Agos, 21 November 1997

According to the Holy Book, the fall of man from the divine realms, and thus the process of becoming human, began by touching the forbidden. When Eve plucks an apple from the forbidden tree and offers it to Adam, they both become aware of their nakedness and cover themselves with aprons made of fig leaves. God’s wrath is fearsome! Womankind he punishes with pain in childbirth, and man with lifelong hard labour.

The evolutionary process of humankind, who from that point on multiplied and grew in number, runs in parallel to the evolution of social and political relations. Yet the real explanation of this process should be sought in the countless prohibitions put into effect throughout history and in humanity’s struggle and revolt against them. Meanwhile, the constant and most fundamental reality faced by those who attempt to analyse this process is that of ‘untouchable’ taboos. Just as before, certain things have remained untouched and out of reach, and certain people have remained untouchable.

And observe, if you will, how, in our beloved Turkey, at the dawn of the 21st century, the political agenda is occupied by the issue of parliamentary immunity, by the question of whether or not those in power should be untouchable.

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Our country has declared its demand for an untainted society, but this armour of immunity forms a huge obstacle that will prevent the state from cleansing itself. We are all following current developments, and the issue has now moved beyond the immunity of individuals; instead, it is the immunity of the state itself that has become a topic of debate. Neither the judicial system, nor any other governmental power is able to touch these untouchables. But it is nevertheless clear that it will be impossible to obstruct society’s demand for these untouchables to be touched. This week, our parliamentarians seated in the Turkish Grand National Assembly face a test to which they are unaccustomed.[1] They will vote to say, “Let us, too, become touchable.” Will their immunity be lifted? It would be over-optimistic to expect this to happen with the wave of a magic wand from a parliament where the balance of power is in constant flux. If this does happen today, so much the better; but even if it does not, the truth is that sometime in the future the day will come when this privilege of immunity will be lifted, and that day is not so far away. It is only right that it be lifted.

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While talking about immunity and the concept of the untouchable, I should — in the space of a few sentences — carry this concept over to life in our own community and touch upon the untouchables there too. Do we not also witness in our community how the same untouchable taboos suddenly spring into life at the voicing of the slightest criticism towards a person or institution? I believe that the time has come for us within the community to discuss the issues that are considered untouchable, and to make sure that those things that have so far gone untouched are not abandoned to the darkness and made taboo. As for us at Agos, we try our very best to touch upon these taboos. We are fully aware how hard this is. We also know how very difficult it is to establish such a tradition in a society not accustomed to being critical, but we will persist to the very end.

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Why should we not be afraid of touching?

In his book Intimate Behaviour, ethologist* Desmond Morris explains how in our increasingly crowded world we have forgotten how to touch each other, and discusses the dangers of such ‘untouchability’. Describing at length how a friendly slap on the back is a typical and valuable human gesture, Morris goes on to argue that it is in fact an expression of love, stating: “Perhaps touch is so basic — it has been called the mother of senses — that we tend to take it for granted. Unhappily, and almost without our noticing it, we have gradually become less and less touchful, more and more distant…”[2]

I agree with Morris when he associates touching and being touched with love. So if you love… but I mean really love, I say to you “Touch!”, and “Don’t be scared of being touched”:

“Do not be afraid to touch! You will only be democratized.”

* Ethology is the branch of zoology that studies and interprets animal behaviour.

[1] The proposal for a constitutional change that would restrict parliamentary immunity, presented in 1997 to the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office with the signature of 297 members of parliament, did not pass due to a lack of votes in its favour.

[2] Morris, D. (1971). Intimate Behaviour. Jonathan Cape, Ltd.