KLM, the Reliable Airline?

Will fly tomorrow morning at 5.30 am (!) to Amsterdam. I don't like this flight, it means that I have to wake up at 2.30 am, on my way to the airport by 3.00 am and check-in at 4.00 am.

Will be in Amsterdam by 8.00 am, local time, and will have the first meeting at 09.30 am, and the last one that day at 8.00 pm (dinner). Not something to look forward to.

KLM is using the motto: The Reliable Airline. Here are some comments. You can make up your own mind.

How to address a Nation III

As in my former posts, I promised to write about Mr. Erdogan's speech which he delivered last Monday, April the 30th.
I see this not from a political point of view, but as a foreigner who is living in Turkey.

Honestly, Mr. Erdogan's speech was bad from the beginning until the end, from my observation as an international communication manager.

Why? I shall explain this in detail.

First of all, there was and is a mini-crisis in Turkey. Which means that either the President or the Prime Minister has to ease the tension! To avoid speculations about 'who did what', simple: tell what is going on.
Instead of a clear explanation about the increasing tensions, the Turkish nation saw a bad 30 minutes promo about how well the economy is doing. No words about the social standards of the average Turks and nothing about the their struggle for life, neither about the tension with the military nor with the EU. Not one word to the people about what really is going on. Only empty words about: Let's Unify.
Nothing wrong with promoting what you did, but don't use your time as a Prime Minister by what you and your party have achieved, while ignoring the tensions and protests in the streets and the country.
Also, Turkey became more polarized while the PM was asking for unification. And in this speech there was no sign of consensus or compromise. It was party politics as usual. And that's exactly what you don't do in this situation. Addressing the Nation means being above all parties.

Second: it takes 5 minutes for an ordinary statesman to highlight his or her mission.
30 minutes of preaching will have a boomerang effect. You don't get your message understood.Listeners will get confused. And all the facts you want to bring over will fade away as a leaf, blow away in the wind.

And last but not the least: the footage.

If you address a nation which is in crisis, don't use the propaganda tool. Be fair. Don't misuse the situation to broadcast a bad promo. And don't compare Turkey now with Turkey in 1923. The facts which were shown are hilarious. Also, it's not good to broadcast all the time short shots of people applauding for you, which leave the impression that a new cult was created. A new cult, but this time about Mr. Erdogan. Are we serious?

The 4th and 5th of May in the Netherlands

The Dutch remember the victims of the Second World War on the 4th of May. At 8 o'clock, two minutes of silence. It's always an impressive but sober moment, especially in the Dam Square in Amsterdam. Normally very noisy but then complete silence.
The Queen and her son, in military uniform. Read my article about why he is in military uniform by clicking here.


Also the Dutch Prime Minister addresses the country, with a short speech. Not like T.E. Erdogan, which was this week a promo-speech of 30 minutes!


The 5th of May is Liberation Day, celebrating the end of the Second World War in Europe (in the Far East the Japanese whee still at war). There are celebrations throughout the Netherlands. But in the last years it became more a 'theme day', with this year the theme of Freedom, the rights of the Constitution and security. Also a traditional reading (or lecture) by a prominent Dutch person this year, the former Minister for Development Cooperation and the former Special Representative Secretary General of the United Nations in Sudan, Khartoum, Prof. Jan Pronk.

How to address a nation II

More than 80% of our communication is non-verbal. And therefore propaganda is a dangerous tool as I stated in my article of Wednesday, April 24th.

Enfin, wanted to write down here why T.E. Erdogan missed a Golden Goal this week Monday when he made a speech on Television. But my computer is not listening to me anymore. Will bring it to the Laptop Hospital tonight.

Until later!

Festivals for free

One of the things I miss of the Netherlands are the festivals, which are for free. Not only on Queen's Day but also random. And especially with the Uitmarkt in Amsterdam, the opening of the new cultural season at the end of August is 4 days fun.
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams started there.

It's all so double

Two years ago, I think, I spoke with a Turkish-Armenian and recently with a Greek Orthodox. But I asked a simple question: "How is life for you in Turkey?". And both gave the same answer: more relaxed.
But when I talked with several Christians here, they started to complain, and were scared. And had the feeling that it became not easier for them under this regime.

Being other than a Muslim and expressing this openly became a big deal. Being other than a Turk is another case. Life is easy. But it's again religion which divides us, while the purpose of religion is joy and bringing people together.

How to address a Nation

Yes, it was the BBC which brought the news first that the Prime Minister of Turkey would address the nation at 20.15 local time on the 30th of April. The Turkish media were slower. Either they don’t have the equipment, or they lack the courage to bring Flash news.

With this I mean: news which is news worthy. No speculations. I see too often the ‘?’ sign above articles and comments. Which leads always to speculations. The first trap for the reader.

Anyway, I am a foreigner, and therefore suspicious, especially when I talk or write. But I don’t want to get mangled in Turkish politics. But I can assure you that the Turkish politicians from right to left, from conservative to liberal (are there any?), are the reasons that Turkish image vanished upon today; which makes life not easier for Turkish people when they want to go abroad for personal reasons, or, simply, to do business.

More later about my professional view regarding T.E. (no, not E.T) Erdogan's speech. And the opportunity of a Golden Goal, which he missed by the way...sleep well!

The reputation of a headscarf

It takes 10 years to build a respected brand reputation, but you can destroy it in 5 minutes.
The Internet coup by the military was a start, but now it looks like that Turkey cannot get enough of all the negative images they are sending out! They are in the spotlight of the international media, and they don't want to leave the stage.

And..will the tourists come back this year? Good for the hard valuate.

Never heard that a country is sending its government away because it developed a rising economy, reshaping the social structure for its people, and last but not the least: was finally on track with what it promised before it came into power.
And this all because of a headscarf... Explore your senses, is what they promise in Greece...

I am knocking my head to the wall since I can not understand it anymore...

Where do you want to be on Labor Day...

In Istanbul, where on Labor Day, the police clashed with demonstrators...(this time not a demonstration organized by the retired generals and officers..)

Or being on the beach at Scheveningen (La Hague) where it's unusually warm for the time of the year....

Click here for another interesting article about the developments in Turkey. Yes, these are exciting times for news reporters!

Orange in The Netherlands, Red in Turkey...

While the streets of Istanbul colors red with Turkish flags everywhere, the Netherlands celebrated under a beautiful blue sky Queen's Day, and everything turned into orange, party color of the Dutch...

Thirsty?

This monkey was so thirsty that he needed a drink.
And he knows the way to get it for free...
Sometimes I am curious what monkeys think about human mankind...
Picture was taken today in Kashmir, India.

The world rallies for Darfur, Istanbul for Ataturk

The rally in Istanbul. Many friends went there. I personally don't like this kind of 'nationalism', I am a European. I feel myself more European than Dutch. I understand the fear of many Turks about Islamic tendencies in the current government. But this country is a Muslim country, or am I wrong? The fear about the sharia is baseless, since this is absolutely not in line with the Acquis communautaire of the EU, to which the current government is committed, too. And regarding the EU, once you checked in you can never leave.
But demonstrations like this, confirm that the people became more mature in politics under the current government.


But Darfur is really a disaster zone. World wide protest and campaign to stop the violence there. And I wonder if the Turks are aware who started the genocide in this part of Sudan. The only thing I know is that they stopped at the UN a genocide exhibition related to Darfur, Sudan. I didn't see any protest about this today...

Queen's Day in the Netherlands

Yes, this is Queen's day in the Netherlands. The National party of our Queen. It's for free to join. And it looks like this year, with temperatures of 26 degrees, it will be a fantastic event. People can prepare themselves for this day during the weekend. But I am sure that many will not make it the first of May to work.

Queen's Day is celebrated on the 30th of April, the birthday of our former Queen, Juliana; our much beloved Queen from 1948 until 1980.
Especially in the big cities of the Netherlands, it's party time! Starting already on the 29th of April at 18.00

Yes, this was 2001, and it was nice weather. Queen's Day is fun. It's for young and old. And it's striking how the Dutch behave that day: it's carnival for them!

Picture made in Vondelpark Amsterdam. Throughout the year a place to rest, and enjoy the multi-national faces of Amsterdam.

Who is concerned about Turkish Image?

These are interesting days in Turkey. And, yes, now big parts of the world are watching the Turks. First the Turkish Armed Forces warned the current government of the AK Party that 'they' (read: the army) also have a say in the debate about who will be the next president. Then the EU warned the Turkish army not to interfere. At last but not the least, the Turkish government warns the Turkish army that the Prime minister is still above the army.
The only country which didn't warn was the USA. But they condemned the statements made by the 'Generals'.
In the end, this is not good for Turkish image!

Only Burma, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Egypt, and Thailand are ruled by the military.
Does Turkey as a candidate member of the EU belong here?
Although Turkish army is respected, it's feared as well.
It would be an economical disaster and a setback for years if the military would have a say in politics.
For more info about military who like to play around with countries click here.

Poem two - On the Secret Bridge

On the Secret Bridge
(Sır Köprüsünde)

kör bir dizeye şarkı öğretir gibi
diziyorum kıldan ince sözlerimi
hazır ol! duruyorum, tetikte kalbim
kalbine diyez seslerle yüzüyorum

Adımın sol anahtarı yok
Yüzümün yelkeni yırtıldı

çatlak ar damarına giriyorum usulca
günaha giriyorum ellerinde gezinmek suç
edepsiz notaların işgalinde nefesim
korkuyorum...üflesem düşeceksin

Aklım düşmemeli bu savaşta
Hâlâ sıcak dönüş yolu

kör bir dizeye şarkı söyletir gibi
tutuyorum kılıçtan keskin sözlerimi
sol göğsünün kapısında nöbette
ateşten bir nehirle susuyorum

Adımın sol anahtarı yok
Yüzümün yelkeni...

Nurduran Duman

Istanbul, city of restaurants

Had some friends over from the Netherlands, and went to some restaurants. And I can tell you, there are thousands of restaurants in Istanbul. I know a lot of them on the European side, but still 'where shall we go this time?'. Too many choices all the time.
But we made it one night to Venge in Levent and one evening to LOFT. First was kebab and second more international style, although the 'style' of service is not international, it's Turkish. And not one European country can compete with that...
Most EU bureaucrats know this..))

A new President for Turkey?

A. Gul for President. That will be an earthquake for Turkey. Personally, I don't think that he is a bad choice. Unfortunately, his wife is wearing not a headscarf, but is covered in a comical way, which will not attribute to Turkish modern image.

On the other side, Turkey claimed to be secular for decades, but was not; it suppressed its Muslim religion and as a result, National-islamists harmed Turkey more than this government over the past five years. Its secularism was a religion by itself.

Turkey needs more publicity, not propaganda

This article is published in the Turkish Daily News of April 24, 2007

If Turkey wants to have a peaceful, stable and tolerant image in the world through a pluralistic society, which it claims to be, Turkish society must be based upon freedom of speech, freedom in the economical sense and equality in social life. And the flow of information must be as free as a bird.
Turkey is to some (too) far right wing European politicians what garlic is to vampires: the mere mention of it sends them into convulsions. They try to associate Turkey in the public opinion with bully talkers, ultra nationalism and intolerance against other faiths. It is simple for them: Turkey, as a country, threatens, suppresses and denies “others.” Yes, Turkey is also responsible for this, as it has been sending out decades of ambivalent power play with words like, “The world is watching us at each step we take,” or “Let us do it our way.”

Read the full article by clicking here

Children's day in Turkey and elsewhere

Just asked several Turkish friends if the Turkish Children's Day is unique in the world. All answered, yes. Without even thinking. Feel a little sorry for them since the first ICD (International Children's Day) was announced at the World Conference in Geneva, 1925!

While the UN and UNESCO changed this in 1954 to November the 20th, although many countries have another day. For example India, which chose the birthday of their first PM, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the 14th of November as their Children's Day. Funny detail is that the 14th of November is exactly 9 months after the 14th of February, Valentin's Day of 2007. Also New Zealand has its own Te Rā O Te Tamariki on the 4th of March. Can make an endless list.

What disturbs me at the moment is that in Turkey they are misusing children on this day for political purposes. It's all about Ataturk: singing about him, dancing for him, reciting him etcetera. Or for Mohammed. Everything fine with me but as long as these two components of the Turkish society can not even leave their children celebrate in peace, on this particular day, they have to de-Ataturk the Turkish society since his words: 'You don't have to see me, but you have to understand me', is not for them.

The Poet, a second introduction

Nurduran Duman was born in Çan, a county of Çanakkale.
She graduated from İstanbul Technical University, Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering as a Naval Architect and Ocean Engineer.

Her poem collection “Yenilgi Oyunu” was rewarded with 2005 Cemal Süreya Poem Awards Jury Special Award. Yenilgi Oyunu was published in 2006.

Her poems, translations (poems and stories), poetic articles, book reviews and interviews with foreign writers have been published in various magazines such as Cumhuriyet Kitap, Varlık, Yasakmeyve, Eşik Cini, Edebiyat ve Eleştiri, etcetera.
In addition she has been conducting many theatre activities in various positions (actress, director, theater electrician, etc.) for years.
Currently she is the producer and presenter of the radio programme “Yazın Küresi” in Özlem Radyo.