Dear Mr. Freedom

Beautiful things shine bright in the dark.

The atrocities on October 7 affected me profoundly. I have been in mourning for a month. I suppose that sounds bizarre. I’m not even Jewish. I don’t know how to explain it. I think it’s been the combination of the event itself, coupled with more and more details trickled out over time concerning how these poor people died and then seeing anti-semitism just absolutely explode in response all over the world. The world should have, with one voice, condemned Hamas immediately and without qualification. Instead, I saw the world make excuses for them.

I knew Western civilization was in a bad way before October 7. But this just crushed me. I wonder how much time we actually have left before we simply implode.

There hasn’t been a day gone by since October 7 where I haven’t wept. Mostly behind closed doors. I don’t want people asking me why I’m crying because then I’ll have to give voice to my horror. I’ll have to say, “Why did they burn babies alive?” And then I’ll have spread the horror to someone else. And after all, isn’t that what Hamas wanted?

So, enough of horror.

Today, I want to tell you about something that has given me hope. I want to tell you about a former NBA basketball player from Turkey, named Enes Kanter Freedom.

His existence lightened my grief as I was crying again yesterday, and I decided I wanted to write him a letter. I don’t know if any letter I send him will actually reach him. I’m sure he gets loads of mail, hate and fan mail, every single day. I doubt he has the time to read half of it. But whether he reads it or not, I want to make sure all of you know about him and what a bright light he has been in the world. So, below is my thank you note to Mr. Freedom.

Dear Mr. Freedom,

I got to hear you speak in person a little over a month ago. My husband is a fellow at the Club for Growth, and we were in Washington, DC for their conference in September when you told us your story.

When I walked down to the conference room and saw you standing there amongst all the midgets, I had no idea who you were. I am a musician, a writer, a book reader…a nerd. I’m oblivious to anything in the sports universe.

So when I saw you, I just thought to myself, “I wonder who that guy is? Gosh, he’s tall.”

And are you ever! 6’ 10” I’m told.

My husband leaned over and said, “That’s an NBA basketball player. He’s speaking tonight.”

Huh. Cool, I guess.

Then I went to dinner. After we all ate, you got up and told your story. You talked about your childhood in Turkey, about the hatred of the Jews you noticed in your young friends there. You told us how you came to the U.S. and played basketball, eventually playing NBA for the Boston Celtics. (Forgive me if I’m bungling the proper sporting terminology. I’m nerd, if you’ll recall, so…)

And then things began to go wrong. You called out the leader of your country, Erdogan, for his thuggery. He put out a warrant for your arrest and persecuted your family, and now you can’t go back and they can’t leave Turkey to come to you. But, at least you had the NBA’s full support.

When you heard about China’s abuse of the Uyghers, you spoke out for them, too. You wore these shoes so that the world would know that Nike is complicit in this abuse:

And you assumed the NBA would support you in this, too. Surely, they would be consistent. If they condemned Erdogan’s human rights abuses, surely they’d condemn Xi Jinping? But they didn’t. Of course, officially, they said you had the right to say what you had to say. But that’s not what they said to you in private, is it? Officially, when Boston traded you to Houston and Houston waived you, it was because you were “playing older.” But, that’s not really what happened. It was just all a bit too awkward for them, and now you don’t get to play basketball professionally anymore.

I enjoyed your talk. It was encouraging and inspiring, but then I went home. I got busy with my daily activities and then, a week later, October 7 happened and I forgot about you. I was horrified. I was shocked at the anti-semitic response all around the world to the depraved attack Hamas waged on Israeli citizens. And I spent most of October in grief.

But, life goes on. I still had to keep my house running and do all the daily things like…make food. And believe it or not, I was reminded of you by an egg recipe. Yes, it’s true. Yesterday (Thursday) I saw this recipe for Cilbir, Turkish poached eggs on garlicky yogurt. It looked so good, that I decided to make it for breakfast. And while I was making it, I began to think about Turkey and the Turkish film series I watched a while ago with English subtitles called, “Magnificent Century.” And, as our brains will do, it made another connection from there, and your face flashed up in my mind.

I had a sudden and burning desire to know what you had to say about what Hamas did to Israeli civilians. I was almost scared to find out. I had been so disappointed all month long in the never-ending excuses for what Hamas did, I had a fear that you might be making the same excuses.

Well, my curiosity won out, and I looked you up on Twitter, wincing while I waited for your account to load, apprehensive. And what was the first thing I saw? Nothing less than a video of you visiting a Jewish elementary school in Chicago. You were talking and interacting with the kids, taking photos. I wept on the spot. Especially when you shared about the little boy saying, and I paraphrase, “I’ve never met a Muslim before. I thought they all hated us.”

I saw that, unlike most Muslim organizations and personalities out there with large followings, you were not silent on October 7. The very day the massacre happened, you condemned Hamas.

And you keep speaking out...

And out…

Do you even know how much hope you have given me? I am a Christian. Ever since 9/11, I have secretly wondered whether most Muslims in this country wished me dead or a slave. I really have. Since 9/11, lots of Muslims have made fair-sounding speeches calling for diversity and dialogue and blah, blah, blah… But those same people won’t condemn Hamas now. To hear you speak with moral clarity about what happened was like a beam of sunshine. And I can now dare hope that there are many more Muslims out there like you that do not want me dead or a slave. Rather they want me to thrive. I dare hope that they want all human souls to thrive.

So, thank you. Thank you for continuing to speak out against human rights abuses whether they be against the Kurds, the Uyghers, Palestinians or Jews.

I will be praying for you often that God would preserve your life and your safety. I am sure there are many who seek your harm. I will pray that He would preserve your family trapped in Turkey. And I pray, most of all, that God would allow you and your family to be safely reunited again one day very soon.

Thank you, Mr. Freedom.

Sincerely,

Amanda Barber Hill

That’s all for now. Until next time, folks…