MONTREAL – As Bulent Kusalan and his family tried to enjoy a beautiful Saturday in Montreal, their thoughts were back in Turkey.
“I’m so angry, upset and of course, we are scared for the Turkish people, for everybody who lives in Turkey,” said Kusalan.
On Friday evening, the father of two, along with other Turkish-Montrealers, anxiously watched as it seemed their country was descending into chaos, as factions of the military attempted a coup.
The meaning of it all was difficult to comprehend.
READ MORE: ‘None of it made any sense’: Canadian in Istanbul recalls chaos of coup attempt
“We had revolutions before, a few times, but this is unacceptable,” said Kusalan. “They opened fire to the Turkish folk – to the people.”
Kusalan was in Turkey two weeks ago and plans on returning once again, next month.
READ MORE: Coup in Turkey: Who is Turkish President Erdogan?
“I’ve got many phone calls from Turkey yesterday,” he said. “Some of them are scared – almost all of them are angry, like me. But nobody knows what to do.”
Kusalan explained that although his family and friends in Turkey are all safe right now, many of them are worried about the future.
“The worst thing in this situation is we don’t know what will happen, we don’t know what’s next – what’s gonna happen the next day, next week, next month,” he said. “This is the worst thing.”
READ MORE: Turkey coup: What Canadians in the country need to know
The only thing that seems to be certain is more than 250 civilians lost their lives and over 1,400 were wounded.
The country’s prime minister called it a “black stain on Turkish democracy.”
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
- Honda’s $15B Ontario EV plant marks ‘historic day,’ Trudeau says
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
Comments