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 warning from and for a troubled land – how easily a democracy can be dismantled
Recently a messenger came to Colorado with dark warnings from a troubled land: Abdulhamit Bilici, the former editor-in-chief of Zaman, Turkey’s go-to newspaper before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s brutal crackdown. You don’t often meet people like Abdulhamit Bilici in the United States. You almost can’t believe that someone with his backstory sits before you.
Targeted by dictator, Turkish family seeks refuge in Albany
Three generations of a Turkish family were stripped of their livelihoods, life savings, friends and culture in a sweeping purge by the authoritarian regime of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They languish as political refugees in a cramped apartment along a busy commercial stretch of Delaware Avenue.
Dialogue Institute of the Southwest presents Whirling Dervishes of Rumi
The Whirling Dervish Performance of Rumi is a highly cultural and spiritual celebration of existence, performed by members of a branch of the Sufi order, which was founded in the 13th century in the Turkish city of Konya. The Whirling Dervishes played a vitally important part in the evolution of Ottoman Empire high culture.
Can Washington Ever Welcome a Nonviolent Muslim?
Michael Shank June 6, 2012 CBS News’ 60 Minutes recently produced a show about Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, spurred by concern about the so-called Hizmet movement’s (aka Gulen movement) alleged connection to a growing network of high performing and nationally ranked charter schools in the U.S. These schools rank in Newsweek’s top ten miracle schools in America and have […]
US-Based Muslim Preacher Leverages Influence Back in Turkey
Jerome Socolovsky SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — In 1999, a Turkish preacher who ran afoul of the military-backed secular government in Ankara left and sought refuge across the ocean in what was then a camp for Turkish-American children in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The ailing 72-year-old Fethullah Gulen has remained influential in Turkey, however, and the […]
Why is the Gulen movement’s statement on press freedom significant?
BÜLENT KENEŞ As Turkey slows down its democratization and liberalization reforms, and occasionally backpedals on certain reforms, it runs into more serious problems. In particular, the slowdown in the democratization reforms Turkey is supposed to implement within the context of its European Union membership bid results in the deterioration of existing rights and freedoms. The […]
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