Green underwear, blue towel

Last night the Turkish army started a military operation in the north of Iraq. I was just reading about it on the internet, when BNR Newsradio – a big Dutch radio station – called me: would I like to contribute some comments about the invasion in their broadcast right after the 12 o’clock news? Of course I would, more so because BNR Newsradio and I had not worked together before and I would like to extend my on-the-spot journalism work. The strange thing was that my personal life that day was also preoccupied with the Turkish army. The Turkish man with whom I have lived for the last few years has to do his military service, and on this very day he has to leave for the barracks. We had only the morning to spend together, as in the afternoon he would be on a bus. After the phone call from BNR, my beloved was transformed into journalism assistant. We zapped the TV, we read everything there was to read online about the invasion, and at exactly 12 o’clock the phone rang. After the news it was my turn. I answered the questions – about the goal of the invasion, the timing, the reaction from the Kurdish and Iraqi sides. And after we put the phone down, despite the adrenaline hit from the news, I was quickly on my feet again: my beloved was packing his army things. Green underwear, green shirts, a green cap and green gloves, a blue towel. About an hour later I was waving him goodbye at the bus station. Whether he will be sent to the Iraqi border in the southeast of Turkey after three months of training, is not yet clear. Come back safely, my love. Kendine iyi bak.