Happy Children's Day in Turkey

With Earth Day and Easter being on this weekend here in the United States, few may realize that a very important holiday, Children's Day, is being celebrated on April 23rd in Turkey, my late father's home country.

The national holiday was started by the Republic of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and it was first officially recognized in 1927, when my father Mehmet Gokbudak was six years old.

According to Wikipedia, many people in Turkey feel that International Children's Day, which is June 1, was inspired by the Turkish Children's Day, which is known as Cocuklar Bayrami.

When we were living in Turkey when I was from 1977-79, I participated in a Children's Day parade in Eregli, which is near the western Black Sea port city of Zonguldak. I forget if I marched in 1978 or 1979, or both years. I was in my school uniform, which all Turkish children are still required to wear to school (I really missed wearing "Spiderman" t-shirts as I did back in Roanoke, Va.)

Alas, things are becoming quite unsettled in Turkey's neghbor Syria where the BBC reports that more than 70 protestors have been killed across the country with the highest casualties being cited in the Damascus suburb of Deraa.

AlJazeera, which is only available in the United States in few localities, like Toledo, Ohio, in addition to some coverage on Link TV, reports that there was a major student demostration at Damascus, Syria. The Quatar-based news agency also said there was a similar protest in Latakia, which is the main Syrian port.

"The Christian Science Monitor" said protests broke out in Homs, which is Syria's third largest city behind Damascus and Allepo. The Boston-based news agency said government officials used live bullets and tear gas to crack down on demonstrators.

Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad, 45, has been power since his father's death in
2000; Syria has been in the family's hands for over 40 years.

There is not report yet as how this will affect Turkey, which is one of Syria's main trading partners though the two countries have at times had strained relationships and territorial spats.