You're in the Army Now!

Ibrahim Kepenek has written a humorous and insightful account of his "fast-track" military service in Turkey. The German-Turkish author uses this boot camp ordeal to reflect on his cultural identity. By Volker Kaminski

Ibrahim Kepenek (photo: Ali Kepenek)
Ibrahim Kepenek

​​By all appearances, Ibrahim Kepenek is a model of successful integration.

His parents moved to Germany when he was only three years old, he grew up in the "Turkish ghetto" of Mülheim in Cologne, acquired his higher education entrance qualification in Germany and studied graphic design. This led to a career as a graphic artist on the weekly magazine "Stern" in Hamburg.

Nonetheless, as a German Turk, Kepenek sees himself as caught "between two worlds" and says that he will always remain a "foreigner" in Germany.

Although almost all of his friends are Germans, and he speaks better German than Turkish, Kepenek still defines himself as a Turk. This mixed cultural existence motivates him to search incessantly for his true identity.

Not surprisingly, when he was recruited for service in the Turkish military, he saw it as an ideal opportunity to "find his roots." Kepenek was already 37 when he ventured back to the "unfamiliar territory" of his home country to "play soldier for three weeks."

Boot camp ordeal

"Rühr dich, Kanake!" ("Move It, Kanake!" – a derogatory term for Turks in Germany) is an entertaining and at times grotesque account of the author's brief sojourn in a Turkish military boot camp.

Needless to say, Kepenek did not freely volunteer for military duty. Every Turk living abroad has to serve in the military – provided, of course, he has retained his Turkish citizenship.

Although the Turkish state waives almost the entire period of military service required of expatriates – reducing the duration of their tour of duty from 15 months to just 3 weeks – there is a hefty catch. Every "expat" Turk has to pay 5,000 euros so he can serve his country in fast-track mode.

Kepenek has produced a graphic and highly amusing description of his ordeal, which involved an involuntary intensive military training course in a country steeped in military tradition.

​​Weeks before he even embarks on his journey, he imagines what life will be like on the base. The reality of the sleeping quarters and the huge military parade grounds actually comes frighteningly close to his worst fears.

Life is well-organized and dreadfully tedious, with drills, marching, standing at attention in the heat and the rain – and hours of counts and roll calls. There are ill-tempered sergeants, strict officers, captains yelling at the top of their lungs – your classic boot camp nightmare. And yet the training that Kepenek and his fellow recruits receive differs markedly from the usual drills and exercises performed by young Turkish conscripts.

Long, and short on laughs

None of his fellow 450 expats drafted for this brief army stint is suitable for military training. In the barracks, Kepenek meets well-established heads of families, businessmen from around the world, distinguished gray-haired academics, all of them over the age of 30.

The camp atmosphere, the drills and the shooting practice actually do little more than add to each recruit's personal collection of anecdotes. But this is no laughing matter.

In this remote corner of Turkey, surrounded by the mountains of Burdur, it rapidly becomes clear just how long three weeks can be, especially when the circumstances are so adverse, when men are forced to live in such close quarters and have been thrown into an exceedingly stressful situation.

Rediscovered affinity

Time and again, Kepenek ponders the ties that still connect him to his country of origin. He recounts the story of his parents, who came to Germany as guest workers in the early 1970s and now live again in Turkey. It is actually for their sake that he has agreed to embark on this military odyssey.

Following a long discussion with the colonel of the base, his doubts over his training are confirmed as he realises that the Turkish army places no value on the military capabilities of these recruits – yet Kepenek still feels connected to the traditional values of his parents, which include military training.

Even though his social life in Germany has progressively moved him away from Turkish culture, he suddenly feels surprisingly close to his Turkish comrades, and rediscovers an affinity for Turkish peculiarities and ways of thinking.

The three-week trip to a Turkish military base is also enthralling for German readers. It is easy to imagine how strange the situation must be – surrounded by hundreds of men from around the world, some of them likeable, others extremely unpleasant.

Kepenek meets members of the Grey Wolves, the youth organization of the ultra-nationalist neo-fascist Turkish National Movement Party, who use the barracks as a stage to spread their political propaganda, and he bumps into all kinds of shady characters who deal drugs. But he also makes new friends.

The book contains a wealth of tiny details, such as the ritual of assigning uniforms to new recruits, the boots that are too small and make marching torture, and strange evening events in a stuffy auditorium, where the troops are shown long films on the founding of the Turkish state and have to listen to a presentation that unbearably whitewashes the expulsion of the Armenians.

Kepenek has also sprinkled his account with long passages where he muses over his own history. He traces the path that he and his siblings – the children of Anatolian farmers – have gradually found into German society. In the end, everything comes full circle. The reader comprehends how this bizarre journey allowed Kepenek to rediscover his nearly forgotten roots.

Volker Kaminski

© Qantara.de 2007

Translated from the German by Paul Cohen

"Rühr dich, Kanake!" has been published in German by KiWi paperback, 2007, Cologne.

Qantara.de

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