A day in the life of… Have you ever seen blood stains on the pavement?

Living right next to one of the most visited squares in Turkey was pretty promising - excitement-wise. But it has gotten out of control. Being used to screams and shouts and teargas is not an exciting event. We could not stay at home while so many were outside shouting for their rights. Especially as a Turkish girl, who knows when one is taking your rights of freedom, I could not stay in my room and listen to music or study for exams. I had to go out and at least see it with my own eyes. And yes, I saw it, I felt it, I cried. Have you ever seen blood stains on the pavement? I did and it felt like if it was my blood there. I felt the pain and couldn’t look away. This was the moment I decided to join the protests in Istanbul: I slept at the Gezi Park. I had breakfast with strangers on the floor. I raised my voice and I inhaled tear gas countless times. If that is the price for being heard, I paid it with millions of other people and the whole world listened to us!

blood stains on the pavement

massive crowd protesting to get to the Taksim Square that was occupied by the police (first)

demonstration at night after the police chased away the crowd (picture above) with teargas and water canons