Mois : décembre 2007

Linked with Classical Music Struggles to Be Heard.

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « I wish to present wonderful music and peaceful life to the public and popularize exquisite classical music to the best of my ability » … and: « A symphony which represents Western music, is a most complex yet splendid artistic form » … « Compared with China’s big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, Xiamen, with a population of only 400,000, has done very well ».

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Xiaoying Zheng – China

She works for China’s Central Opera Theater (named in China today).

Zheng Xiaoying is China’s first female opera and symphony orchestra conductor, and is the first Chinese orchestra conductor to take the international opera stage. She is now the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. Zheng has been awarded a variety of prizes in acknowledgment of her outstanding art achievements on the following four aspects:

I. Rebuilding of the Central Opera Theatre’s orchestra from ruin after the Cultural Revolution and excellent opera conducting:

Zheng has often been invited to give performances on important occasions in China since 1978. She has conducted many Chinese and foreign operas. She also offers tremendous support to the creative works of young composers and assists in the trial performance and spread of Chinese works. Her conducting is considered enthusiastic, conscientious, exquisite, and inspiring.Zheng has been invited more than 30 times to lead opera and symphony concerts or give lectures in more than 20 countries like USA, Russia, Japan, Australia, and European countries. She is the first Chinese conductor to take the podium in a foreign opera theatre and continues to receive such invitations even now. Zheng’s performance on the international stage has changed prejudices against Chinese and oriental women.

II. More than 50 years of brilliant teaching achievements:

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She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

She says: « All guerrillas, soldiers, and prisoners are my children. I shall be there for all of them. I will continue to struggle for peace so that they do not die ».

She explained: « I was no longer a mother in fear. That person had vanished and was replaced by a strong and knowledgeable mother. I began to follow the news. I read newspapers and books, which helped alleviate my pain. As soon as I put the kids to sleep I would turn on the television and watch programs such as Siyaset Meydani (Political Arena) and Teke Tek (One to One). I could no longer sleep at night. I began to understand that there was a Kurdish question in Turkey. I wanted to do something to overcome our problems, and so that I would never be faced with the news of Mehmet’s death. Whenever I traveled or met new people, I was compelled to befriend them and explain the real situation in Turkey. I was no longer an ordinary housewife. I would talk about the situation and I tried to organize the older women to take a stance. I told them, ‘Mothers need to do something. Today I am living through all this but tomorrow it may be your turn’. I knew the pain all too well and I knew that it would grasp us all, all over Turkey. Without knowing it, I was becoming a peace militant and a peace mother ».

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Müyesser Günes – Turkey

She works for the Peace Mothers (there exist worldwide many local groups named ‘Mothers for Peace’).
Muyesser Gunes has spent most of her life as a typical Kurdish village woman. She was born in Bitlis/Ahlat to a family with seven siblings. Her mother died at age 29, during the birth of her last child, because there was no village doctor to assist her. After losing their mother, the girls were forced to stop attending school to look after the younger children; Muyesser left school when she was five. At age 14, she was married off to a 12-year-old cousin and her responsibilities increased tremendously. She had to care for her sick mother-in-law and young husband. At age 17, she had her first child and for the next ten years, she lived in the village, milking the animals, baking bread, cutting and harvesting the fields, and producing yogurt and cheese.

The Kurds were completely self-sufficient since the Turkish state did not supplement their living in any way. Eventually, her village’s name, Mezik, was banned, along with thousands of others, and changed to the Turkish, Burcu Kaya. Her eldest son, Mehmet, was subjected to harassment by Turkish students and state forces and was kicked out of school for being a Kurd. Their house was regularly raided and at one point, Mehmet was taken into police custody and tortured.

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