80's
I hate the past. I think every day that I live was better than yesterday. I do not know the cause, but I have some small clues about it. Somewhere in the past there was good memories hidden, before I started to understand problems, instead of fearing them.
First photo that I want to mention, is from year 1990. In the elementary school, with a classmate that I do not even remember the name. I remember that there were USSR in the maps, instead of Russia or Georgia.
On the right side of my classmate there is a electricity plug with blue color. Why blue? Because every year they were coloring the walls with different boring colors. The first color that I remember was brown, which was not a funny color for an elementary school. With cold concrete and iron round walls, education was seen as a over serious job. But without any special care to any students. In a small class, we started with 72 students. 72 children at age 7 or 8, are trying to memorize to multiplication table. As seen on the picture, we have blue uniform with world’s most stupid design and color.
In general, at Turkish education, schools were trying to create most unique designs. I understood after high school the case. School directors were making agreement with uniform producers and uniforms were overpriced. The difference was going to their pockets. Same wheels were rotating at School Family Unions. They were selling something, demand money each month, but no one knew where all of this money were going. Having this serious money and finance job, it was normal that walls of the school were colored to boring colors.
Another thing that I remember, that our class teacher was shouting, insulting, humiliating and hitting to our hands with ruler. Because of that I cannot say that I like this picture. Chair seen behind us, was a fear object because of this.
Photo was taken using flash, we could not tell if it was taken at day or evening. Only blurry silhouettes behind the curtains gives some clue that it was taken during the day. But not for sure.
Near us there is a chalkboard with some script about Bakırköy, that our school was located. I think chalkboard was a torture for both teachers and students. If somebody runs or erasers falls to floor no one could breathe. Our teacher was using 2 colors. She was caring about colors, script, but I cannot say the same thing for students. Most weird thing that I remember about her, stupid rules imposing to us. In example, one of them; automatic pencils were prohibited. I do not know why, and still cannot understand it.
I learnt reading before I started to school, I had to have some upper level than my class, but teacher did not allow me to change class. Having this, I was the most successful, but most disinterested, disorganized, less liked student by teacher. One thing that I can see from my face; unhappiness. Having family issues due to my father’s work and business. I was only a detail in my family. Can be seen that my classmate’s well cut hair, and my long, careless hair.
A more old photography from my childhood, is from some years between 1987 or 1989. During last years of iron curtain, Turkey was still inside somewhere near 70’s or more back. Turkey was not an East block country, but had a weird curtain too. Having only one TV channel and radio, with prohibited import, (Marlboro packs on the glass), strong police and military force, was living in a box created by stupid military coup that killed every kind of freedom. As a children we did not know or care about these issues. Our main occupation before the elementary school, was Ice cream and video games.
On this photo there is 20 people. All of us and others are in the costume of 80’s. Children were dressed with more colorful, adults are in more pastel colors. Maybe same as our lives.
We 5 cousins, were best clients of Sakir, ice cream maker. At that time, there were no ice cream brands. Only thing that I remember fruity Ice called Buz-something, but even that could not be found anywhere.
Another interesting thing about this photo, that is not taken at summer. Everyone ears jumpers or sweaters. But photography’s main subjects is Ice cream, and ice cream is not considered as eatable at winter until year 1995. After the end of the 80’s Turkey did not left the curtain on personal freedom but left the curtain on the business. Import and foreign brands are permitted. After the era of arrested people because of having Marlboro in his pocket, Turkish people accepted new things. Now there is 4 or 5 brands of Ice cream. Hundreds of TV and Radio channels. Children play with PS3 and farmville instead of sand and paddle. But as I see on my 14 years old cousin, they do not even answer questions, have 500 friends at MSN and chatting continuously with them, instead of make some activities. I think it is not a fault of them, but is the fault of the parents that gave all of these occupiers to us, to concentrate to their problems instead of passing some 10 minutes at a day. It is normal to prefer to listen virtual worlds instead of fighting, swearing parents.
Where will the children play, at a city without any parks, children centers, cities with boring schools and life centered on most meaningless exams? A military coup affected generation, killed another generation, because of the psychological damage made by crisis, arrests, terror, family problems and more. Now, at the year 2010, we have to many
choices, we can choose between 10 chicken brands, instead of ‘Tavuk bulunur’ (We have chicken.), but taste of today’s chicken is like straw. And I still miss the taste of Sakir’s Ice cream with smoke flavor that I cannot find anywhere today.
Mutlu Tevfik Koçak
VA 215 - Instructed by Dilek Tina Winchester
July 20, 2010
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