Emine Erdoğan Says Palestinians Believe Gaza Will Rise From the Ashes
Istanbul, The Gulf Observer: Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan on Friday said that the Palestinian people firmly believe in a Gaza that will rise again from the ashes, adding, “We believe it too.”
Her remarks came during the opening ceremony of the “Kalanlar” (The Remnants) Palestine Exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Kalyon Foundation and the Turkish Red Crescent at Kalyon Culture in Istanbul.
Emine Erdoğan said that Gaza, despite covering only 365 square kilometers, has become “the center of the bloodiest, most brutal, and most systematic genocide in history,” noting that the scale of suffering there is beyond what human conscience can bear.
She emphasized that despite widespread destruction, nearly two million people remain in Gaza and continue to struggle to survive under what she described as “unimaginably difficult” conditions.
Recalling the words of late Palestinian academic and poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in December 2023, Erdoğan said: “What falls to us is to tell the story of those who remain, to raise our voices for the implementation of international law, and for this cruelty to stop immediately.”
Stressing that Palestinians are not remaining silent in the face of aggression, she highlighted examples of resilience, including an artist who used soot from empty cooking pots to depict hunger, disrupting “perception games with the undeniable reality of art.” She also cited a female agricultural engineer who succeeded in converting seawater into drinking water, saying she overcame the blockade through knowledge and innovation.
“Defending Palestine means defending not only the Palestinians, but all of humanity, the values that sustain it, and above all, our right to remain human,” Erdoğan said.
Kalyon Foundation President Reyhan Kalyoncu told Anadolu Agency that the exhibition was designed to make visible the dignity, faith, and ongoing struggle for survival of the Palestinian people.
The opening ceremony was attended by Palestinian Ambassador to Ankara Nasri Abu Jaish, Turkish Red Crescent President Fatma Meric Yilmaz, and Kalyon Holding Board Chairman Cemal Kalyoncu, among others.
The exhibition features six installations across six rooms, along with an experiential area, and will remain open to visitors until March 30. Palestinian soup, bagels, olives, and dates were served at the venue to raise awareness of conditions in Palestine.
Israel launched a military campaign against Gaza in October 2023, with U.S. backing, resulting in the deaths of more than 71,000 Palestinians and injuries to over 171,000, most of them women and children. A ceasefire based on a proposal advanced by former U.S. President Donald Trump took effect on October 10, though Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement.
