Injuria hilser fremtiden

Injuria.no • 5. oktober 2020

Tekst: Nicolai Staavi
Foto: Eline Sandnes Fosse

Jeg liker å spise, og har klare tanker om hva som hører hjemme på tallerkenen. Egg, melk og kjøttdeig kan jeg gafle inn på til jeg kjeder meg, og om jeg noensinne tatoverer meg, skal «Et liv uten biff er et liv uten glede» utgjøre motivet. Men med flere munner å mette, vil vi i fremtiden bli pent nødt til å utnytte andre deler av jorda enn det fjøset jeg er så glad i. Kan jeg smertefritt gå over til en diett bestående av tang, tare og innsekter, eller er det nøyaktig like uappetittlig som det høres ut som? Jeg mistenker det siste, men valgte å teste likevel.

Høsting av råvarer
«Insekt har lenge vorte diskriminert på grunn av utsjånaden sin», hevder Larveriet på baksiden av pakken. Om larvene er urettmessig diskriminert gjenstår å se, men jeg kan gi dem rett i en ting. Larvene er virkelig ikke spesielt appetittvekkende.

Det er VilVite som selger «Mjølmums – frå Voss» i fem-grams-pakker. Akkurat de pakkene jeg kjøpte gikk til halv pris, fordi de gikk ut på dato 18. mars. Dette er en detalj jeg valgte å ikke informere resten av testpanelet om, da damen bak kassen kunne informere om at de er «helt fine». Betaler man derimot fullpris, koster pakkene 50 spenn, noe som gir en kilopris på småstive 10 000 kroner. Til sammenlikning er det nøyaktig det samme som Gjermund Cappelens marokkanske leverandør av jazztobakk skulle ha for varene sine. Larvene går for øyeblikket ikke til en utpreget studentvennlig pris, er det jeg vil fram til.

Men én ting skal larvene ha. De var enkle å få tak i, og krever ingen tilberedning. Det samme kan ikke sies om tangen. Jeg vet ikke hva du brukte tirsdagskvelden din på, men jeg sto uti Skuteviken med saks i den ene hånden, sekken i den andre og bikkjekaldt vann opp til knærne. Da jeg trasket hjem i regnværet var jeg fremdeles ikke helt sikker på om det jeg hadde i sekken faktisk er spiselig.

I motsetning til larvene, som kan nytes rett fra pakken, må selvplukket tang tørkes. Ifølge tangogtare.com bør den prosessen helst foregå i sola. Da tar det omtrent to til tre dager å tørke. Dette er, av åpenbare grunner, uaktuelt. Men om man, som jeg, har blæretang i sekken, kan man lage sprø snacks av den ved å steke den på 100 grader i omtrent to timer. Stekingen foregår, til mine romkameraters store forferdelse, med åpen dør. Dette fyller rommet med en spiss tranlukt, og jeg håper inderlig det er verdt det.

Insekter som pizzatopping er en oppgave vi tenkte vi burde overlate til profesjonelle. Derfor unnet vi oss Kafé Spesials «Pizza Locusta Migratoria». De mest beleste av dere er naturligvis klar over at «locusta migratoria» er blant verdens mest utbredte gresshoppearter. Gresshopper, ja. Nå var ananas plutselig ikke så kontroversielt lenger. Dette bestemte krypet er i tillegg en plage for landbruket fra New Zeeland til Afrika, så for miljøets del bør en helst få i seg flest mulig. Derfor var min skuffelse stor da kokken kunne fortelle meg at de praktisk talt var utsolgt for gresshopper (ja, faktisk!). Heldigvis kunne russeren på kjøkkenet grave fram husets to gjenstående locustaer og fortelle meg at «we have some crickets and worms too». Den pizzaen vi nå skal teste står altså ikke på menyen. Den er kun for Injuria!

            

Test
Da var maten klar. Det eneste som gjensto nå var å finne et villig testpanel. Dette skulle vise seg å være vrient. Folk var nemlig ikke så gira på hverken tang, gresshopper eller larver. Selv ikke på Injurias regning! Etter mye masing klarte vi likevel å skrape sammen tre paneldeltakere, men på testdagen var paneldeltaker nummer en plutselig «bortreist», og paneldeltaker to nektet blankt å smake på pizzaen. Det vi nå skal presentere er dermed en test med 1 og 2/3 i panelet. 

Testresultat:
Heddas tanker:
Insektpizza: Denne klarte jeg ikke å spise. Kombinasjonen pizza og insekt var vanskelig å svelge. Terningkast 1 (0 om mulig).

Larver: Her ble jeg positivt overrasket! Larvene luktet litt kjeks. De smakte veldig lite, men hadde en tørr og søtlig ettersmak. Konsistensen var knasende. Tenker at denne retten kunne gjort seg godt i taco, eller som topping på en pastarett. Terningkast 5.

Tang: Dette var skuff. Tangen luktet vondt, litt som en våt bikini som har ligget for lenge i en bag. Hadde forventet mer saltsmak, men smaken minner mer om råtten krabbe. Det er mulig at tangen kan tilberededes på bedre måter, f.eks. med litt hvitløk og olivenolje. Kunne eventuelt bli brukt som topping på en pastasalat med scampi, eller topping på en fiskesuppe. Terningkast 2.

                                                      

Nicolais tanker:
Pizza: Den har et utseende kun en pizzamor kan elske. Med øynene lukket er den likevel fint spiselig. Insektene smaker ikke annet enn frityr, og resten av pizzaen er det heller ikke stort å utsette på. Jeg tror den kunne blitt tilberedt som en calzone og servert til hvem som helst uten at man hadde merket det, men dessverre er den krydret med litt for mye hvitløk for min gane. Jeg tenker denne parer fint med en god portvin. Terningkast 5.

Larvene: KJEDELIG! Null smak. Null konsistens. Null noe som helst. Larvene er utelukkende en næringskilde. Det kan kanskje fungere som litt ekstra «gains» i en kyllinggryte, men på egen hånd består denne retten kun av det gyselige utseende uten at smaksopplevelsen kompenserer. Parer  fint med en tung rødvin. Terningkast 2.

Tang: Her må jeg være ærlig. Kokken kunne prestert bedre, eller i hvert fall servert den fersk. Jeg tror tanken bak denne retten er at den skal kunne erstatte potetgull, men saltsmaken tangen hadde rett ut av ovnen forsvant etter et par dager i kjøleskapet. Ikke at dette er noe jeg ville satt fram på vors i utgangspunktet. Tangen etterlater en svært bitter ettersmak. Nytes helst sammen med veldig, veldig sterk alkohol. Terningkast 1.

                                                      

                                 


1. Slettholm, Andreas, «Slik var Cappelens lukrative hasj-kjede», Aftenposten nettutgave, 17. september 2015, https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/JxzP/slik-var-cappelens-lukrative-hasj-kjede

 

 

Av Hannah M. Behncke, Eylül Sahin and Sabrina Eriksen Zapata – ELSA Bergen, Human Rights, Researchgruppen 24. april 2025
Oppression isn’t always loud - it can be the quiet erasure of culture and language, stripping minorities of their freedom to express who they are. Language and culture are two of the most important means to keep one's identity alive. Unfortunately, many minorities face extreme repression regarding their background. The Kurdish ability to perform their culture in Turkey has been a long struggle. This is still the case today, where the Kurdish minority face backlash for speaking their language. This article will look into the Kurdish fight to protect their identity in Turkey. To gain a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives on this issue, we interviewed a Kurdish and a Turkish citizen of Turkey about their views on the Turkish state's treatment of Kurds. Legal basis Although several international legal frameworks exist to protect minority cultures and languages, Turkey has not incorporated them into its legal system. Article 27 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights explicitly states that “minorities shall not be denied the right […] to enjoy their culture, [...] or to use their own language.” However, despite ratifying the ICCPR, Turkey made a reservation excluding Article 27. Similarly, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages requires minority languages to be accessible in education, judicial court proceedings, and in the media. However, Turkey has not ratified this charter. Domestically, the Turkish constitution does not recognize Kurds as a minority. In fact, article 42 explicitly prohibits the “teaching of any language other than Turkish as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens”.1 As a result, the Kurdish language lacks legal protection, unlike Ladino, Greek, and Armenian, which are safeguarded under the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).2 Historical overview After the Ottoman Empire's collapse, the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres promised Kurdish autonomy, but the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne nullified it, dividing Kurdistan among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria without self-rule.3 Under Atatürk, Turkey enforced homogenization, banning Kurdish in public, closing Kurdish schools, renaming villages (1924) and forcibly relocating Kurds—even though most Kurds did not speak Turkish.4 The state criminalized Kurdish, promoted Citizen, Speak Turkish! and justified relocations as a tool to suppress identity.5 The Sheikh Sa’id Rebellion (1925), led by Kurdish nationalists and Islamists, was brutally crushed, triggering long-term conflict. Martial law and mass deportations lasted until 1939, while uprisings in Ararat (1930) and Dersim (1937–38) faced massacres, bombings, and poison gas, drawing parallels to the Armenian Genocide.6 Allegations of British support for Kurdish rebels persist, but remain debated.7 Kurdish political movements resurfaced in the 1960s and 1970s, with the Kurdish Democratic Party of Turkey (1965) and the Marxist-Leninist PKK (1978) engaging in armed resistance. Turkey designated the PKK a terrorist group in 1997, followed by the US and EU.8 Forced displacement continued, with over a million Kurds migrating between 1950 and 1980 due to state violence and poverty.9 The 1980 military coup further suppressed Kurdish politics, banning education (1982) and publications (Law No. 2932, 1983).10 Despite lifting the language ban in 1991, Kurdish broadcasting remained illegal until 2002. From 1984 to 1999, Turkey destroyed 4,000 Kurdish villages, displaced three million people, and killed tens of thousands in its campaign against Kurdish insurgency.11 The 1991 language bill allowed limited private Kurdish use, but public use remained restricted. Some progress followed in the 21st century, including Kurdish-language broadcasts (2004), a state-run TV channel (2009), and Kurdish as an optional school subject (2012), though full linguistic and cultural rights remain elusive. Oral storytelling (Dengbêj) persisted despite restrictions. Between 2013 and 2015, Turkey’s peace talks with the PKK, involving Abdullah Öcalan, PKK commanders, and pro-Kurdish HDP intermediaries, collapsed—renewing conflict in southeastern Turkey.12 Arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, torture, and land dispossession persist, as security forces often fail to distinguish civilians from PKK members.13 How is the situation today? An estimated 12–20 million Kurds live in Turkey, making up approximately 14–23% of the country's population. The wide range in estimates is due to the absence of ethnicity-related data in official statistics and the social and political stigma that may lead some to conceal their identity.14 As Kurds originate from various countries, most today identify with the state in which they reside. Surveys suggest that many Kurds feel a strong sense of discrimination. Only 28% believe they are treated equally to ethnic Turks, while 58% report experiencing discrimination. Some have even been denied medical services and housing due to their ethnicity.15 To better understand these challenges, we spoke with a Kurdish individual from Elbistan, Turkey, who spent most of his life there before relocating. When asked if he had ever felt pressure speaking Kurdish in public, he recalled visits to public institutions where his family, unable to speak Turkish, had to use Kurdish, but were not allowed to. “It always made us feel fear and anxiety”, he said. He also described restrictions on Kurdish culture: “Whenever we listened to Kurdish music or played traditional games outside, we knew we were being watched. Some of my friends were even detained just for playing games with Kurdish music. It felt like our culture was a crime.” In contrast, a Turkish conservative nationalist offered a different perspective. While personally holding nationalist views, he answered the questions in general terms, arguing that Kurds are integrated into society and do not face systemic barriers. When asked if there was tension between Turks and Kurds in daily life, he dismissed the idea: “Generalizing Turkey’s sociology is difficult, but I don’t see any real barrier. I have Kurdish friends and colleagues, and background doesn’t matter to us. In cities like Istanbul, people aren’t judged based on race, religion, language, or culture.” Even though he acknowledged past discrimination, he viewed it as a historical issue rather than an ongoing one. While the two perspectives differ, they reflect broader discussions on the extent of cultural and linguistic inclusion in Turkey. Surveys suggest that many Kurds report experiencing discrimination, while some view Kurdish cultural expression as unrestricted. The extent to which Kurdish identity is freely expressed - or whether challenges remain - continues to be a subject of debate. The survival of Kurdish culture in Turkey In a survey conducted regarding Kurdish identity, only 30% of Kurds reported their Kurdish language skills to be “good”, and of this 30%, only 44% of them reported that their children had the same strong language skills.16 This suggests that it is harder for each passing generation to maintain and teach the Kurdish language. So how has the oppression impacted Kurdish ability to maintain their language? According to the latter interviewee “Kurdish is spoken openly, cultural traditions are practiced, and there are Kurdish-language newspapers and TV channels”. Media As mentioned above, the Turkish government continuously violates the “freedom of expression”. In 2021, Turkey was the country with most cases regarding violation to “freedom of expression” before the European Court of Human Rights.17 Regarding Kurdish media, there has been a consistent crackdown on Kurdish media platforms. There has also been consistent imprisonment of journalists either writing in Kurdish or regarding Kurdish repression. For instance, Nedim Turfent was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment in 2017 for covering the clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK. In his sentence, he was charged with “membership of a terrorist organization”.18 Education The Educational accessibility to teaching Kurdish has improved in the years. Students in cities with a high population of Kurds, can choose Kurdish as a subject in primary- and secondary school. In addition, some state level universities offer Kurdish programs. However, these educational means have been greatly criticized by Kurdish activists, in regard to the government lowering the quality of education by not supplying enough teachers and appropriate materials needed for the classes.19 Final remarks Language is not just a means of communication; it embodies history, culture, and identity. The Kurdish struggle for linguistic freedom in Turkey is a fight for existence, where legal barriers and social stigmas persist despite claims of progress. While the government insists on inclusivity, Kurdish activists highlight ongoing repression, and for many, fear and anxiety remain. The future of Kurdish identity depends not just on legal reforms but on broader acceptance within Turkish society. Whether true equality is within reach - or remains a distant hope - ultimately depends on who you ask.
Av Injuria 24. april 2025
I denne utgaven: Nordtveit, Ernst - " Rettar til nausttomt " - 1982