Turkey revives Greeks’ hopes by re-opening primary school

(Reuters) – Four children began classes this week at a Greek school on a remote Turkish island, becoming the first students to enroll here in almost 50 years and giving their tiny community hope of enduring in its ancient homeland.

Closed in 1964 at a time of high tensions with Greece over Cyprus, Agios Theodoros Primary School’s re-opening on Gokceada is a part of European Union aspirant Turkey’s efforts to address a troubled past and expand rights for some minorities.

Dressed neatly and carrying comic-book character backpacks, the three boys and one girl, aged 5 to 9, stood mostly still for the Turkish anthem on Monday and entered their brightly painted school after the first bell was rung.

“We hope these are just the first children. If more come, it means success for our survival on the island,” said Maria Berber, whose son Dimitri, 5, started first grade.

The step is welcomed not only by the Greek community of the Aegean island but also by the European Parliament, which said earlier this year re-opening the school was a sign of Turkey’s commitment to European values.

While Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which has roots in an Islamist movement, faces criticism for slow progress on some minority rights reforms, it has done away with many restrictions on education, property and religion that helped reduce the number of ethnic Greeks in Turkey to 3,000 from 50,000 a half-century ago.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told Reuters the government sees broadening rights for minorities as the barometer of democratic freedoms.

“These four children starting school … are our citizens and our country’s wealth. Meeting the needs of members of minority groups is a good indicator of our country’s democracy,” Arinc said a written response to questions.

Erdogan is expected to announce a comprehensive package to boost minority rights at the end of this month.
For the Greeks of Gokceada – who call themselves Imbriots after the isle’s ancient name Imbros – Agios Theodoros holds the promise of reversing their numbers’ decline.

“Opening the school is a great change in fortune. How many people are given the chance to go back … and correct a historical wrong?” said Anna Koutsomalli, who led efforts to re-open the school in the leafy village of Zeytinli, which is pockmarked with the rubble of 200-year-old stone houses.
At Agios Theodoros’ opening, two dozen former students, including Dimitri Zorlu, 66, gathered to see the new pupils.

“For years it felt like nothing was left but the ruins of our houses and orchards. Today is a turning point. The school gives us hope where before there was none,” Zorlu said.

Alabama town commemorates Freedom Riders

 

 

(from The Anniston Star)

 

 

The first time Charles Person came to Anniston, he was attacked by a mob. Today he was presented a key to the city. 

Person, along with fellow Freedom Rider Bill Harbour, stood today at site of the former Greyhound Bus Station on Gurnee Avenue, where 52 years ago Freedom Riders encountered violence that helped put the movement on the nation’s radar. 

They were back in the Model City for a dedication ceremony for a gaslight to mark the historic site.  The lamp is part of the Alagasco’s “Lighting the Way” program, in which employees voted on historic events in the state to commemorate with the perpetual flames. 

Alagasco president Dudley Reynolds said the company wanted to recognize Alabama’s role in the historic events of the 1960s, but “do it in a way that recognizes a brighter future.” 

Other lights have been or will be dedicated in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Selma.

Person was on the Trailways bus, the second with Freedom Riders to arrive in Anniston on Mothers Day 1961 and be attacked by locals. The riders were testing a Supreme Court ruling that had mandated racial integration of interstate travel facilities. Person’s bus, warned about the bombing of the first bus, managed to make it out of Anniston and to Birmingham on an alternate route, where riders were met by a mob and beaten.

Person said the change in Anniston has been amazing. For years, he was apprehensive about returning, but he said today the city was a new place.  The first time he returned to Anniston, Person refused to get off the bus, instead watching the ceremonies marking the 40th anniversary of the incident through its window. 

“I didn’t want to interact, and that’s naivete on my part,” he said. “I wasn’t open enough to realize people change.”

But 10 years later, he came back with a group of students and stopped to have lunch on Noble Street. 

“I cried uncontrollably because I couldn’t believe the difference in attitudes from 1961 and what it was in 2011,” he said. “The change was so remarkable.”

Since then, he said, he’s tried to be active in events in the community, participating last year in the dedication of Freedom Riders Park, which will be built at the site of the bus burning. 

“I could live here now, seriously,” he said. 

Harbour, a Piedmont native, was a student in Nashville when the bus was burned in Anniston. He set out for Birmingham and eventually wound up in Mississippi, where he was jailed for 49 days for his part in the Freedom Rides.  He said today that he thinks the gaslight and planned Freedom Riders Park could bring people — particularly groups of students — to the city, which could provide an economic boost. 

Harbour referenced Maya Angelou as he spoke at the ceremony. 

“People will forget what you said here; people will forget what you did here, but people will never forget how you make them feel,” he told the crowd. “Anniston, you make us feel proud today.”