On October 10, two bombs went off during a peace rally in Ankara — the capital city of Turkey — killing close to 100 people.
On Thursday, more than 5,200 miles away, in Binghamton, 60 students and faculty members gathered by the Pegasus statue outside of the Glenn G. Bartle Library to show solidarity with those lost in the terrorist attacks. The names of the deceased were printed on black paper, and a red flower was placed over each name.
In the aftermath of the explosions, the Turkish government officially reported that 99 people died, but the Turkish Medical Association reported 106 deaths and over 400 injuries. The bombs went off during a “Labour, Peace and Democracy” rally outside the Ankara Central railway station.
Mehmet Omay, a vigil organizer and a second-year Ph.D. candidate studying sociology, said that he was concerned with the lack of government protection in Turkey.
“Our first aim is to commemorate, to show our personal grief, the attachment we are feeling to these people,” Omay said. “Our political aim is that we blame the government for not having enough security to protect its citizens.”
The suicide bombers have been linked to ISIS, but the terrorist group has not yet taken responsibility for the attack. According to multiple students attending the vigil held on Thursday, the Turkish people suspect that the government was aware of the threat, but did nothing.
“We are finding that the government knew the names of the suicide bombers for almost a year, and they didn’t take any action against those people,” Omay said. “This is our political concern. We want the Turkish government to take ISIS as a threat to all Turkish citizens.”
A moment of silence was held for the victims of the attacks, and afterward, Emre Sahin, a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying sociology, read a prepared statement to those in attendance.
“We call all of our international friends to lend support and to take initiative, as we will not stop raising our voice,” Sahin said.
For many students who attended the vigil, it was an opportunity to express sorrow and show solidarity for those who lost their lives. Mehmet Karahan, a senior majoring in computer science, said that he also wanted to make sure that their voices were heard.
“We meet here because even if we are far away from [our] country, we are affected and horrified after the explosion,” Karahan wrote in an email. “We will not keep quiet because of the pressure of our government. All of us gather here for just one thing: Peace.”
Jim Mencel, a senior majoring in political science, said that he has made many Turkish friends during his studies. For him, the fact that the vigil was held at BU signifies the solidarity between students here and the people of Turkey.
“It shows that there is support for it outside of Turkey; it shows that other people sympathize with the struggle,” Mencel said. “It lets them know that there are people who care outside of just Turkish people.”
For those in attendance, it was primarily about expressing sorrow. But they made the message clear that they expected more out of the Turkish government as well.
“We are here, we are grieving and we still want the government to do its business to protect our citizens,” Omay said. “This is our message.”