scene from the forest fire in gulnar, mersin, turkey

It was finally over. The fire that wiped out most of the forests in Gulnar, Mersin was extinguished a few days ago. Another one started, this time in Bodrum. And yet another will start in the days to come. And another one…

While the we’re-on-top-of-the-food-chain crowd congregates in the Dumbs Club in Ankara, just like their predecessors did, only these are closer to their deity or so they claim and/or believe, 14,000 km2 of forests disappeared in the last 50 years. Gone!

But they worked hard, really they did. They deserved their long sought vacation. Was it not they who had passed law after law each time the courts canceled their greed? Was it not they who claimed “by selling the lands that lost their value as a forest, moneys would pour into their pockets, sorry the Treasury?” How does a forest un-become a forest?

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