Bear in mind how valuable a secular Turkey is for the world.

The discourse of the West and the attitudes of its leaders are important because they influence public debate in Turkey.

The government in Turkey, which represents the powerful, traditionalist mass, is very comfortable creating policies tailored only for their supporters.

It is well known that Turkey has more imprisoned journalists than any other country, but as a result of the chilling effect of these prosecutions on the press, many stories never make the news.

Families with disabled children are praying for their kids to die before them because they have no support systems. They are very scared about who will take care of their kids and how their kids will have a dignified life after they die.

The government believed that adherence to authority was human nature, so the Gezi protests were a real surprise to them. After the initial moment of shock, they decided to severely punish those participating in what they called an act of disobedience to authority.