Funeral after 44 years- Moving Speach

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 11:51

My friend and former mayor of Nicosia Kutlay Erk was only 11 years old when his father went missing in 1963. His father's remains were discovered and identified recently and his funeral took place on Saturday 31st May 2008.



Kutlay Erk made a very moving speach at the funeral first in Turkish and then in English. I am giving the full English text below.

ismet



Dear Friends,

On behalf of myself and my family, I thank you all for attending this funeral of our father.

Our father had been working at the Central Prison from 1952 onwards as a prison warden.

On the day that the intercommunal conflict of December 1963 broke out, he was in the Nicosia State Hospital. We were told that on 23rd December some friends of his from the Central Prison came to the hospital and took him away and he was never seen again.

On 23rd of May 2008 we received news of our father from the Committee for Missing Persons who informed us officially that the remains of our father had been found. Exactly 44 years and 5 months after he was last seen alive.

The remains of our father was found in the Ottoman wells in Strovolos where he had been thrown and where he remained for more than 44 years. But today we will be putting him to eternal rest next to his wife.

We carry very mixed feelings today ...............

We are experiencing an event with overwhelming emotions

We are both happy and sad: we have found our father after nearly 45 years and are burying him.

We are deeply saddened that his wife our mother did not live to see this day. She died in 1999 and even though she had no doubt that her husband had been killed, until her death she still carried hopes of ‘who knows, he may return’.....

We have carried this burning flame inside us until today and today it is time to bury it.…

It has been nearly 45 years of

Hope and pain

Dreams and nightmares

Expectation and heartbreak

Memories and longing

Keeping our pain to ourselves in silence

Not speaking but not forgetting …

For nearly 45 long years

Today we close that era

His story ends today

This is the picture of our mixed emotions …

But we have to be wise and put wisdom first

Standing in front of this coffin today we remember the events that have happened over the past 50 years in Cyprus. And we remember once again how important it is and how desperately we need to achieve a sustainable peace on the island.

And as the family of Mustafa Arif we vow to continue our efforts towards achieving peace

It has to be remembered that finding and returning all the missing Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to their families is a very important right that should never be politicised.

We consider ourselves fortunate because our missing father has been found and we hope that those families who have not yet been so fortunate will also find their loved ones soon.

The families of missing Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots and also those from other conflicts throughout the world share the same fate and the same pain: irrespective of their language or colour or religion their grief is the same, their tears are the same.

We express solidarity and share the pain suffered by all the missing of the world and their families.

We pray for an end to all conflicts and wars on our island and throughout the world, so that there are no more incidents of missing persons, where a family can leave their loved one alive and well one day to be reunited with them 45 years later in the form of bare bones in a tiny coffin…

Dear Friends

On behalf of myself and my family I have to express our deepest gratitude to those who helped us reach the result we have today:

• To my dear friend and comrade President Mehmet Ali Talat - soon after he became Prime Minister in 2004 he took the initiative and showed the will to reactivate the Committee for Missing Persons and created the climate to depoliticise the issue. He al

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 12:18

hi ismet ,what a sad story and how very moving , his speech very humbling and also compassionate . i,m so glad your friend found his dad , he can now rest in peace and his family now finally have closure they deserved ,

regards , pat

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 12:28

Thankyou for that Elko. So very sad, moving, but somehow hopeful.

There were remains found on beach at Turtle Bay recently when they

were clearing the beach, said to be from 'the trobles'

cruggs


Joined: 06/04/2008
Posts: 498

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 13:01

hi elko2,very sorry to read of your friends funeral, as this is a sad time foryou and your friends, the only consulation,if there is one is that the dought and not knowing are now laid to rest,and the knowledge that they are reunited

together again, must be a comfort to the family.

sylvie


Joined: 12/03/2008
Posts: 1081

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 13:31

sad indeed for kutlay's family at last his father had funeral - my husband father has disapear as well in 1963 HE WAS 13 YEA

sylvie


Joined: 12/03/2008
Posts: 1081

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 13:32

sad indeed for kutlay's family at last his father had funeral - my husband father has disapear as well in 1963 HE WAS 13 YEARS old, still waiting for his body to be discovered - ADN test has been done !! maybe one day

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
02/06/2008 18:18

Very sad and very moving. I sincerely hope that one day all the other families of the missing will be able to lay their loved ones to rest.

wynyardman



Joined: 15/12/2007
Posts: 4580

Message Posted:
03/06/2008 12:23

An inspiration to all those involved in seeking a lasting solution to The Cyprus Problem.



Sad very sad indeed but a wonderful eulogy from a son to his father, but it shows how one mans shortened life, can effect the long term future, for a divided island.



Lest we forget. A very humbling tribute.



wynyardman