I feel like we are in a dream. In case you haven’t seen the event on TV, students of different colors, languages, beliefs and traditions are speaking Turkish, singing in Turkish -- showing the beauty of humanity. Their cheerfulness and hope seems to be unencumbered by our world full of disagreement and conflict.
In our country, amidst efforts to implant intolerance through social engineering in the face of the upcoming elections, these students are acting as ambassadors of love, peace and brotherhood and joining in the prayers of our nation through their presence.
If their gratitude for the Turkish schools could be expressed in words, it would sound something like this: “Your sons conquered our hearts through the sacrifices they made in our countries; they made us love them and Turkey as well. Now we are your guests in your country; do not ruin our world. You deserve your sons because your real values are those reflected in our teachers, your sons. Thanks to them we learned how to be humble, loving, respectful, tolerant, affectionate and friendly, and we learned how to be respectful to others. Just take a look at us -- we have met here hand-in-hand to promote universal human values.”
They are spring flowers in our dry world. While watching these students perform, I believe many of you will be moved to tears, temporarily forgetting about our current problems and feeling a sense of hope about what the future can bring.
Those who teach at these schools are the unsung heroes are behind this beautiful picture. They are part of a great story that is unfolding in our world. They live to make others live. They are constructing bridges of peace and islands of serenity, and they are doing so despite being misunderstood and unappreciated in their own country. They are teaching Turkey’s language and traditions in 102 countries, turning our mother tongue into a new lingua franca.
Such a goal requires effort, patience, endurance and determination.
We have an obligation to offer our special thanks to Fethullah Gülen for making it possible to witness this excitement and feel pride in this huge project. He encouraged us to try the power of love, peace and tolerance in our world, where humanity has been forgotten. He also says Allah will guide us as long as we do what we are required to do.
The harbingers of the new spring who are in our country for the Turkish Language Olympics confirm this. Hearing them speak makes pessimism disappear from the horizon.
As we welcome the summer, we also welcome a new sense of hope.
