Suleyman Guven
Who would have thought that one day the unclaimed
dead buried for a century in Mount Hope Cemetery in Brantford, Ontario
would capture Turkey’s attention. Everything started with the research
of Bill Darfler.
Isıl Acehan, who was working on her thesis in the
United States, was doing research on people from Turkey who had arrived
in Northern America in the past century. After Ms. Acehan finished her
thesis, she returned to Turkey. Some Turkish newspapers published the
work of Ms. Acehan who is now assistant professor at the University of
Ipek. For instance, the “Bugun” newspaper carried the headline “Turks
took to the internment camp” with reference to Isıl Acehan’s work. The
story also drew the attention of the “Sabah” newspaper on 13 August of
this year, under the title “Heart wrenching tragedy of the slaved
Turks”. “Slave” here does not have its old meaning, but refers to
wrongful and forceful imprisonment. According to the newspaper Cem
Fakir made a documentary titled “Diary of Captivity”.
[Another] newspaper reported the story under the
title “They just discovered the slaved Turks”. The news coverage in
Turkey’s media lamented the fate of the internees. The Turkish Consul
General in Toronto was closely involved with the issue. It was rumored
that Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag of Turkey would come to Canada
for the unveiling ceremony of the statue or plaque, following Ramadan of
this year.
The first reaction came from the Armenian
community media. They revealed that the Brantford internees sent to the
Kapuskasing camp were not Turks. The Armenian Keghart website launched a
petition campaign and published articles exposing the Turkish phony version of
this issue. I sent a letter to the Mayor of Brantford on behalf of our
newspaper. The “Brantford Expositor” reported that there is a pause in
the plans to unveil the plaque or statue. The issue is not limited to
Brantford anymore and the city officials did not want to make any
decision before consulting the federal officials. Since we wanted to
learn the story of the Kurdish Alevis, who were buried in the plot,
either called Turkish or Muslim of Mount Hope Cemetery, we decided to go
to Brantford.
Three friends and I, two activists from Alevi
association, travelled, on August 10, to Brantford which is 100 km west
of Toronto. It was a sunny and warm weather. As a first step to our
journey, we went to the house of Bill Darfler located at William Street.
Although the house was built in 1905, it looked much older. Darfler
said that he had purchased it 20 years ago. We then went to the Mount
Hope Cemetery and stopped at the northeast corner of the cemetery. I
paced the plot (33 ft. x33 ft.) where the 16 graves lie. Because the
people buried there came from Turkey the plot is called Turkish or
Muslim Cemetery. It was not difficult to figure out from the names that
the people buried were Kurdish Alevis. Just outside the Alevi area,
there are several tomb stones with Armenian lettering: The unbreakable
bonds of Armenians and Kurdish Alevis, who were neıghbours and friends
to each other in Turkey, continue in the cemetery.
Researcher Bill Darfler indicated that those who
were buried in the plot called “Turkish Cemetery” are Kurdish Alevis.
Mr. Darfler further indicated that the last burial had taken place in
1963. Because the burial had observed Muslim rites, the plot was called
Muslim Cemetery. Darfler told us that those who were buried in the
plot–called Turkish or Muslim Cemetery– were frıends and neighbours of
Brantford Armenians. Mr. Darfler stressed that there was no possibility
that Sunni Kurds were among the group who arrived from Turkey.
Like every country, Turkey has a right to claim
its citizens. I have doubts about the sincerity of the representatives
of AKP government in Canada while the Turkish government supports the
radical gangs of Al-Nusra Front who have massacred Kurds in Rojava and
Alevis in Latakia, Syria. I would like to tell those who try to
implement their political agenda on the Kurdish Alevi dead: Please leave
the dead Kurdish Alevis alone…. the buried whom your ancestors accused
of being “rebels, heretics, perverted” and subjected them to regular
massacres.
"Yeni Hayat," August 23, 2013
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