Organisation: Power of the Working Class and Hope for Society!

After the Earthquake of August 17, 1999, victims trapped under the rubble cried out: “Anybody out there, hearing my voice?” These cries turned into a symbol of the suffering of the people under the rubble and the need for solidarity. As the echo of those cries is still in our ears, yet a louder one rose in the earthquake on February 6, 2023: “Where is the state?” That day and in the following days, the earthquake victims had a great shock and disappointment. Because people were expecting the state, which has almost all the resources in its possession, the power to quickly transfer these resources to the earthquake zones and to mobilize tens of thousands of people, to come to the rescue, but that did not happen! The workers in suffering were silenced by saying “We are facing the disaster of the century”, “This is one of the largest earthquakes”, and “How can you expect the state to reach everywhere in the face of such a big disaster?” The earthquake victims who were demanding help, got deep anger and despair as there was no help from the state even during this terrible disaster. They were left with their hands tied while their loved ones died under the rubble. They protested in rage: “Shame on you! What happened to ‘Big Turkey’!”

So, what have those at the helm of the state done? They decided to suppress this suffering and anger, not understand it! Far from being held accountable, they went further and tried to self-justify! They tried to silence those who pointed out the facts, those who asked where the taxes collected for the earthquake were spent, and those who protested. Those who did not even allow earthquake victims to use their palatial mansion’s toilet attempted to smear the solidarity campaigns on the grounds of “showing the state as incapable”. They targeted those who continued these solidarity campaigns. Rather than account for their ambition to make quick and easy money, for their greed, and neglect of their responsibilities, they made threats, saying, “When the day comes, we will open the accounts we keep.” The government, which has been in power for 21 of the 24 years since the August 17 earthquake, has not taken any precautions. They transferred the earthquake taxes to the capitalist class as a resource. They did not care about the many reports about the forthcoming Maraş earthquake. But according to them, they were still not to blame!

AFAD (Turkish Disaster and Management Authority) teams rushed to the rubble where civilian search and rescue teams had pulled people out and put on a show in front of the cameras as if they had rescued that earthquake victim themselves. Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) sold tents. Authorized teams tried to destroy the evidence by demolishing the solid building where the permits (documents) given to the contractors were located. Police and gendarmerie stood against those who wanted to prevent it. Instead of pulling people out of the rubble, the construction equipment pulled out bank vaults. Those who died were buried in mass graves with blankets or body bags. The ministers of the state pushed each other to be seen in front at the protocol ceremonies. While there is still a possibility of life under the rubble, excavators started removing debris. Pro-government media, when they came across victims who wanted to make their voices heard, turned their back and moved away with their cameras. However, those in control of the state told success stories as if none of these had ever happened. They claimed they were a model to the whole world.

We now know that 130 thousand people died in earthquakes, as AKP Candidate for Istanbul Mayor Murat Kurum let it slip (according to official statements the number is 50 thousand). This means that the death of more people than the population of many cities, and the fact that many of them lost their lives suffering under the rubble for days, did not and do not disturb the rulers as much as the rising protests and the workers’ solidarity.

When you look at it, it is impossible not to see that the government takes the same attitude in every case. For example, while the forests were burning up, those who asked, “Why don’t we have enough firefighting aircraft?”, “Why don’t we ask neighbouring countries for aircraft?” were accused of damaging Turkey’s reputation. When they say Turkey’s reputation, they mean their power. Their power is more important than nature, forests, animals ablaze, workers’ homes, and means of living! Industrial actions taken by workers demanding pay rise were banned. Striking workers were accused of harming “national security and economy.” While murderers of women and gangsters were set free, people like Can Atalay, who fought for the rights of working people, were put in jail. In every case, the journalists who exposed the cases were punished instead of those responsible who had to be held accountable. The owners of workplaces where workers are killed by so-called “work accidents” were rewarded with incentives and tax reductions, and workers who used their democratic rights and joined a union are subjected to police brutality. Renowned companies carried on commercial relations with Israel continuously, and those who questioned and protested this situation were prevented by repression and violence. These attacks continue even more recklessly. We have come to such a point that people are driven into disorientation while expressing their reaction, cannot ask for accountability, and cannot solve their problems. Society is pushed into despair.

Let’s dig a little deeper: Can a society be a healthy one where those who are the main responsible hold accountable those who are not responsible, the criminal threatens the victim, and the mighty silences the righteous one? Can a society progress where malice and cruelty are not held accountable? Can people’s expectations for justice, peace and well-being be met in such a society? Can there be hope that a better future awaits us? It is precisely where the reason for the bleakness that grips society in Turkey today should be sought. If we do not take action, this toxic atmosphere that the rulers dragged society into will not be broken and this situation of sickness will continue. We will have to pay even heavier prices. Democratic rights and freedoms will become impossible to even mention, let alone demand them. Our bread and butter (livelihood) will become even less. Our working and living conditions will become even harder. We will continue to remain under the rubble. As working people, we must find a way out together, and this is not as difficult or impossible as the rulers want us to believe!

Just as when a person is seriously injured, no matter how painful it is, it is critical to stop bleeding, prevent infection, and cauterize the wound if necessary, the same goes for society. There is always a way to heal. The important thing is to make the correct diagnosis and apply the right form of treatment without compromise. The capitalist system we live in is a system that makes people and society sick. The government in Turkey takes capitalist greed to the top, poisons society with artificial polarization, nationalism, the idea that seeking rights is illegitimate, and fear, intimidates it with brutality and oppression, deepening the sickness even further. It provokes and extends cruelty, corruption and hostility from the top. They make the workers, who would have no problems with each other under normal circumstances, hate each other, deceive, and poison them. This is how they manage to stay in power. Under these circumstances, it might look like it is not possible to remove the debris above us.

But we have a way out: Organising! The only thing that unites working people, raises their consciousness, gives them hope and makes them a power is being organised. Being powerful means being able to resist cruelty rather than obey it. It means to make the tyrants shake with fear of accountability. And this means being capable of overthrowing the system of exploitation, oppression and malice. As working people, if we listen to each other’s voices, we will realise that we are struggling with the same problems and have the same aspirations. When we cry out “anybody out there, hearing my voice?” we will see that we have class brothers and sisters from our workplace to the edge of the world who hear us and are ready to give strength to our voice. Because we are the working class. We are a class that produces together, gets stronger when united and needs to be united. Organisation is the power of the working class and the hope for society! Then let’s join hands, build our unity and solidarity to grow our strength, break the bleakness and make hopes bloom.