Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Once upon a time, there was a land which was occupied by many countries. People had bad days under a dark sky. A man came out. He said “ my people should be independent.” He was like the sun. He appeared and the black clouds disappeared. He wrote a national legend with the people who believed him. People believed him because he was a good leader; strong, determined, planned, disciplined.

He became a pioneering model to many emerging countries. After the independence war, he created a new country, The Republic of Turkey, which is modern, democratic and secular.

He was born in Salonika in 1881 and died in 1938. He did not live long, but he did a lot of things which have life-long effects. He made a lot of reforms in all fields of life; education, health, economy, politics, industry, agriculture, transportation, social life, culture, music theatre, cinema. He himself formed a new alphabet, adopted from the Latin one. He travelled round the country and taught the people to read and write. The rate of the literate in the country increased swiftly. He took education as important as The Republic. He wanted the children to learn science, literature, art and music. He made clothing reforms. So women stopped wearing black veils and started to wear modern clothes. Men wore hats not fez. With the reforms of Ataturk, Turkish women, who had been neglected for centuries, were given new rights, including the right to vote and be voted. They had the same rights as men.

He loved children most. He tried to spend time with them whenever he could. He presented them with a festival which is unique in the world because he thought they are the future of the world. So every year on the 23rd April, many children from other countries come to Turkey to celebrate 'The National Sovereignty and The Children Festival. My country becomes like a big garden of many colourful flowers.

Ataturk is my hero because he didn't hesitate to devote his life to his country. Because of the things he had done, I can breath freely in my own country. I can go to a school and study many subjects as other students in the world do. I can wear the clothes I am wearing now. So I am grateful to him.