‘I don’t want Europe to fail the way Turkey did’: Ece Temelkuran on fascism, death threats and life in exile
Ten years after she was forced to leave her friends and family, the Turkish journalist feels the importance of home more keenly than ever. And she believes it is at the heart of many of the world’s conflicts
TL;DR
- Ece Temelkuran, a Turkish journalist, has lived in exile for ten years after receiving death and rape threats for her criticism of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government.
- Her new book, 'Nation of Strangers,' argues that the idea of 'home' and its associated emotions are dominant political forces in contemporary society.
- Temelkuran believes the left has failed to understand and address the emotional consequences of political failures, which the far-right effectively weaponizes.
- She criticizes Western complacency in recognizing and confronting fascism, preferring euphemisms that allow for inaction.
- The author emphasizes the need for political vocabulary to become less 'soft' and to address concepts like sacrifice and human love in political contexts.