Turkish novelist Ahmet Altan was imprisoned on false charges of aiding the Fethullah Gülen movement, which the Turkish government blames for a 2016 coup attempt. After five years, as international pressure mounted, he was released on April 14, 2021 While in prison, he wrote a memoir, Like a Sword Wound, that was smuggled out on bits of paper.
One of those bits said: “I’m watching the Coronavirus virus unfold from a Turkish prison. This is why I’m hopeful. In November, we were given a radish along with our meals at lunchtime. My cellmate put that radish in a paper cup and left it beside the iron bars at the window. The radish began to rot.”
“Recently, a green sprout emerged from it. It grew and grew. Little white flowers blossomed at the end of the sprout. Each morning, I get up and look at those flowers. I witness that great cliche: The radish is dying and becoming alive at the same time.”
“A miserable radish creates flowers out of its own decay. Without giving up its optimism, it reaches out to the future as it dies.”
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