Hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes … More and more, humans are being affected by natural disasters. But life’s challenges do not come only in the form of natural disasters – individuals have to face all sorts of disasters in their personal lives. Sometimes it’s the loss of a loved one or a job, or even a loss of faith; it could be having to abandon one’s home due to war or persecution at the hands of a tyrant. Some disasters may seem smaller at first glance, but can feel just as consequential – a first gray hair, a failed class, getting passed over for a promotion … the list goes on and on.
A life with no disasters is a fantasy. All of us face them – both personally and globally – sooner or later. Then, how should we face a disaster? Just as we take measures while constructing buildings on a fault line, can we be always prepared? How do we defend our inner peace when facing danger?
Tell us how you survive difficult times. Give us your best advice. Share your greatest life lesson.
Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2018
Contest open to all writers worldwide
Essay word count must be between 1,500 and 2,500
Essays must be submitted as Word document only through the essay contest page at www.fountainmagazine.com/essaycontest
A rising profile for Turkish Cultural Center Vermont
The Turkish Cultural Center Vermont, a nonprofit organization, offers Turkish language classes and serves as a platform for promoting both Turkish culture and cross-cultural understanding. As a focal point for one of the many ethnic and linguistic groups that have found their way to Vermont, it has achieved noteworthy visibility.
Dialogue advocacy group ‘disturbed’ by Erdoğan’s harassment of Hizmet
NEW YORK The Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV), an advocacy body that serves as a voice for organizations affiliated with the Hizmet movement in the US, has said it is “deeply disturbed” by what it called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “politically motivated attempts” to crack down on law-abiding citizens.The group was protesting Erdoğan’s […]
Reactions snowball after PM likens Hizmet members to Hashishin
According to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy Özcan Yeniçeri “The Hashishin was a separatist organization that inflicted great damage on the Turkish nation. Their purpose was to divide the nation and disrupt peace. The Hizmet movement, on the other hand, is a civilian initiative that strives for Turkey not to be divided and for youths not to fall into the hands of the terrorist PKK. For us, the real Hashishin are the separatists. If the prime minister is looking for a Hashishin, he should look into the mirror,”
GYV: Hard-won democratic gains sacrificed for short-term interests
The move to seek the extradition of Fethullah Gülen using irrational justifications, the pressures on those businesspeople who sympathize with the Hizmet movement and the boycotts and sufferings that came in the wake of Erdoğan’s threat, “Do not given them [the Hizmet movement] even a single drop of water,” are the sort of developments unseen even during coup eras.
Lawrence Seidman on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement
Rabbi Lawrence Seidman earned a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. After retiring from the Boeing Company, he dedicated himself to religious and spiritual studies. Lawrence Siedman was ordained as a rabbi in 2009 by the Academy for Jewish Religion.
Dialogue and Friendship Dinner in Portland, Oregon
On November 13th, 2013, Pacifica Institute’s Portland chapter held its 5th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner having the author-journalist Mustafa Akyol as its keynote speaker. The dinner was attended by Turkish and American academics and businessmen. In his keynote speech centered on his book “Islam without Extremes,” Mustafa Akyol pointed out the fact that Islam is misrepresented.
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