The U.S. Democrats have managed to create an image of a more democratic America in the eyes of the international community after they elected Barack Obama as the first African American president.

If there is a change in the United States, the world also hopes for a change. When there is a change in the field of freedoms and democracy, there is hope for freedom; or when an oppressive system appears, concerns emerge.

A friend of mine, who is a former ambassador, made a stunning statement on a pressing issue back in those days when Obama took office: "Palestine is the womb of humankind."

We all know that if there is progress in Palestine, other positive developments can happen in the world. If there is no change in the U.S. policy on Palestine, we understand that everything will remain the same globally.

After the twin quakes shook Türkiye, the same thoughts popped up in my mind about Anatolia. I think Anatolia is the heart and the real womb of humanity. The history of human settlement started in Anatolia, humans established hundreds of states and dozens of civilizations, and the sum of all came together in these lands. Regardless of where humans initially appeared on Earth, the first settled life and human urbanization started in Anatolia. The settlements began in Çatalhöyük and continued toward the well-developed cities of today's world. And yet, Anatolia had a connection with the rest of the world, either through migration or history.

From the perspective of the history of religions, Anatolia has always been a home and crossroads for many beliefs. It is a region where Jews lived mostly after the Spanish immigration. It is one of the regions with the most synagogues globally, like other places of worship from ancient times in Anatolia throughout history.

Since its emergence in history, Christianity has been a religion that has moved from east to west. Christianity began in Mesopotamia and progressed toward Europe through Anatolian soil. Specifically, minor Christian sects and communities had the opportunity to live within Ottoman territories, apart from the major ones: Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Ottomans protected the minority pastorates against the assimilation of the dominant churches, such minor Christian communities, in a way, could only have survived with the help of the Ottoman state.

The Ottoman Empire, which ruled over a large territory spanning from Europe, Africa, and today's Greece, to the Caucasus and the Arabian Peninsula, enabled Turkish people in the historical and modern periods to have commercial and cultural relations with all these nations within the empire's land.

Feeling Türkiye’s pain

When there is pain, a disaster like we just had, all the benevolent and well-intentioned people in the world, in addition to those who have historically maintained close ties to the Turks and Türkiye, begin to feel our pain.

In the twin earthquakes disaster, those who could afford it in all the countries of the world rushed to help, and search and rescue teams came from many countries. As citizens of the Republic of Türkiye, we are sincerely grateful to all of them.

We live on a precious piece of land where humanity, mercy and justice emerged and flourished, together with all the cultures and nations in the world. Of course, Türkiye, as a sovereign state, will intensify efforts to heal its wounds. However, people all over the world are trying to help the quake-hit Türkiye, whether through media coverage, social media, or by directly providing financial and emotional support.

If we look at the matter from a spiritual point of view, when human beings are on their own, wars and conflicts are at the very center of life. As even some of our neighbors who we have diplomatically strained relations with came to Kahramanmaraş with their aid organizations and rescue teams to save the earthquake victims. Such disasters, from time to time, lead to more solidarity on an international scale.

Virtuous people, philosophers, scholars and family elders always tell us to ensure justice and protect humanity. In this earthquake, search and rescue teams from all over the world, including Taiwan, Greece, Armenia, Qatar, Israel, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and many others demonstrated immense solidarity and humanity.

We must keep this motivation of humankind, collective consciousness and effort alive and sustainable even in the absence of disasters and traumas.