04 02 2007 - FINAL TRANSLATION OF THE OFFICIAL TEXT OF RAKEL DINK'S EULOGY- ( English and original inTurkish)

by Fatma M... 7:16
Dear Colleagues,
Below and attached is my translation of the eulogy Hrant Dink’s wife Rakel Dink delivered in front of his coffin today, on 23 January 2007 in Osmanbey Istanbul. The translation is the one given at the Bianet news site that cites that it is her official text; I thank Ayse Gul Altinay for sending it to me. It indeed has many religious allusions that had been taken out of the texts that were circulated; here is one that I think is as close to the original as I could manage to translate. I am including the original Turkish text as well.


Rakel Dink started her letter addressing Hrant Dink with his nickname, “chutak” (violin) that only she and their granddaughter Nora used for him.

“Letter to My Beloved” by Rakel Dink 23 January 2007

“I was chosen to be the spouse of my ‘chutak.’ I am here today full of immense grief and dignity. My children, my family, you and I are very mournful. This silent love bestows upon us some fortitude. It enables us to experience within us a sorrowful contentment. In the Bible Johannah 15:13, it is stated that there is no greater love than people giving up their life for the sake of their friends.

My dear friends, today we send off half of my soul, my beloved, the father of my children and your brother. We are going to actualize a march without any slogans and without showing any disrespect to those around us surrounding us. Today we are going to generate immense sound through our silence.

Today is the beginning of the day when the [darkness of the] gorges rise into brightness.

Whoever the assassin may be, whatever his age may be, either 17 or 27 [years’ old], I know that he was once upon a time a baby. My brothers and sisters, one cannot accomplish anything without first questioning the darkness that creates an assassin from such a baby...

My brothers and sisters,

It was [Hrant’s] love for honesty, for transparency, for his friends that brought him here. His love that challenged fear made him great. They say “He was a great man.” I ask you, “Was he born great?” No! He too was born just like us. He did not come from the heavens; he too was [created] from earth. A body that rots just like ours! But what made him great was his living spirit; his deeds, his style, and the love in his eyes and his heart. It was what he did, the style he chose, the love in his heart that made him great.

A person does not become great naturally; it is through his deeds that he becomes great… Yes, he became great because he thought great things and pronounced great words. You too all thought great things by coming here. You talked great through your silence; you too are great.
But do not let this suffice; do not be content with this much alone.

He marked the birth of a new era in Turkey today and you have all been his seal. With him changed the headlines, dialogues, and bans. For him, there were no taboos or forbidden topics. As it is stated in the Scriptures, it all sprung from his heart. He paid a great price. Futures for which great prices are paid can only be accomplished through loving Hrants, believing in Hrants; not with hatred, insults, by holding one blood superior to another. This rise is only possible if one sees and respects the other as oneself, if one assumes to be the other.

They separated him from the heaven of his home he had created with the help of Jesus. They made him spread his wings to the eternal celestial heavens. They made him spread his wings to the celestial heavens before his eyes tired out, before his body had the chance to age, before he could become sick, before he could spend enough times with his loved ones.

We too shall come, my beloved. We too shall come to that matchless heaven. Love and love alone enters there. Love and love alone that is superior to the speech of humans and angels, to prophecy, to mastery of all the mysteries, to faith that moves mountains, to almsgiving all one possesses, to even giving up one’s body up to flames [only that love] will enter that heaven. There we shall live together forever in true love. A love that is not jealous of anyone, a love that does not covet the property of anyone else, a love that does not murder anyone, a love that does not belittle anyone, a love that holds one’s brother and sister more dear than oneself, a love that abandons one’s own allocation, a love that demands the rights of one’s brother and sister. A love that is found in the Messiah. And a love that has been poured onto us.

Who could forget what you have done, what you have said, my beloved? Which darkness could erase them? Who could have what has happened, what is happening forgotten? Could fear have them forgotten? Could life? Could injustice? Could the temptations of the world? Or could death have them forgotten, my beloved? No, no darkness is capable of having them forgotten my beloved.

I too wrote you a love letter, my beloved. Its cost was dear to me too, my beloved. I owe it to Jesus that I was capable of penning this [letter], my beloved. Let us give his due to Him, my beloved. Let us give back everyone their due, my beloved.

You departed from those you loved; you departed from your children, your grandchildren. You departed from those hear who came to send you off, you departed from my embrace. You did not depart from your country.”

TURKISH ORIGINAL:

BÝA Haber Merkezi 3/01/2007 Rakel DÝNK BÝA (Ýstanbul) - Rakel Dink, eþi gazeteci Hrant Dink'i
uðurlarken, on binlerce kiþiye "Sevgiliye Mektup"unu okudu. Mektuba, yalnýzca kendisinin ve torunlarý Nora'nýn kullandýðý, Hrant Dink'in takma adýyla, "Çutaðým" (kemaným) diyerek baþladý.
Aþaðýda, Rakel Dink'in mektubunun tam metnini yayýnlýyoruz..Çutaðýma eþ olmak bana verildi. Bugün çok acýlý ve onurlu olarak buradayým. Ben, çocuklarýmý, ailem ve sizler çok acýlýyýz. Bu sessiz sevgi biraz olsun bize güç katýyor. Kederli bir sevinç yaþatýyor. Ýncil'den Yuhanna 15:13'te hiç kimsede, insanlarýn dostlarý uðruna canýný vermesinden daha büyük bir sevgi yoktur der.
Sevgili dostlar, bugün bedenimin yarýsýný, sevgilimi, çocuklarýmýn babasýný, sizin kardeþinizi uðurluyoruz. Saðdakine, soldakine, öndekine, arkadakine rahatsýzlýk saygýsýzlýk vermeden, sloganlar pankartlar açmadan sessiz bir yürüyüþ gerçekleþtiriyoruz. Bugün sessizlik ile büyük bir ses yükselteceðiz.
Bugün derinliklerin ýþýða yükseldiði günün baþlangýcýdýr. Yaþý kaç olursa olsun; 17 veya 27, katil kim olursa olsun, bir zamanlar bebek olduklarýný biliyorum. Bir bebekten bir katil yaratan karanlýðý sorgulamadan hiçbir þey yapýlmaz kardeþlerim.. Kardeþlerim, Onun doðruluða olan sevgisi, þeffaflýða olan sevgisi, dostuna olan sevgisi onu buraya getirdi. Korkuya meydan okuyan sevgisi onu büyüttü. Diyorlar ki "O büyük bir adamdý." Size sorarým:"O büyük mü doðdu?" Hayýr! O da bizim gibi doðdu. O gökten deðildi o da topraktandý. Bizim gibi çürüyen bir beden! Fakat yaþayan ruhu, yaptýðý iþ, kullandýðý üslup gözlerindeki, yüreðindeki sevgi onu büyük yaptý. Ýnsan kendiliðinden büyük olmaz. Ýnsaný yaptýklarý büyük yapar... Evet o büyük oldu, çünkü büyük düþündü, büyük söyledi. Bugün buraya gelerek hepiniz büyük düþündünüz. Sessizce büyük konuþtunuz, siz de büyüksünüz. Bu günle kalmayýn bu kadarla yetinmeyin.
O, bugün Türkiye'de milat yaptý sizler de mührü oldunuz. Onunla manþetler, onunla konuþmalar, yasaklar deðiþti. Onun için dokunulmazlar veya tabular yoktu. Kelamda dediði gibi yüreðinden taþtý. Büyük bir bedel ödedi. Bedellerin ödendiði gelecekler Hrantlarý severek Hrantlara inanarak olur, nefretle, hakaretle, kaný kandan üstün tutarak olmaz. Bu yükseliþ karþýndakini kendin gibi görerek kendin gibi sayarak, kendin sayarak olur. Hisusun yardýmýyla yarattýðý ev cennetinden ayýrdýlar. Göksel ve ebedi cennete kanat açtýrdýlar. Gözleri daha yorulmadan, bedeni daha yaþlanmadan, daha hasta olmadan, sevdiklerine doymadan kanat açtýrdýlar göksel cennete.
Biz de geleceðiz sevgilim. Biz de geleceðiz o eþsiz cennete. Oraya yalnýz ve yalnýz sevgi girer. Ýnsanlarýn ve meleklerin dillerinden üstün olan, peygamberlikten üstün olan, bütün sýrlarý bilmekten üstün olan, daðlarý yerinden oynatacak imandan üstün olan, varýný yoðunu sadaka vermekten üstün olan bedenini yakýlmaya teslim etmekten daha üstün olan yalnýz ve yalnýz sevgi girecek o cennete. Orada gerçek sevgi ile bir arada ebedince yaþayacaðýz. Kimseyi kýskanmayan sevgi, kimsenin malýnda gözü olmayan sevgi, kimseyi öldürmeyen
sevgi, kimseyi aþaðýlamayan sevgi, kardeþini kendinden üstün tutan sevgi, kendi hakkýndan vazgeçen sevgi, kardeþinin hakkýný arayan sevgi. Mesih'te bulunan sevgi. Ve bize dökülmüþ olan sevgi.
Yaptýklarýný, konuþtuklarýný kim unutabilir sevgilim? Hangi karanlýk unutturabilir sevgilim? Olmuþlarý, olanlarý kim unutturabilir? Korku unutturabilir mi sevgilim? Yaþam mý? Zulüm mü? Dünyanýn zevki sefasý mý sevgilim? Yoksa ölüm mü unutturacak sevgilim? Hayýr, hiçbir karanlýk unutturamaz
sevgilim.

Ben de sana yazdým aþk mektubunu sevgilim. Bana da aðýr oldu bedeli sevgilim. Bunlarý yazabilmeyi Hisusa borçluyum sevgilim. Onun da hakkýný ona verelim sevgilim. Herkesin hakkýný herkese geri verelim sevgilim.
Sevdiklerinden ayrýldýn, çocuklarýndan, torunlarýndan ayrýldýn. Burada seni uðurlayanlardan ayrýldýn, kucaðýmdan ayrýldýn. Ülkenden ayrýlmadýn.

V.V