A boy’s blood flows in time of celebration
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 14, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The conflict between Palestine and Israel, which has caused the death of thousands of people, is the subject of a film by Turkish documentarian Necati Sönmez. 'The Wound of Gaza' screens today as part of the film fest.
Abdullah was running toward the shelter with his mother, carrying a white flag in his hand. When he realized the gun barrel was targeted at him, it was too late; his body was already riddled with bullets.
Born in Palestine, Abdullah died there at age 12 as a new year was being celebrated around the world. Glasses of red wine were being raised as he lay bleeding on the ground, dying in his mother’s arms. An ambulance came four days later to remove the body - just another casualty in the most recent conflict between Palestine and Israel, which started last December and continued into January of this year.
Though much of the world turned a blind eye to the conflict and its casualties, Turkish documentary filmmaker Necati Sönmez decided to go to Gaza in January to tell the stories of people like Abdullah. As soon as the cease-fire was declared, he left Turkey for Egypt, where he met his filmmaker friend Abdallah Al Ghoul, who had not been permitted to enter Gaza for three years, and they joined a crowd of women protesting against the war.
Carrying pink flags, Sönmez and Al Ghoul reached the usually impassible Gaza border gate. If they were not allowed to cross the border, the protesters were ready to set up a camp and demonstrate day after day. But a British aid convoy of 110 trucks happened to reach the border at the same time as the protesters, so they were able to cross.
In Gaza, Al Ghoul reunited with his family and Sönmez finished his documentary, which features the painful story of Abdullah’s mother, in five days. The film, "Gazze’nin Yarası" (The Wound of Gaza) will screen today at Pera Museum at 7 p.m. as part of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival.
Sönmez said when he crossed the Gaza border, he felt like he was on a far-away planet. "We were in a country on the coast of the Mediterranean," he said. "But we felt like we were at one of the farthest points in the world, in a very small point in space."
Spending the night in the house of Abdullah’s family, Sönmez said he was faced with the reality of the war when he opened the curtain in his room. "There was a huge hole in the middle of a skyscraper across the road," he said. "It had been bombed. I shuddered."
For five days, Sönmez and his camera were the guests of Gaza families as he recorded their stories. "Everyone was more mature than their age in Palestine," he said. "Children were not like children, they were like adults."
’Turkey was hypocritical’
During the conflict, there was much concern displayed in Turkey over the plight of Palestine. "But Turkey was hypocritical," Sönmez said. "It reacted because Palestine is a Muslim country. But whatever their language, race, religion or ethnic identity is, we should be concerned about people’s pains. Unfortunately, our country welcomed the president of Sudan, who shed blood in Darfur, with an official ceremony. What kind of a dilemma is this?"
Born in Palestine, Abdullah died there at age 12 as a new year was being celebrated around the world. Glasses of red wine were being raised as he lay bleeding on the ground, dying in his mother’s arms. An ambulance came four days later to remove the body - just another casualty in the most recent conflict between Palestine and Israel, which started last December and continued into January of this year.
Though much of the world turned a blind eye to the conflict and its casualties, Turkish documentary filmmaker Necati Sönmez decided to go to Gaza in January to tell the stories of people like Abdullah. As soon as the cease-fire was declared, he left Turkey for Egypt, where he met his filmmaker friend Abdallah Al Ghoul, who had not been permitted to enter Gaza for three years, and they joined a crowd of women protesting against the war.
Carrying pink flags, Sönmez and Al Ghoul reached the usually impassible Gaza border gate. If they were not allowed to cross the border, the protesters were ready to set up a camp and demonstrate day after day. But a British aid convoy of 110 trucks happened to reach the border at the same time as the protesters, so they were able to cross.
In Gaza, Al Ghoul reunited with his family and Sönmez finished his documentary, which features the painful story of Abdullah’s mother, in five days. The film, "Gazze’nin Yarası" (The Wound of Gaza) will screen today at Pera Museum at 7 p.m. as part of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival.
Sönmez said when he crossed the Gaza border, he felt like he was on a far-away planet. "We were in a country on the coast of the Mediterranean," he said. "But we felt like we were at one of the farthest points in the world, in a very small point in space."
Spending the night in the house of Abdullah’s family, Sönmez said he was faced with the reality of the war when he opened the curtain in his room. "There was a huge hole in the middle of a skyscraper across the road," he said. "It had been bombed. I shuddered."
For five days, Sönmez and his camera were the guests of Gaza families as he recorded their stories. "Everyone was more mature than their age in Palestine," he said. "Children were not like children, they were like adults."
’Turkey was hypocritical’
During the conflict, there was much concern displayed in Turkey over the plight of Palestine. "But Turkey was hypocritical," Sönmez said. "It reacted because Palestine is a Muslim country. But whatever their language, race, religion or ethnic identity is, we should be concerned about people’s pains. Unfortunately, our country welcomed the president of Sudan, who shed blood in Darfur, with an official ceremony. What kind of a dilemma is this?"