The book that Kılıçdaroğlu suggested to CHP organizations was written in the column of Muzaffer Ayhan Kara in Gerçek Gündem. That article by Muzaffer Ayhan Kara, published in Gerçek Gündem…
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I wish Kılıçdaroğlu would not only recommend this book to CHP organizations, but would direct him to issue a circular so that the CHP vice chairman in charge of organizations and the CHP general secretariat could be acquired and benefited by all provincial-district-town organizations…
I got to know Doğan Subaşı 10 years ago. At that time, it had only been three years since he entered politics. He decided to become a registered member of the CHP in Beylikdüzü and persistently wanted to work in the neighborhood where the party was the weakest in the district. In other words, Subaşı, who studied at the Military Academy and then went to law school and became a lawyer, preferred to start politics from the lowest level.
We met with Subaşı in 2013 in Silivri Prison, which served as a concentration camp for the opposition of the time. He was one of Balbay’s volunteer lawyers. I, on the other hand, was in the CHP delegation that visited CHP PM members and deputies Osman Korutürk and Oktay Ekşi, and CHP Deputy Balbay, in Silivri, with permission from the Ministry of Justice. Our visit had a lot of repercussions and we met with Subaşı in such an atmosphere.
Our next encounter was at a mass meeting organized by the CHP Beylikdüzü District Presidency. Balbay had regained his freedom. I accompanied a series of programs in Istanbul. First we went to Büyükada from Maltepe. Then we went to Beylikdüzü. CHP Beylikdüzü District President Ekrem İmamoğlu and the district secretary Yaşar Genç and Doğan Subaşı were waiting for us in the hall full of jam. It was then that we met İmamoğlu for the first time.
CALLING THE NEIGHBORHOOD: A HANDBOOK FOR GROSS POLICY
Let me come to the book immediately after this introduction… “Don’t Say Neighborhood” is almost like a handbook for grassroots politics. This is the purpose of the author Subaşı, who wrote the book anyway, and he expresses it as follows:
“The book in your hand is not a political analysis, an ambitious political text, or a memoir. Of course, although it contains some memories or some political evaluations in political studies, this is actually a handbook. A handbook on the political work carried out in the neighborhoods and in the localities…”
The following paragraph is at one point the reason for the importance Subaşı attaches to neighborhood work and therefore the writing of this book:
“The CHP, which is coming to power, also needs to revive the ‘tradition of neighborhood studies’ again and effectively. Of course, this tradition should be adapted to today’s conditions and should be continued in unique ways in every province, region and neighbourhood. One of the most important elements of going to power is the CHP organization’s re-establishing and multiplying this feature within its body.
The CHP votes in the neighborhood where Subaşı was assigned increased fourfold in the 2011 general elections, from 9 percent to 36 percent! What lies behind this is the work that starts from scratch and continues with a sweet insistence; are knitted loop by loop relations. This work in the book is indeed an exemplary work. The fourfold increase in votes is not a coincidence. As a matter of fact, as a result of such efforts in Beylikdüzü, the municipality will pass to the CHP as the 14th municipality in Istanbul (we passed Silivri as the 13th. I say “we passed it” because as a result of the campaign led by Gönen Orhan, in which I was a core team). We came 12 points behind and finished the race 6 points ahead of the AK Party candidate, who is also the current mayor).
Not to mention the two paragraphs that make up the spirit of “Don’t Say Neighborhood”:
“Neighborhood organizations are the units of the parties that have the most direct contact with the society. They constitute the first party echelon, which directly conveys the demands of the people to the party. Therefore, it is the ground where the exchange between the party and the masses is most real. (…) In short, the most important link with which the parties directly establish their relationship with the masses is the neighborhood organization. The neighborhood organization removes the party from being an abstract and distant structure in the eyes of the citizens, and makes it concrete and visible.”
INTRODUCTION FROM KILIÇDAROĞLU, FOREWORD FROM IMAMOĞLU
CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who attaches great importance to the book and wrote his presentation, also recommends this work as a handbook to CHP organizations:
“For how long have I been emphasizing the importance of broadcasting to those around me and party members, about the studies carried out on the grassroots, and to convey experience in this way. Doğan Subaşı has done just that with his work Do Not Say Neighborhood. He even went further and turned his narrative into ‘A Handbook for Neighborhood Studies’.
In his book, Doğan Subaşı explained step by step how to carry out a neighborhood study in a systematic way, and also touched on the internal rules of his work, internal morality and political lessons on various subjects. He meticulously dealt with very basic points such as how to behave, how to communicate, and even how to dress during neighborhood studies. With a sincere style and fluent narrative, he distilled every subject he dealt with from the experiences.
I recommend all CHP supporters to read “Do Not Say Neighborhood”.
