Son of the Noble Turkish Nation,
We couldn’t distinguish my Pasha’s blue eyes from the sea. His hair was blond from the sun, and his gaze was sharp, looking at the horizons. No one could understand what was going through his mind. There’s no way to be afraid of him, we all didn’t know what to do with joy when he looked at him. An intense happiness would surround our veins, the veins that carry our noble blood… In the face of this genius, the enemies would sheath their swords and leave as quickly as they came. When he came, a festival would come to schools. The children did not know what to do. “My Pasha is coming! Did you hear? Did you hear that Mustafa Kemal was coming to our school…” I couldn’t lay my head on the pillow and couldn’t stay at home unless I heard from him. My friends would ask, “Aren’t you afraid of enemies?” They were filled with anxiety. “Friends, what should we be afraid of while my Pasha is here? How are those enemies trembling now?” Don’t laugh and say that it’s just a child’s mind, my child. Mustafa Kemal cared very much about us and our ideas, he would talk to us at length and fill us with indescribable hope.
Son, when you go to school, don’t forget why you went to school and what sacrifices were made so that you can go to that school safely. As you pass through the paths you walk, stop and think. I wonder who else had walked those paths? Who knows, maybe my Pasha took the same steps. Always be proud, do not bow your head. You are a child of the Turkish homeland. It is your duty to work under all circumstances, not to give up, and to be determined and agile. Protect our Republic and get whatever strength you need from the noble blood in your veins. Republic… How easy it is to say it in one breath, but building it was not as easy as you think, my dear.
Darkness began to slowly fall on beautiful Ankara. Kemalettin Sami and Halit Pasha waited for our pasha without giving up. This being the case, my pasha invited them to dinner through the Minister of National Defense Kazım Pasha. İsmet Pasha informed Kazım Pasha and Fethi Bey to come to Çankaya with him. When he arrived in Çankaya, he met Rize Deputy Fuat and Afyonkarahisar Deputy Ruşen Eşref Bey, who came there to see him. During the meal, “Gentlemen, we will declare a Republic tomorrow!” Mustafa Kemal, whose name we write on jewels, said. The food remained on the table. Those who were there also joined our pasha. From then on, they quickly decided what path they would follow. That’s right, my dear, as our pasha said… Later, with the acceptance of the changes made in the Constitution of the Constitution, the Republic was declared with 101 cannon shots on October 29, 1923, and our pasha has become our ancestor since that day. Our Mustafa Kemal Atatürk… Don’t think of this as a simple fairy tale, my child. This is a hundred-year-old truth, and for the sake of this truth, no blood has been shed, no mothers have cried, and no brave men have been buried first in their hearts and then in the ground without even a shroud. Remember these verses, my dear, and never forget them again: “You are the son of a martyr, do not hurt, it is a shame, your father: But may He not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world”. Don’t get upset or fall into heedlessness because you won’t be able to see our Ancestor, the founder of our Republic, and quickly remember this sentence: “Seeing me does not necessarily mean seeing my face.” If you understand my ideas, my emotions and feel, this is enough.”
Your duty is to protect Ataturk’s principles and reforms under all circumstances and difficulties and to do your best to reach the level of contemporary civilizations. Ataturk was also mortal, I will pass away one day, and so will you. It is our Republic that is permanent, son. What is permanent are our ideas and our invincible power. Even if the black soil rots our bodies one day, the Turkish Nation will always survive. Always!
With love…