Why I am in Istanbul and not in Van
I’ve been asked these days why I didn’t hurry to the earthquake area in the east of Turkey but stayed in Istanbul. In different tones of voice: angry, interested, surprised. I thought it might be interesting to answer this question in a blog post, to give some insight into the daily realities of a freelance correspondent.
The short answer is: I’m …
I wrote an article (read it here) for a Dutch monthly feminist magazine about discrimination in the labour market in Turkey against women who wear a headscarf. Since the elections are coming up, I interviewed the only candidate with a headscarf who stands a chance of being elected, Aynur Bayram from Ankara. She was an example …
At some point in my life, I will have to find out if I am a writing personality or not. That may sound weird for somebody who has been earning her income by writing for twenty years now, but believe me, in writing I’m more of a bouncing type. Bouncing from story to story, from deadline to deadline. It pays …
‘Now please, stop talking and listen to me!’ I can hardly believe this is me talking. To my cleaning lady! But I have reached a limit. The paintings are still very dusty, she didn’t take the hair out of the shower drain, the windows haven’t been cleaned properly, there is still a huge stain on the small table and she …
This is the first blog post that I have put online working from an office. It was weird this morning, after my morning run: I showered, got completely dressed, put my computer in a bag along with the files of stories I’m working on at the moment, and closed the door of my apartment behind me.
I’ve been working from home …
Let me explain something about my work. Some people who react to my websites, both here and in the Dutch version, don’t understand that there are actually opinions published here. ‘You are a journalist aren’t you, so you have to be neutral and objective!’ The thing is that, as a journalist, you can’t do more than try to be objective …
I went for drinks last night with the International Professional Women of Istanbul. I have never really wanted to join in these expat things, because I want to mingle in normal Turkish life and was afraid that getting too much into expat life would hinder that. But now after three years just one expat thing would be ok, …
A regular visitor of my site mailed me this week: ‘I haven’t been able to reach your site for a few days now. You didn’t quit, did you?’ No, of course not, I don’t stop working just like that. Technique on the other hand, sometimes does. Well, sometimes, I hope it will never happen again after this first time. Journalistinturkey.com …
I’m in the middle of writing an article about Turkish women who grew up in the Netherlands but who decided as adults to move to Turkey. Well, decided…, that’s not the right word in some cases. A few women moved to Turkey for a year and planned to return to the Netherlands after that year. ‘That’s three years ago now’, …
Earlier this year, my colleagues were protesting new social security laws. At the time, a big package of changes for working people, for pregnant workers and for pensioners was announced by the government. Journalists in Turkey found it necessary to protest a change that would directly affect them: the special rules that gave them the possibility to retire earlier than …
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