Father of son killed on Gaza flotilla calls for justice

June 10, 2012

The father of a young US citizen killed by Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara, part of the 2010 Gaza flotilla, has visited Gaza for the first time. Ahmet Dogan's visit to Gaza was arranged by Fakhoora, in order that Ahmet could present the first award of the Furkan Dogan scholarship at the Islamic University of Gaza. 

The Gulf Times' has allowed us to reproduce their recent article by Peter Townson about Ahmet's visit here:

The father of the young man killed in the attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla two years ago, recently visited Gaza with Al Fakhoora officials describing his experience as “intensely emotional” and expressing his gratitude for the support shown by the people there.

Ahmet Togan, whose son Furkan was killed by Israeli forces aboard the flotilla, spoke to Gulf Times following his visit, explaining that he is still campaigning for justice for his son and arguing that the US government has not done enough to support Furkan’s case, despite his US citizenship.

“This was my first visit to Gaza and it was striking and a memorable experience for me,” he said, explaining that during his stay he visited a family who having been displaced from their home for three years, had rebuilt their house and named it after his son. This was not the only memorial dedicated to Furkan in Gaza, and his father also attended Islamic University in Gaza to present the ‘Furkan Dogan scholarship’ to students there, and visited the science department where a laboratory bears his name. 

Ahmet visited Gaza with Al Fakhoora director, Farooq Burney, to mark the two-year anniversary of the attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla.

“Before going there I knew the situation in Gaza from the media. During my visit I lived and experienced life in Gaza,” he said, explaining “ there was no room to breathe - you feel stuck, you feel the blockade.”

“Everybody in Gaza knew Furkan, and had affection for him,” he noted, saying “it was the best thing that a father of a martyr can experience.”

“Furkan was a kind, sincere and generous child,” said Ahmet, adding “never would you hear a rude or bad word from him, and he disliked violence his entire life.”
Ahmet explained that his son had been supporting numerous charities throughout his life, but preferred to keep his generosity quiet rather than trying to gain attention.

The young man became interested in the humanitarian issues facing Gaza when he was at school, and during his final term, he set his heart on joining the aid flotilla. Despite his parents highlighting the importance of his education and the dangers in Gaza, Furkan arranged to sit his exams early and gained admission to medical school.

“We knew how bad the situation in Gaza was but didn’t want to crush Furkan’s strong humanitarian instincts - we finally agreed that we couldn’t reject his request,” he said.

On May 31, 2010, Furkan was killed on board the flotilla, with a UN report suggesting that he had been shot numerous times at close range by Israeli forces.

Ahmet said that he had been contacted by the US embassy in Ankara following the news that Furkan had been killed, offering their assistance whenever needed. However, he explained that he has been unable to contact them since, and his attempts to contact the US State Department had been similarly fruitless. 

He also argued that the media in the US has generally ignored the case, despite it involving a teenage US citizen. 

“Even though I do not feel that there has been an adequate investigation into the events on the flotilla, most recently, the Turkish high criminal court in Istanbul has unanimously accepted the ‘Mavi Marmara’ indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their involvement in the killing of nine people on board,” he said. 

He explained that he had also approached the International Criminal Court in 2010, but had made no progress with the case.

This is despite the UN reports which describe an “extra-legal, arbitrary, and summary execution” and the fact that Furkan was a US citizen.

“As far as they are concerned, their (the US) ties with Israel are more important than my son, and he was an American citizen. If my son was an Israeli who was shot by Turks in international waters, how would the US react? That is what I would like to ask the Americans. 

Ahmet expressed his belief, in line with the work of Al Fakhoora, that education will play a key role in the development of Gaza and its youth.

“Education is one of the most important things to help people in Gaza,” he said, adding “most of the people are unemployed – through education they can gain a career.”
In this sense, the work of Al Fakhoora and the Qatar government in general was extremely important to Furkan and his family.

Furkan, who was born in the US but moved to Turkey when he was two, had intended to become an ophthalmologist, his father explained.

“His good deeds and actions were an inspiration to those who knew and loved him,” said Ahmet, adding “Furkan was not able to become an eye doctor, but now he’s helping people see the truth.”