|
(The British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Romania, and the Serb- Croat-Slovene State) voted in unison in opposition to Turkey, the representative from Ireland was an exception; in each vote, he raised his hand in favor of Turkey’s interests. Beyatlý noticed this unusual person, and could not help asking him the reason. “I am obliged to do it. Not only I, but are all Irish men and women,” said the Irish representative. “When we suffered from famine and disease, your Ottoman ancestors shipped loads of food and monetary donations. We have never forgotten the friendly hand extended to us in our difficult times. Your nation deserves to be supported on
every occasion.” Ireland was ridden with famine and disease between 1845 and 1849. Also known as the Great Hunger, this famine had lasting effects: at least one million people died due to famine-related diseases and more than one million Irish fled, mainly to the United States, England, Canada, and Australia. Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid sent five ships full of food supplies and funds as charity. However, the British administration did not give permission for these ships to enter the ports of Belfast or Dublin. Taner Baytok, former Turkish ambassador to Ireland, recounts in his memoirs that these ships secretly discharged their load in Drogheda, a town approximately 70 miles north of Dublin. In May 2, 1995, commemorating this charity, the mayor of Drogheda, Alderman Frank Goddfrey, paid honor to Baytok and erected a plaque in the Westcourt Hotel, which was then the City Hall where Turkish seamen stayed.2 Baytok says he first learned of this act of charity from an article by Thomas P. O’Neill published in The Threshold magazine in 1957. The Otoman sultan declared that he would donate £10,000, but on the orders of Queen Victoria the British Ambassador in Istanbul informed the Sultan that he should reduce this amount, for the Queen’s donation was only £2,000. As noted in the letter of gratitude from the “noblemen, gentlemen, and inhabitants of Ireland,” the amount donated by Sultan Abdülmecid was reduced by the Queen to one thousand pounds. Ottoman efforts to provide food and lessen the pains of the Irish people, despite political obstacles and the long distance, certainly deserves to be appreciated.It is a case study that should be analyzed carefully, not only as historical evidence for the friendship between two nations, but also as a perfect example that differences of race, religion, or language should not prevent humanitarian aid. This generous charity from a Muslim sultan to a Christian nation is also important, particularly in our time when Muslims are often unfairly accused of human rights violations. Likewise, the appreciative plaque and overall reaction of the Irish society in return for this charity deserves to be applauded. We hope that the Turkish-Irish friendship sets a model for peace among different nations.
(Ãngiliz Ãmparatorluðu, Fransa, Ãtalya, Japonya, Yunanistan, Romanya ve Sýrp-Hýrvat-Sloven Devleti)bir aðýzdan Türkiye aleyhinde oy verdi, Ãrlanda temsilcisi bir istisnaydý; elini Türkiye’nin çýkarlarý yararýna kaldýrdý. Bu olaðandýþý adam Beyatlý’nýn dikkatini çekti ve bunun sebebini sormadan edemedi. “Bunu yapmak zorundayým, sadece ben deðil, bütün Ãrlandalý erkek ve kadýnlar” dedi Ãrlandalý temsilci. "Yokluk ve salgýn zamanlarýmýzda Osmanlý atalarýnýz bize gemilerle yiyecek ve para yardýmýnda bulunmuþlardý. Zor zamanlarýmýzda bize uzanan yardým elini hiçbir zaman unutmadýk. Ulusunuz her durumda desteklenmeyi hakediyor.”
Ãrlanda 1845-1849 yýllarý arasýnda kýtlýk ve salgýn akýnýna uðramýþtý. Büyük Açlýk olarak da bilinen bu kýtlýðýn sonuçlarý: kýtlýkla baðlantýlý hastalýklar yüzünden en az bir milyon insan ölmüþ ve bir milyondan fazla Ãrlandalý çoðunlukla Birleþik Devletler, Ãngiltere, Kanada ve Avustralya’ya göç etmiþti. Osmanlý Sultaný Abdülmecit hayýr için beþ gemi dolusu erzak ve ödenek gönderdi. Nedense Ãngiliz yönetimi bu gemilerin Belfast ya da Dublin limanlarýna girmesine izin vermedi. Ãrlanda eski Türk büyükelçisi Taner Baytok anýlarýnda bu gemilerin yüklerini gizlice Dublin’in yaklaþýk 70 mil kuzeyindeki Drogheda’ya boþalttýðýný nakleder. 2 Mayýs 1995’de bu yardýmýn anýsýna Drogheda belediye baþkaný Alderman Frank Goddfrey o zamanlar belediye binasý olan ve Türk denizcilerin kaldýðý þimdiki Westcourt Oteli’nde Baytok’u onurlandýrarak bir plaka çaktý. Baytok bu yardýmý ilk kez 1957’de Thomas P.O’Neill’in The Treshold dergisinde yayýmlanan makalesinden öðrendiðini söyler. Osmanlý Sultaný 10,000£ yardýmda bulunacaðýný açýklamýþ ancak Kraliçe Victoria’nýn Ãstanbul Büyükelçisi Sultan’ý, kraliçenin yardým tutarý 2,000£ olduðu için yardým tutarýný indirmesi gerektiði konusunda bilgilendirdi. “Ãrlanda’nýn asil, beyefendi sakinleri”nden gelen þükran mektubunda da dikkat çekildiði üzere Sultan Abdülmecid’in yardým tutarý Kraliçe sebebiyle bin pounda düþürüldü. Osmanlý tüm politik engeller ve uzak mesafeye raðmen Ãrlanda halkýnýn acýlarýný azaltmak için çabalamýþ ve kesinlikle takdiri haketmiþtir. Bu yalnýzca iki ulus arasýndaki dostluða tarihi kanýt oluþturmasý açýsýndan deðil ayný zamanda ýrk, din veya dil farkýnýn insani yardýmlaþmaya engel olmadýðýný gösteren, bu açýdan dikkatle incelenmesi gereken örnek bir olaydýr. Müslüman sultandan hristiyan halka yapýlan bu cömert yardým, özellikle Müslümanlarýn haksýz olarak insan haklarý ihlalleriyle suçlandýðý günümüzde çok önemlidir. Minnettarlýk göstergesi plaka ve Ãrlanda halkýnýn bu yardýma gösterdiði tüm tepkiler de alkýþlanmaya deðerdir. Umarýz Türk-Ãrlandalý dostluðu deðiþik uluslar arasýndaki barýþ için bir model oluþturur.
Edited (10/27/2009) by falcetus
Edited (10/27/2009) by falcetus
|
