Loyalty

Loyalty… Not to forget a kindness that was done to you… There is a moment when you are in need, and a hand reaches out to you – how can one forget that hand? Being loyal is a virtue, whereas being without loyalty is a sign of destituteness.

I have nothing to say to those who say: ‘it was my due anyway!’ A loyal person knows that a kindness is a gift out of the accumulation of the person who carried out the kindness and who does not want anything in return. The accumulation of years is presented on a golden tray. What a big treachery it is not to respond to this. It is these kindness acts that brought you to this day. Think of your mother, father, brothers and sisters, good friends… How they understand your need and turn up by your side and quietly support you… I remember my teachers who lent me a hand. Ayhan Songar, for example. I ask myself, where would I be today if it had not been for the warmth of his friendship that expected nothing in return. Would it have been possible for me to remain in America for so many years? Is it possible to claim: “I have done everything myself”? Could I have managed without the generous support of Dr Günsel Koptagel during those years when I was pushed out of the system, the social environment? Could I have managed to integrate myself into the system again? Would it have been possible to find a position in Washington NIH without Suzan Nadi? Would it have been possible without my mother-in-law and father-in-law wholeheartedly defending me? There are so many people I would like to name… So many people in my own life to whom I would not know how to repay my debt of loyalty… Can there be a nation without the feeling of loyalty? People who give everything they have and if necessary their lives for each other… But is it only people we owe a debt of loyalty to? For example, would it be possible without a Creator, or without nature..? In any case, why are all these acts of kindness done? Does not at the bottom of it all lie the desire for a little bit of loyalty? This article is dedicated to those who say “being disloyal is not like me”…