土耳其艺术项目旨在弥合种族分裂

AS IT IS 2016-05-17 Turkish Art Project Seeks to Bridge Ethnic¹ Divide 土耳其艺术项目旨在弥合种族分裂

An art project in Turkey is bringing together people divided along ethnic and religious lines.

Twenty-four Kurdish and Turkish young adults have worked together to create documentaries and photographs about life in Turkish cities.

The results are now on display in the southern Turkish city of Diyarbakir. The art project is called BAK.

Latife Ulucinar is the coordinator².

"People, especially young people, living in different parts of Turkey don't know each other," she said. "Face-to-face [meeting] is important. We want to give some possibilities to these young people to experience the city.”

The project members chose the following issues: The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey; Roma people; and the tattoo³ culture.

Many works also featured the Kurds’ years-long battle for minority rights.

“Zilan,” a video documentary, recalls a massacre⁴ of thousands of Kurds and the exile of many more by the Turkish state in the 1930s.

“I found out that many killed were relatives of mine. The affected⁵ villages were very familiar,” said co-director Derya Gumus.

“I met people who survived. [They were] the last witnesses. Even though I live there, I learned it very late as well, so I wanted to tell this.”

Gumus admits that working with a partner from a different background was not always easy. Her partner was originally from the Black Sea region, but now studies in the western city of Izmir, which is one of the main hubs for refugees seeking to enter Europe.

That experience, Gumus says, helped to provide common ground.

Overcoming ethnic divides between partners became harder when fighting between the PKK Kurdish rebel group and the Turkish government resumed last July.

Diyarbakir, one of the BAK host cities, witnessed some of the worst fighting. The conflict affected some projects.

For example, "The Resort of the East: Hazar" aimed to show an aspect of Kurdish life rarely seen: normality. Photographer Murat Kartal said he and his partner wanted to show the holiday habits of the region. But, he said, the growing violence caused problems.

“I saw that our efforts could be in vain,” he said. “The clashes started and I questioned this, ‘What am I doing here?’ When we finish this project and exhibit these photographs, we see the preciousness of peace.”

Many observers warn that the deepening ethnic conflict, especially among the young, presents Turkey with one of its greatest challenges.

But those who participated in BAK say they took a small step in bridging that ethnic divide.

Words in This Story

exhibit – n. an object or a collection of objects that have been put out in a public space for people to look at

tattoo – n. a picture or word that is drawn⁶ on a person's skin by using a needle and ink

massacre – n. the violent killing⁷ of many people

hubs – n. the central and most active parts or places

common ground – n. something that people agree about even if they disagree about other things

resort – n. a place where people go for vacations

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

4 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。