Association for Supporting Contemporary Living (ÇYDD) Honorary Board President Lawyer Hüseyin Karataş commemorates Türkan Saylan

Association for Supporting Contemporary Living (ÇYDD) Honorary Board President Lawyer Hüseyin Karataş wrote a special letter for Türkan Saylan's 89th birthday. 

In his letter, Karataş included the following statements: 

TO THE EXTRAORDINARY TÜRKAN SAYLAN - DECEMBER 13, 2024

89th  BIRTHDAY LETTER

Why is Türkan Saylan extraordinary?

Doesn't extraordinary mean "one of a kind"?

Türkan Saylan, with her one-of-a-kind efforts; She provided scholarships to girls and boys who lacked the opportunity to study, ensuring they could receive an education, 

she touched the lives of leprosy patients whom no one else would touch, helping them regain their health, she ensured they were accepted within society, and she reached out to the children of leprosy patients who wished to study, enabling them to pursue their education. She dedicated her life solely to the future of our country and our children.  For this reason, I add the descriptor "extraordinary" as a prefix to Türkan Saylan's name. Every year on her birthday, I remind her and our society of the current results of her efforts, as well as the state of the world and our country.  

These days, the world is watching a film of atomic bomb war possibilities, border adjustments in the Middle East, armed forces seizing control of a country without firing a shot, current leaders requesting asylum and fleeing their countries, and the killing of tens of thousands of children and people.

As we welcomed 2024, I wished in my New Year's card for 2024 to be a year of Atatürk, in the light of World Leader Atatürk's principle of 'Peace at Home, Peace in the World.' Unfortunately, 2024 has become a year of interests and wars. 

The probability of high-tech weapons succeeding in destroying life has come to the fore. Internationally recognized principles of borders and independence have been reduced to null and void. In the governance of countries, elections are seen as a way to seize power, and every elected official is in a battle to use that power for a lifetime.  in their battles to use it. 

While Syria was a STATE, it surrendered without a fight, solely under the threat of armed forces. The entire map and assets of a country fell into the hands of armed forces. The smiles of imperialists and the laughter and greed for seizing assets of country leaders who act according to a chain of command and allow for a roadmap are now spreading openly.

The new year will be a year in which a brand-new model of sharing will be discussed. Syrian lands are already subject to occupations, and there is no one to object. Because Syria is a land of assets sufficient for everyone. 

Even Israel, which has massacred thousands of civilians by committing war crimes, has begun its occupation to take its share from the neighboring map. 

The form of governance that we defended in our childhood and youth, which was fair and in accordance with human values, has been destroyed. 

Who knows what condition the children are in in Syria?

If you were here, you would have immediately started the struggle, asking how we can protect them and how we can contribute to their education. 

As the CYDD, we continue to walk alongside your students on the path of contemporary education and a fair world that you paved, and we will continue to do so in the new year.

Rest in light. 

LAWYER HÜSEYİN KARATAŞ

ASSOCIATION FOR SUPPORTING CONTEMPORARY LIVING 

HONORARY BOARD PRESIDENTI

WHO IS TÜRKAN SAYLAN?  

Known for her Kemalist and Republican identity, Türkan Saylan played an active role in various non-governmental organizations throughout her life and carried out significant activities in the fields of health, education, and politics. To keep her spiritual legacy alive, the 'Türkan Saylan Art and Science Awards' have been presented by the Association for Supporting Contemporary Living since 2010.

THE LIFE OF TÜRKAN SAYLAN

She was born in Istanbul on December 13, 1935. She was the eldest of five children born to Fasih Galip Bey, one of the first contractors of the Republican era, and his Swiss wife, Lili Mina Raiman (who took the name Leyla after marriage).

She spent her childhood in the Kandilli district of Istanbul. She graduated from Kandilli High School for Girls. She completed her undergraduate education at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in 1963. Between 1964 and 1968, she received her specialization in Dermatology and Venereology from the SSK Nişantaşı Hospital.

In 1968, she began working as a chief assistant in the Department of Dermatology at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine. In 1971, she received advanced training in England with a scholarship from the British Council; she conducted short-term studies in France in 1974 and in England in 1976. She became an associate professor in 1972 and a professor in 1977.

Between 1982 and 1987, she served as the Head of the Department of Dermatology at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, and from 1981 to 2001, she served as the Director of the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine Leprosy Research and Application Center.

In 1989, she was one of the founders of the Association for Supporting Contemporary Living (ÇYDD), which was established with the aim of 'protecting and developing the principles and revolutions of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and reaching contemporary people and a contemporary society through contemporary education,' and she served as its president for a long time. She took part in the establishment of the 'Istanbul University Women's Issues Research and Application Center' created in 1990, and served as deputy director and coordinator of women's health courses until 1996. She worked as a faculty member in the Dermatology Clinic until the end of 2002 and retired on December 13, 2002.

As part of the Ergenekon Operation organized by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), her home and various centers of the ÇYDD, which she chaired, were raided on April 13, 2009, based on fabricated accusations. Some ÇYDD executives were detained, and many computers and documents were seized. Türkan Saylan, who passed away in 2009, was acquitted of the case in 2019 after the conspiracy collapsed. 

WHICH DISEASE DID TÜRKAN SAYLAN FIND A CURE FOR?

In 1976, she began working on leprosy (Hansen's disease), an infectious disease affecting the skin and nerves, and founded the Leprosy Relief Association and Foundation. In 1986, she was awarded the 'International Gandhi Award' in India. She served as a consultant for the World Health Organization on leprosy until 2006. She was a founding member and vice president of the International Leprosy Union (ILU).

She was a member of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and the International Leprosy Association. She participated in the establishment of the Dermatopathology Laboratory, as well as clinics for Behçet's disease and sexually transmitted diseases. Between 1981 and 2002, she served as the Chief Physician of the Ministry of Health's Istanbul Leprosy Hospital for 21 years on a voluntary basis.

She married Mustafa Orge in 1957 and had two sons from this marriage. She had two grandchildren from her two sons, one of whom is a graphic designer and the other a physician.

Türkan Saylan, who had been a breast cancer patient for the last 17 years of her life, passed away on May 18, 2009, at 04:45 at the age of 74.

The novel 'Tek ve Tek Başına: Türkan' (Alone and All Alone: Türkan), written by Ayşe Kulin in 2009, which tells the story of Türkan Saylan's life, was adapted into a screenplay and aired as a television series in 2010.

News Source: 12punto