I was born in 1963, in a poor farmhouse away from civilization. Walking to my elementary and middle schools took hours. Small chores of our farm house were put on my shoulders before and after school. I had to do my homework in a small, crowded room with nine brothers and sisters plus my parents. My father did not know how to treat my mother with six little kids and caused her to be depressed, because my father had a second wife. He had three more kids. So althogether I had nine brothers and sisters. My stepmother abused me so badly throghout my childhood. She used to threaten me by putting worms in my nostrils when I was in deep sleep. She showed my father’s handgun to me many times, threatening to shoot me with it. My stepmother and my father used to badmouth about my mother and her family, so that I hated them. My father tried to brainwash me and turn me into a social hater. Thank goodness I refused his absolute control. I was very good student in the grade school. Here is my success story.
My teachers assigned me with listening to radio news, reporting it and discussing it with my class. We did not have any kind of library. As they saw I was reading muddy newspapers from the roads, they gave me their own books to read. I started to learn about the world and developed a great love for American democracy, especially after reading the comic book series, the Steel Blake (Celik Bilek Teksas in Turkish) about a trapper hero of the American revolution. I became a freedom lover.
In the meantime, leading roles in school shows were assigned to me as well, which improved my social skills. It was all of these things that increased my love for school even more. I was always a top Honor Roll student. My school headmasters wrote special letters to my father to urge him to continue my education. As a result, I was accepted as a free boarding student at the well-known historical “Haydarpasa High School” in Istanbul. However, as the Medical Faculty moved into our high school, I had to move to my hometown Karasu High School.
After high school, I enrolled at the historical Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University which is still the main source for elite government positions in Turkey. The best place I enjoyed in Ankara was the Library of Turkish-American Association (TAA). Studying English, reading American periodicals, listening to Voice of America and BBC radios, watching American news and movies at TAA, collecting clippings from the press, attending conferences and symposiums, corresponding and meeting scholars and diplomats, dealing with international issues, writing an English diary, playing chess and meeting American friends at TAA, became my daily habit.
In 1984, I produced an English paper entitled “International Terrorism and Its Effects on International Relations”. I interviewed Prime Minister Turgut Ozal, and Turkish ambassadors, and some visiting American professors for my research. I even had a photo opportunity with Prime Minister Ozal during my interview. Fulbright visiting fellow Prof. Ronald Echardt kindly helped me to edit my paper. Helping Norwegian journalist Arne Thorbjornsen from the Aftenposten newspaper to cover the elections and the misery during the 1984 Local Elections of Turkey was a great experience for me, as well.
I had some translation pieces dealing with misery in Turkey published in a periodical named “Capital City”, under the advisement of Prof. Fusun Arsava and Prof. Baskin Oran. Later, I joined “Turkish Daily News” in English and published many translation pieces including a political interview with Prof. Yalcin Kucuk with my signature dealing with misery in Turkey.
I worked for the Prime Ministry translating day and night from international news agencies like the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, TASS, before I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on December 22, 1986 as a career diplomat, where I officially worked until I immigrated to the United States in 2000. I met Prime Minister Ozal, who later became President, and his wife Semra Ozal, who signed our photo, as well as Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel, who became President later, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and his wife Rahsan Ecevit, Prof. Necmettin Erbakan and Mesut Yilmaz to interview them about poverty and democratization issues in Turkey. I attended meetings in the Prime Ministry to establish national internet systems to lift Turkey from poverty to prosperity. I presented many papers in the MFA, as well as many letters to the members of media and parliament for the same purpose. In the meantime, I passed the KPDS Public Personnel Language Test with the highest score. I also contributed many pieces to the “Diplomatic Briefing” periodical in English. At two different times, I passed tests to become a postgraduate student, but was not allowed to attend by the MFA.
My diplomatic career was very exciting and also record-breaking. I learned a lot in my life in the Foreign Ministry until I immigrated to this beautiful country here. The Foreign Ministry fired me so many times now I do not even remember. Every time I returned my career by the Administrative Court Decisions. However, while my peers were becoming counsul general and ambassadors I was tortured by the military regime of Turkey. I did a lot of efforts to fight the regime and for justice. I was almost killed many times and was thrown in jails.
However, I traveled to Denmark in 2000 to make observations on its welfare system and met an American woman whom I later married in Turkey. I came to the United States in September 2000 under marriage immigration status. However, I got divorced later on and focused on the limo business and then the bus business until October 2010. All was only due to my extreme hard work. I will post you about my next generation internet explanation engine very soon.
İskender-i Zülkarneyn Peygamber'in torunu Recai Iskender 