Sevim Belli: “I am never hopeless, the world will be a better place!”

12punto.com.tr

Author and translator Sevim Belli has passed away at the age of 100. We present an interview conducted in 2013 by 12punto writer Şenol Çarık with Sevim Belli, the wife of Mihri Belli, one of the most important figures in Turkish political history…

Sevim Belli… A physician. Despite coming from a wealthy family, she pushed aside all those opportunities and dedicated herself to a cause…

Here is that interview…

“NOW I AM COUNTING THE YEARS”

Being friends with Mihri Belli was a great stroke of luck for me. We came together because of our political unity. We are connected not only physically but also intellectually. Mihri was born in 1915, I was born in 1925. I am 88 years old right now (in 2013). Now I am counting the years. I say to myself that when I reach his age, I will probably go too (laughing)…

I was from the Kalkavan family. Should I be sorry for that? I moved from such a house to another house. I am proud of that too. My father was a police chief. He was very soft-hearted. What matters is the love for humanity…

“I LEARNED A LOT FROM HIM”

I became a member of the TKP (Communist Party of Turkey) in 1943. When I was about to be admitted to the party, they gave me a brochure; one that explained its history, its goals, and its program. I became a socialist by admiring the kolkhozes and the heroes of labor in the Soviets. I aimed to become a hero of labor in our own country, or I aimed to be a hero of labor in my own profession. I am a doctor. I dealt with cultural affairs in the party. I always trained students, I translated socialist classics from Sol Yayınları. Lenin, Engels, Stalin, Marx, I translated them all… I went to prison. Mihri and I established a conversation from cell to cell. Whenever there was an investigation or something, Mihri would knock on everyone's door and say; ‘what do you say, what are they saying, keep your tail up.’ He told me, “One must take refuge in the hero’s fortress”; it turned out that meant ‘keep your tail up.’ When notes started coming and going from him, he explained what it meant: “Keep your mouth shut!” I truly learned a lot from him.

“NO WRITING THAT HAS NOT PASSED THROUGH SEVİM’S CONTROL LEAVES THIS HOUSE!”

Do you know what Mihri Bey was boasting about lately? ‘No writing that has not passed through Sevim Belli’s control can leave this house.’ It was truly like that. I mean, he would definitely show me a piece of writing. But this came from mutual respect. It doesn't happen by establishing authority. Everyone in our house knew their duty. I took care of the children and managed the household expenses. I trusted his politics and showed respect, and he respected my decisions regarding the house. That’s how we went on. Until recently. After the children grew up, we both started to get involved in each other's areas a bit more. We became more like friends. (laughing)

“I FIND THE PHRASE ‘LOSING MIHRI BELLİ’ VERY STRANGE”

I find the phrase ‘losing Mihri Belli’ very strange, because you don’t lose him! Once you have gained him, he is always there. Because he left such a mark on our lives, including with my children, that I think if I were to go first, it would be the same for Mihri Belli. Sevim Belli was always there. Now this armchair is his armchair. When I am alone at home, I look at this armchair many times as if Mihri is sitting there. Sometimes it happens that I almost talk to myself out of habit, saying ‘Hey Mihri, look at what they are saying, what is this newspaper saying,’ that is the atmosphere. We have shared a life of nearly 50 years. I know what he is going to say, he knows what I am going to say. We know the joy of sharing. I ask him even though I know what he is going to say, and he does the same…

“THE WORLD WILL BE A BETTER PLACE”

I have not lost my belief that the world will be more beautiful and more profound for the laborers, and that labor will truly become a high value. And I think it will continue like this…

As science advances, the human mind also advances, but of course, the balance based on interests has never turned in favor of the exploited classes so far. Let’s say with the efforts of the youth from now on, you know our time has passed. But I still believe. I still hope to see better days, or I say I wish for them. But this will not happen out of thin air; it will be something achieved through the struggle of the masses…

We must plant our feet firmly on the soil of the homeland. We must place a firm value on the people of the homeland and the labor of the people of the homeland.

I am never hopeless. The world will be a better place…

News Source: 12punto