“The greatest evil perpetrated is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons” -- Hannah Arendt
Our Vision: We strive for a society where rights and freedoms are protected, and a culture of peace, democracy, and accountability for past atrocities and human rights violations prevails.
Our Mission and Objectives: With this vision in mind, we aim to generate information that uncovers the truth about systematic and widespread grave human rights violations both in the past and present. We seek to support survivors in their pursuit of justice and foster a pluralistic and multi-layered collective memory.
Why? Because every pain and suffering that we fail to confront returns to haunt us, causing new pain and suffering, and obstructing our aspirations for a democratic future. Turkey's history is burdened with distorted and concealed realities, massacres, and persecutions, much like many other countries with an imperial past and nationalist ideologies. On one hand, there is the exclusion, expulsion, and discrimination against non-Muslim minorities. On the other hand, various political figures and activists have been prosecuted and executed during several military coups, while the leftist opposition has faced intimidation. The violations following the 1980 military coup amounted to crimes against humanity, as unimaginable acts of torture were carried out, particularly in the Diyarbakır prison. Fascist policies aimed at eradicating the Kurdish identity were implemented during this period. The atmosphere of death has persisted and remained unresolved during the 40 years of armed conflict since then. Our present continues to bear the burden of all these unaddressed and suppressed sufferings, causing new wounds. In the face of all this suffering, Hafıza Merkezi was established to pose the following questions; "Since we cannot continue living like this, what can we do? What have others done for dealing with atrocities of the past?”