First Pride March in Eskişehir: ‘We want the whole city’

* Photo: csgorselarsiv/Meltem Ulusoy

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The first Pride March of Eskşehir will start in front of the Adalar Migros supermarket at 6 p.m. today (June 30). The Pride March Working Group says, "Our goal from now on is to foster solidarity."

Ecmel from the Pride Eskişehir Working Group says that the LGBTI+s in the Central Anatolian province face big problems:

"We, as the lubunyas [queers] of Eskişehir, experience various forms of discrimination in public space and on the street. Even though the problems experienced by every single subject differ from those of others, the reasons underlying these problems are common.

"The isolating policies of the government and the normative laws based on the binary gender system make LGBTI+s insecure. We are faced with several cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity in housing, healthcare, education and social life.

"It is said that Eskişehir is 'more livable' when compared to other cities. It is not right to compare cities as every city has different dynamics. Moreover, this is not the case in several neighborhoods of Eskişehir. While it can be said for the places where students mostly socialize, the reason behind this is not the LGBTI+inclusive policies of local administration.

"We will not be content with the livability of one part of Eskişehir. We don't want ghettos, we want the whole city. For this reason, we come together against the institutions that disregard the experiences of subjects; we get organized against all discriminatory practices.

"In the face of the governments' disregarding policies, we - as lubunyas - have been resisting for years. We derive our legitimacy from our existence and colors. We raise our voices in the face of otherizing practices, the power system and heteronormativity; we position ourselves against ganging up like a mafia, against the government and against police violence.

"We don't bow down in the face of your systematic tyranny that you impose as morality; we say, 'If this is morality, then, we are immoral.'

"The ruling AKP has declared the LGBTI+s as scapegoats in recent years and turned them into open targets; it has been stepping up its hate speech and murders. In the face of this, we will not shy away from saying, 'We existed, we exist and we will exist.' We - as the lubunyas of Eskişehir - will salute Mis Street, Eryaman-Esat, Bayram Street, Boğaziçi and all colors of resistance; we raise our resistance.

"As long as we exist, our legitimate struggle will continue.

"We are also troubled with both the politicians who disregard us and the police violence that gets its strength from the state power. In the face of mounting pressures and disregarding attitudes, we will hold our first pride march in Eskişehir on June 30 at 6.30 p.m."

'We aim to foster the solidarity'

Ecmel also shares information about the March: "We - as the Pride Eskişehir group - have come together to make our voices heard on the streets and to enable the lubunyas to come together, thereby disturbing the long-standing silence about the LGBTIQA+ movement in Eskişehir.

"In order to emphasize that the lubunyas in Eskişehir are not alone and that coming together is important, we formed the group in the pride month and proceeded by organizing an event for LGBTI+s everyday under the name of the Eskişehir Pride Week. First, with the Vegan Pride Picnic, we aimed to enable the lubunyas to meet and solidarize. Then, we tried to come together in workshops and discussions.

"We - as the Pride Eskişehir Working Group - aim to foster solidarity by organizing new events to gather the lubunyas together after the Pride March on June 30 at 6.30 p.m. as well." (EMK/SD)