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>spiegel/print/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>d-46273676.html</a><br /> ...and here is a Die Welt article from 2000: <a href="http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article536957/Mit-der-Seilbahn-ueber-die-Mauer.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.welt.de/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>print-welt/article536957/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Mit-der-Seilbahn-ueber-die-<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>Mauer.html</a></span></span></span></span></div>
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far from the Ministry of Finance (to its west), and a stone's throw
away from Checkpoint Charlie (to its east) is a permanent exhibition of
some of he curiosities about the ways of how STASI (the DDR State
Security) worked. It was too early in the morning for me to visit (the
exhibition opens daily from 10 AM), but I need to come back as many
would know my curiosity into the subject: <a href="http://ocavusoglu.blogspot.de/2007/03/elveda-stasi.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ocavusoglu.blogspot.de/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>2007/03/elveda-stasi.html</a></span></span></span></div>
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Here is a juxtaposition with the building to the right, a wasteland
(part of former 'death strip) to the left and a hot-air balloon,
sponsored by Die Welt to the right.</span></span> </span></div>
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Speaking
of Die Welt, it is well worth mentioning the standpoint of
Axel-Springer Publishing Company, that publishes Die Welt, among a
number of other daily newspapers and magazines in Germany.</div>
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Axel
Springer was an idealist who built his empire right at the border
between the Federal Germany and the DDR (more on the building here: <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel-Springer-Hochhaus" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://de.wikipedia.org/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>wiki/Axel-Springer-Hochhaus</a><br />
His ideology wa<span class="text_exposed_show">s simple: "believing in German unity", though a conservative one at that.<br />
It is rather less well-known that Die Welt, somewhat similar to the
Daily Mail in the UK, ran a hate campaign against the leftists in the
era of 1960s, and the infamous RAF. Rudi Dutschke was one leftist, shot in the street by a young boy, as he was being targeted by Die Welt, in 1968. </span></div>
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While Axel-Springer Strasse (where I took this picture) is an
amalgamation of out-of-place contemporary architecture, reminiscent of
Potsdamer Platz, as it happens to be one of many former "death strip"
areas, the irony lies in its neighbouring Rudi-Dutschke Strasse
(formerly Kochstrasse), renamed in the honour of Rudi Dutschke after the
leftist newspaper Tageszeitung (taz)'s persistent campaign. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> Even
less-known is the work of the artist Peter Lenk "Peace Be With You" on
the side of the wall of taz building that directly faces the
Axel-Springer Hochhaus. The work clearly mocks the many penis-based
cheap news that the likes of Die Welt and many other Axel-Springer
publications spam the German society with: <a href="http://open.salon.com/blog/lost_in_berlin/2009/12/04/berlin_newspaper_erects_provocative_artwork" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://open.salon.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>blog/lost_in_berlin/2009/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>12/04/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>berlin_newspaper_erects_pro<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>vocative_artwork</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cG3x6Ihj9GQZFR08ZPfoDjIKBXU9Z22Tem6biW0l404EYTPb-Sq_bXal7T3Mwr1_AH7WXTVx1tW-yD88fcvPHptIOwv_9TyDi4W3CaBvEEqmw-ybE1qFJQnYWdC1hICoHmAlvk1r85g_/s1600/IMG_6542+COPY.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cG3x6Ihj9GQZFR08ZPfoDjIKBXU9Z22Tem6biW0l404EYTPb-Sq_bXal7T3Mwr1_AH7WXTVx1tW-yD88fcvPHptIOwv_9TyDi4W3CaBvEEqmw-ybE1qFJQnYWdC1hICoHmAlvk1r85g_/s320/IMG_6542+COPY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br /></span></span></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> </span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Tracing the Wall has been made easy by numerous attempts of the city authorities. Other than this useful app that I have been using (<a href="http://www.berlin.de/mauer/wo-war-die-mauer/app.en.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.berlin.de/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>mauer/wo-war-die-mauer/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>app.en.html</a>),
the city has marked areas where the Wall once ran and demarcated
streets with "Mauerweg" signs to keep Wall commuters along the path of
where it used to stand.</span></span><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"></span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">As
described earlier, there is still a plethora of 'waste land' in inner
Berlin. The most famous regeneration attempts of these areas, made
derelict as they used to form 'death strips' (the areas between the Wall
and the frontier barrier where the Allied soldiers guarded), of course,
include Potsdamer Platz. However, as Berlin was admittedly overbuilt in
the 1990s with the hopes of relocation of mass populations across from
Germany, there was less need to keep building for periods of time (and
there may be other reasons, too). </span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXts52p15XT_aYvvfFXsErCgEuIEYpg2XjnVEZAFU36HJXVeGFMTolpeSnSFtVIpRFS-qnA56a-HxVfd8kdgo9uuXHPlsk0XheQnrSq-cPNPXiv8WBn_qSLcXScL4hO6RZCzv_5TqUgb-/s1600/IMG_6543+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXts52p15XT_aYvvfFXsErCgEuIEYpg2XjnVEZAFU36HJXVeGFMTolpeSnSFtVIpRFS-qnA56a-HxVfd8kdgo9uuXHPlsk0XheQnrSq-cPNPXiv8WBn_qSLcXScL4hO6RZCzv_5TqUgb-/s320/IMG_6543+copy.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> </span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"></span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"></span></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_518795a8352b73333357952">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"></span></span><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Today, you still come across
areas in these wastelands that now make ways for new office blocks and
luxury apartments, 24 years after the Wall has come down.</span></span><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"> </span></span><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_518795a8352b73333357952">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">...and
little did I know that my daily cycling commute, through
Heinrich-Heine-Strasse towards Moritzplatz went through a border
crossing, here, demarcated by one of many information boards around the
city.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQfyOVdgU1AGgoz2rRMRJBOUolQuWTXq7wnl3quRwnKrlYzAdVHkYGVbihhWqxBdWuDKduuekUJYeVadi33OdFwt9-oFDO0-GwoJSo4HE1ftN9ma6Ah0Sqmu6fbiSeVFcQiq_PQLRtT5x/s1600/IMG_6546+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQfyOVdgU1AGgoz2rRMRJBOUolQuWTXq7wnl3quRwnKrlYzAdVHkYGVbihhWqxBdWuDKduuekUJYeVadi33OdFwt9-oFDO0-GwoJSo4HE1ftN9ma6Ah0Sqmu6fbiSeVFcQiq_PQLRtT5x/s320/IMG_6546+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_518795a8352b73333357952">
<span class="text_exposed_show"><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"type":45}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Many people allegedly attempted to cross the border here in
vehicles, speeding through border police and the physical barriers -
while, unfortunately, many of these attempts ended in misery. To<span class="text_exposed_show">day, Moritzplatz, at the heart of Kreuzberg, is relevant in two interesting ways (if not more):<br /> It is an area where land prices skyrocketed more than anywhere else and it houses a refugee/asylum camp of Nigerians (and other Africans)
on the park at the square where some of Germany's Occupy movement
resided a few years ago.</span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8423879133743189961.post-51384214915802132252013-03-04T12:12:00.002+00:002013-03-04T12:12:46.987+00:00T1's family of strangers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the first security through departure halls at Heathrow Terminal 1 on a Thursday evening, you are a stranger amongst a large family of strangers. You immediately realise: that everyone is looking at you because they know one another, or pretend to do so -- and you are the unknown subject. The security is fairly quick. Everyone carries one of the two or three different types of carry-on bags. Travel-size toiletry are already packed into plastic displays, iPads and laptops are removed before any warning. The demographics are so standard that the security personnel who saw your Turkish passport remarks: my sister lives in Bodrum. where in Turkey do you come from? He hasn't had small talk at airport security since 2 years. He can't complain though, working at Terminal 1 is easy. Traveling through it, too.<br />
<br />
The Duty Free is remarkably quiet. Because passengers either know what they were after, or they just didn't bother shopping there. After all, for the German-speaking majority, booze is cheaper at supermarkets back home, or the glamorous types of drinks are not to be found here. It is indeed a German-speaking majority: Terminal 1 is Heathrow's first-born baby; it is a dwarf to Terminal 5, and well below capacities of counter-weight terminals at other airports. If you want people traveling across the globe with shopping trolleys, holiday packages or gifts to nephews and nieces back home, you go to Terminals 3, 4, and 5. T1's halls are dominated by Lufthansa, Austrian, and Swiss, all part of the same company now, anyway. Smart dresses flirt with high-heels and the odd ski-trip travelers talk of past year's banking bonuses. British traditional ales run out, German lagers on draught are preferred next best options. Loners drink Guinness.<br />
<br />
If you are scared of flying, take a flight from Terminal 1. Carriers fly short-haul, ablaze with important people. The plane will not crash, and you will build confidence in flying. If the odd scenario does take place, you'll have died gracefully at others' company.<br />
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There are no holiday packagers at Terminal 1. Emirates aren't there, and neither are Qatar, Qantas, Singapore, American, Virgin, Delta, or Air India. The demographics of travelers are remarkable stable, the destinations either medieval or stock-market digital.<br />
<br />
You are a fool if you have bought the Financial Times at WHSmith. Or you are just too keen; or outright disconnected. Former because, you'll be given a free copy on boarding the plane. Maybe you are not patient enough and want to read straight away, but surely, by the time of an evening flight, someone should have briefed you the day's headlines, inside-out, if you were are a regular T1 passenger. You are not, and that is why you may be surprised... surprised to see how smoothly everything operates. They never asked for your Schengen visa at check-in, they did not bother with your passport's ID page at boarding, you were probably under the record all the way through. They knew which ale you drank and they trusted you. Because you are in the company of the international business family.<br />
<br />
The family that took so little time to board the plane that you cannot recall if security announcements were made. Before you were sat, the aircraft started its taxi. Take off within minutes' time and the gazes have stopped. Everyone is minding their own papers and you are now officially an accepted stranger in the family of strangers.<br />
<br />
-- on board LH3377 (London - Berlin) flight, 28 February 2013, 19:30 GMT.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16482292767256704377noreply@blogger.com0