Turkey’s Extraordinary Resilience in a Year of Terror

On June 28, at 8:34 p.m., three suicide attackers perpetrated a blood-curdling assault on Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport. Forty-four people perished and 238 were injured, some of them critically, in a massacre condemned around the world.

In this era of global terrorism, a chronic feeling of horror and uneasiness has become our painful new reality. All of Europe was shocked by the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels. But Turkey, perched on the edge of the Middle East, has suffered at least as much from terrorism as any country in Europe.

In 15 bomb attacks across Turkey in the past 12 months, 291 lives have been claimed and 1,588 civilians wounded. Seven of these attacks have been blamed on ISIS, another five were claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and three were claimed by the Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan (TAK). ISIS is blamed for the two biggest attacks: in Ankara in October 2015, and the recent airport assault.

Besides these terror attacks, Turkey has witnessed renewed fighting in the country’s southeast, after the PKK ended a ceasefire and pushed for local autonomy after the June 7, 2015, elections. Thousands have died in what can be described as fierce urban warfare. In addition to Diyarbakır’s historical center, the main Kurdish cities of Cizre, Nusaybin, Lice, Yüksekova, İdil, and Şırnak were rendered uninhabitable. The destruction resembled images of the Syrian Civil War.

But Turkey stands firm. Despite a substantial drop in tourism, the country continues to grow economically amid an atmosphere of terror. Malls are still frequented, and public spaces like Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, Taksim Square, İstiklal Street, and the Bosphorus remain lively. There is a sense of joy in life that hasn’t been quashed by the bouts of carnage. Young people injured in the attacks have inspired us in interviews by expressing their hopes for the future of our country.

This feeling of hope springs from the steps Turkey has taken over the last century to absorb and embrace a democratic culture. Undoubtedly, the harsh political climate created by terror and violence dealt setbacks to individual freedoms, freedom of expression, diversity in public life, and the rule of law. But Turkish society is holding onto these values it so deservedly obtained over the course of 40 years.

With the support of our international network, the Open Society Foundation–Turkey has been a staunch supporter of this struggle since 2001.

We have supported projects that work to ensure minority rights, gender equality, democracy, and freedom of expression, and that embrace EU standards and values and provide equal opportunities for forced migrants. In the Turkish province of Şanlıurfa, the Soz Solidarity Association, a Syrian NGO, is providing education to more than 400 children who’ve fled conflict at home. In Turkey’s southeast, our grantee KAMER is reaching out to 5,000 women and children to address issues like domestic violence and the psychosocial impacts of war and migration. We’ve brought together Turkish and Syrian education specialists for advocacy workshops on language training and preschool education. And we led the way in the creation of Turkey’s first “refugee council,” a platform from which Turkish, Syrian, and other NGOs can share knowledge and build relationships.

We know that open societies are the ideal antidote to terror and violence. With this in mind, we will continue the struggle for a better, brighter, more hopeful, and more humane future for us all.