Solidarity with Purged Academics for Peace in Turkey

Yazar / Referans: 
BAK
Tarih: 
22.03.2017

https://www.youcaring.com/academicsforpeaceinturkey-763983

We urgently request donations to establish an emergency fund for Academics for Peace to support the faculty who lost their jobs, pensions, and their right to travel abroad after the recent crackdown targeting academic freedom in Turkey. This fund will be made exclusively available to purged faculty through close collaboration with the union Egitim-Sen and other associations that are actively assisting the purged scholars at the local and international level.

Help us reach our initial goal of $105,000. We will be able to support about 35 academics for a period of 6 months with minimum wage in Turkey (approx. $500) with this initial fund. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for this donation. 

Background

In January 2016, 1,128 concerned academics in Turkey (and 356 international scholars) signed a peace declaration called  “We will not be a party to this crime”. These academics, known as “Academics for Peace”, were then targeted by the Turkish government and the media, because they called upon the state authorities to end the curfews and stop the human right violations in the Kurdish provinces of Turkey. Signatories were prosecuted and subjected to disciplinary investigations by their universities. This persecution inspired widespread solidarity campaigns around the world, which have collected over 2,000 signatures. Thousands of academics and academic organizations around the world condemned the prosecutions, including the National Academy of Sciences Human Rights Commission that published a statement signed by several Nobel Prize laureates.

As of March 2017, at least 383 signatories, many of whom are leading academics in their fields, have been purged from Turkish universities through several statutory decrees and forced resignations. Four academics were detained, and many more had to flee the country. It is unclear if those affected will be able to appeal the decisions that ended their careers, canceled their passports, and banned their travel. The path to reversing the unjust decisions is long and arduous. During this time, these scholars need to sustain their lives and support their families. Funds for this campaign will be fully allocated to financially support the Academics for Peace through close collaboration with their union Egitim-Sen and other associations which are actively assisting the purged scholars at the local and international level.

Help us reach our initial goal of $105,000. We will be able to support about 35 academics for a period of 6 months with minimum wage in Turkey (approx. $500) with this initial fund.Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for this donation.

Research Institute on Turkey is a tax exempt charitable organization in the US under an Internal Revenue Service Code Section 501(c)(3). Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. No goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation. If you would rather contribute by sending a check, please contact us.

EMPLOYER MATCH!!!  Ask your employer to match your donation!
You'll need to use the name Research Institute on Turkey, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization with Tax ID # 81-4004031
Let them know the project name Support Academics for Peace in Turkey.

Organizers:

RESEARCH INSTITUTE on TURKEY | Bostonbul | GIT-North America and concerned academics from the US and Canada 

FAQ – Academics for Peace