AMERİKAN VOCATIV HABER AJANSININ STUDIOMUZDA YAPTIĞI RÖPORTAJ
Turkey’s Opposition Wears Its Heart on Its Skin
Young Turks are brandishing tattoos to voice their outrage over the country's president
Author Elcin PoyrazlarPosted: 08/29/14
“This is a war on identities,” says Cenk, a tattoo artist based in Istanbul. “I would never draw a PKK flag,” he adds, referring to Turkey’s outlawed Kurdish militants, “but Ataturk’s signature is something I enjoy doing.”
Cenk asks not to share his full name because his art has become a politically charged issue under the rule of Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamist-rooted leader. The act of tattooing the signature of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk—who founded modern Turkey as a secular republic in 1923—has become a sign of resistance in recent years. The trend started as a protest against Erdogan and the policies of his ruling party (known by its Turkish initials, AKP) and has steadily gotten bigger.
Turkish tattoo artist Cenk: "This is a war on identities."
Turkey is sharply polarized about Erdogan, who was prime minister for a decade and took office as president on Thursday. Conservatives—who generally dress modestly and are not the sort of people you bump into in a tattoo parlor—see Erdogan’s rule as a democratization process that has enfranchised the pious masses who were largely shut out of the country’s secular old order. By contrast, secular Turks seek refuge in the signs and symbols of Ataturk; in fact, thousands of them formed a giant human portrait of his face this week to honor his memory. And some of the people who fear that Turkish society is getting steadily more Islamized end up getting Ataturk’s emblem tattooed on their bodies.
Baris Yesilbas, a 28-year-old tattoo artist, says people mostly do it on visible body parts such as their arms, wrists or necks. The tattoo of choice is Ataturk’s signature, but some people opt to get tattoos of his portrait or his words. “People do this because they want to show their political side,” says Yesilbas. “It’s a reaction.”
You could say there is a lot to react to. Erdogan is well-known for his forthright advice on how citizens should lead their lives. He has laid out the law on how many kids people should have (three or sometimes five), whether women should have cesarean sections (no, they are a conspiracy to reduce Turkey’s population) and on drinking alcohol (he’s introduced heavy taxes on wine and spirits).
Erdogan has been equally forthright on the subject of tattoos. When the leader met a young soccer player last month, he immediately began to tell him off. “What are all these tattoos? Why are you harming yourself? ” Erdogan asked the unfortunate athlete. “Don’t imitate foreigners; this could cause cancer,” he added. Afterward, Erdogan complained to the young man’s trainer.
- Last week, 6,000 people gathered in Turkey to form a giant portrait of the country's secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Such comments don’t sit well with tattoo artists like Cenk. “He acts like a dictator,” Cenk says of Erdogan’s remarks. “I believe this could affect our livelihood if he is determined to bring a law or something.”Last week, 6,000 people gathered in Turkey to form a giant portrait of the country's secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
But the trend of tattooing Ataturk symbols is definitely not going away. Cenk says he personally has done around 500 tattoos of Ataturk’s signature, mainly for young people. Most Turkish tattoo parlors offer signature tattoos for $50 to $400, depending on the size, and some even do it for free every Nov. 10, the day of Ataturk’s death.
Emre Mete, an 18-year-old student, says he is worried where the country is headed and wanted to express his political views via a tattoo. “I want to show people who I am,” he says. “I am an Ataturk lover and I don’t like Erdogan’s policies.”When I ask Emre whether girls are into the inked signature on his arm, he insists on the significance of the tattoo. “I did not do this for girls,” he says. “I did this for myself, and I will never regret it.”
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