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An earthquake in Turkey and a walk in Amsterdam

By: Tayfun Balçik

Of all the emails I still had to answer, that of my Surinamese-Dutch colleague Camiël stood out. 'It's hard for me Tayfun, those images from Turkey. Can we take a walk?'

Oh god, not another conversation about the horror in Turkey, I thought right away. And, by the way, as a Turkish-Dutch citizen, am I not being ethnically profiled? And why do I suddenly have to comfort you? Twisted feelings , which were of course completely crushed by the humane gesture. Compassion! And not just one that one happens to utter at the Albert Heijn or in the workplace, but one for which time is made available through a walk.

Naturally, I also  did that for Camiël, my Surinamese brother from Amsterdam South. Until then I had only seen him once 'in real life', when I quickly became interested in the leaves, the twigs of which he removed in a relaxed and skillful manner. No, he didn't crumble weed. He prepared food for me, with a plant wich name I have long forgotten. On the bike back after dinner, we had a short but powerful conversation about nationalism. Deep feelings that are strongly represented in Turkish and Surinamese bodies. Culturally indoctrinated, but in the Surinamese case mainly a reaction to white supremacy.

We had selected the Rembrandt park. Me with my bike again, and he with his cool motor now. And of course those crazy dreadlocks under his helmet. A huge contrast to my bald head, safely hidden under the hat.

He was late because his meeting rang longer with a friend suffering from panic attacks. And because I myself had recently had a panic attack, I wanted to know everything about it. The fear and tension bubbled up while walking, but the nice conversation eventually drove the boohoo's away.

The earthquake? “Well, how can I explain Camiël. I have no family in the area, but it is as if an atomic bomb has just been dropped in an area the size of the Benelux. In Hiroshima, around 75,000 people were immediately killed. And that number is now also being mentioned. An atomic bomb. That's what it is.'

The horror is simply too great to contain. So it quickly turned to the things that we could talk about. For example, about the Creole-Hindu tensions in Suriname. And that you supposedly have to pick a side. They were ominous words that came out a few days later with the Surinamese parliament being attacked.

We completed a round with Turkish and Surinamese things. Suddenly it was about religion and then again about inter-ethnic relations. Why Turks marrying each other would be so-called 'failed integration', and about white girlfriends and feelings of inferiority. Much too deep business to handle in one round so we did one more. And when that turned out not to be enough either…, 'we need at least ten walks', says Camiël. I knew it, we will go for more walks. Will you join us?

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