I was heartbroken to hear the sad news of the passing of my friend, Cemal Usak.
A renowned intellectual, journalist and president of the Journalists’ and Writers’ Foundation (GYV). Cemal, who was amongst the targets of the Turkish government’s ongoing crackdown on the Gulen movement, passed away at the age of 63 while in exile. Cemal had been receiving cancer treatment for the past several years.
I first met Cemal in the early 2000s in Rhodes, Greece. We both had been invited to participate at the The World Public Forum (WPF) "Dialogue of Civilizations"(WPFDC) Conference. I recall that we sat at a joint table having lunch together. We began to talk and converse: Who are you, What do you do, where have you come from? The usual first few questions at these sort of conferences.
It seems, we both enjoyed meeting each other. We kept contact and very soon Cemal invited me to give a series of lectures in Istanbul. Our friendship got stronger and deeper.
Cemal invited me to his house, to meet his dear wife and children. I reciprocated, and we became truly good family friends.
In 2005 I invited Cemal to our GCGI Conference in Kenya, where we enjoyed our dialogue and friendship as we travelled across Kenya, from Nairobi, to Kericho and then to Mombassa.
Group photo- Cemal 7th in from the left, 1st row standing
Photo: av.gnnsj
I always wanted to hold one of our GCGI Conferences in Turkey. Again Cemal was there to help me. With his brotherly assistance we had a magnificently successful and rewarding conference at Fatih University in Istanbul in 2007.
Cemal also had organised a few fantastic evenings of hospitality, dinners, cultural events for the conference, as well as post-conference tour and much more. All greatly appreciated by the conference participants.
Group Photo- Cemal 5th in from the left, 1st row standing
Soon after our initial meeting in Rhodes, both Cemal and I were invited to join the International Coordinating committee (ICC) of the WPFDC, a task that we and other ICC members were delighted to perform, whilst encouraging and nurturing the development of the WPFDC, especially during those very early years. I have many fond memories of our ICC meetings in Moscow, Vienna and other parts of the world, including Rhodes itself.
There are many more stories that I have in my heart to tell about Cemal and our friendship. I give thanks for all the wonderful times we had together, too numerous to recall at this moment. This is a story for another day and another time.
I can only say I have lost a very good friend. I am praying in my own way for Cemal. God grant him eternal rest; he was a lovely man, who, if required, may still be a peacemaker in heaven.