This essay won 3rd Place in the 2025 YRIS High School Essay Contest for its response to the following prompt: “Examine the evolution of a relationship between two countries in response to a global challenge. What lessons can other nations learn from their cooperation or conflict?”
“I hate Greece”, my Turkish mother once said when she was a child. My grandmother told me this story, not with pride, but to remind me how deeply the hostility between the two countries had shaped people’s thinking and language. I never held my mother responsible for feeling that way. I knew her animosity wasn’t born from her own experiences; it was inherited, shaped by decades of Greek-Turkish conflict, and passed down through stories. My ancestors lived through wars, and what they absorbed was a legacy of resentment. That legacy became a habit, passed from parent to child until it settled into everyday thinking. Even today, the tension between Turkey and Greece hasn’t fully disappeared. While attitudes toward each other have softened, chiefly among younger generations, the old resentments still echo in education, politics, and everyday conversation. Growing up as a Turkish child, I often questioned why we couldn’t just like each other. France and Germany had fought brutal wars, yet they moved forward. So why couldn’t we? Sometimes, it takes the earth itself to break apart for people to come together. That’s what happened in 1999 — and again in 2023.
The relationship between Turkey and Greece is profoundly shaped by a longstanding tradition of enduring conflict and poignant historical grievances, which have significantly influenced the national identities and political trajectories of both countries for more than a century. It is a story of trauma passed down through generations, driven by conflict and forced migration, whose repercussions remain evident to this day. In 1922, during the war over Smyrna (modern-day Izmir), Turkish forces recovered the city from Hellenic troops. Much of the urban area was destroyed by fire, and about 1.5 million ethnic Greeks were forced to leave Turkey, while hundreds of thousands of Turkish people were forced out of Greece. Ernest Hemingway, reporting from the docks, described Greek mothers carrying the bodies of their children for days. This harrowing event inflicted lasting trauma on both sides, destroying entire ways of life.
In 1974, tensions escalated on the island of Cyprus. After a coup facilitated by Greek authorities sought to unite Cyprus with Greece, Turkey intervened militarily in northern Cyprus to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority. The invasion resulted in a divided island and the displacement of thousands of people. The conflict hardened nationalist feelings, and Cyprus remains divided today.
These historical events have caused enduring scars. Protracted disputes over maritime boundaries, airspace, and territorial rights continue to create tension. Despite this, moments of cooperation during natural disasters have shown that reconciliation is achievable, even if political issues remain unmet.
On August 17, 1999, at exactly 3:01 a.m., a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the city of Izmit in northwestern Turkey. The tremors reached across 2,000 square kilometers, reaching Istanbul – one of Turkey’s most populous cities, and the place where my family lived. My mother and her family slept in a parking lot for days, terrified to return home. My father lost his best friend in the collapse. The earthquake claimed over 18,000 lives, left more than 400,000 people unhoused, and either destroyed or severely damaged an estimated 330,000 residential buildings. Immediately after, grieving relatives dug through the rubble with basic tools — or even their bare hands — trying to reach loved ones. The devastation was immense. Yet what astonished many was that the first international rescue team to arrive came from Greece. Three military planes landed from Athens, carrying sniffer dogs, rescue workers, and field hospitals. Donations poured in. “As much help as it needed, for as long as it needed,” said Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou. In a moment of unimaginable grief, aid came from across the sea from the people my parents had been taught to fear.
Three weeks later, Athens was hit by a damaging earthquake. A 5.9 magnitude quake killed around 150 people and left tens of thousands without homes. Turkey responded without delay, mobilizing search and rescue teams. Turkish volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue Greek civilians trapped beneath the rubble. For many, it was a moment of insight. The images of Greek and Turkish flags featured on each other’s emergency supplies eased tensions between the countries, leading to a notable shift in public opinion. Within months, Greece dropped its veto against Turkey’s EU candidacy. Diplomats called it “Earthquake Diplomacy.” But the real change did not originate from foreign ministries; it came from ordinary citizens of two “enemy” nations recognizing each other’s pain and responding as humans.
In February 2023, disaster struck again. This time in southeastern Turkey, Greece responded by sending 25 EMAK rescuers, two search dogs, and 90 tons of humanitarian aid. This time, no one was surprised. In Thessaloniki, citizens organized relief drives, sending bilingual packages labeled in Turkish and Greek. A young diplomat in training reflected, “We are friends now with Turkey, but this might change again soon. It always does.” Even so, a local artist conveyed, “The Turkish people will never forget our solidarity.” What had once been a diplomatic anomaly had become a reflex. Yet, questions remained: was this genuine reconciliation or simply another truth born of tragedy?
What happened between Turkey and Greece embodies significance far beyond their shared sea. Earthquake diplomacy did not emerge from formal negotiations or treaties; instead, it was rooted in grief and profound human vulnerability. As Greek artist Aristeia Elbasidou put it, “It is propaganda that poisons our relations.” Reconciliation can start in chaos, not always in parliaments. It often emerges through the breakdown of formal barriers, when individuals interact beyond institutional frameworks and political divisions. Other countries might learn from this example. In South Asia, India and Pakistan, despite a long history of conflict, have cooperated on flood monitoring in Kashmir. Even amid ongoing disputes, shared threats can compel a degree of honesty. From that honesty, there is the chance for something new to emerge.
My family and I visit Greece every summer now. My mother, who once recoiled at the thought of Greece, now travels there with a sense of peace and connection. This change isn’t about politics; it’s about kindness and the choices we make. I’ve always dreamed of becoming a diplomat to help reshape the relationship between my country and Greece, yet I have come to realize that peace may not begin in embassies, it starts with the people, ordinary citizens choosing to connect beyond politics.
References:
Featured/Headline Image Caption and Citation: Nikos Dendias, Foreign Minister of Greece, visits Turkey. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons | CC License, no changes made
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