Relatives of victims of the Turkish airport blasts, June 30,2016. Lefteris Pitarakis /Press Association. All rights reserved.I am conflicted about a pattern developing in my writing. Lately, it seems I only write after a tragedy, a bombing or an attack. I am afraid of contributing to the type of phantasmagorical, fear-mongering, “Turkey is a dangerous place full of scary Muslims” genre of news and opinion pieces that I find deeply problematic. That said, at the moment this is the best I’ve got, and I will do the best I can with the limitations in my own thoughts.
I will not write directly about the attack on Atatürk Airport last Tuesday. There is nothing I can say that has not already been said, and to try to do so would be to minimize and cheapen the pain and shock of those who lost friends and family members that night.
News of the attack spread quickly, as it always does, and in the hours following I received many calls and messages from family members and friends. I am endlessly grateful for their love and concern, and their directness when asking me some variation of the question, “Aren’t you scared?”
