Afinidades

I never met my maternal grandfather. He was long gone before my parents got married. Though I never knew him, he is always present, through my mother’s memories he comes to life. I went to his house in Guatemala today, for the very first time, which stirred up feelings of grief, gratitude, love and longing for someone I have never actually met.

Jorge Mario Chavez Castillo was a doctor. He was not only some doctor, but they called him the great diagnostician. Born in 1919 in San Marcos, Guatemala, he belonged to that generation of doctors who were specialists in the art of observation. Deprived of fancy labs, high-tech MRIs, they had to learn and trust their eyes, their hands, their training. Though he was specialized in pediatrics, people of all ages would come into his office because he had spot-on diagnostics. He used to say he would understand what was happening to a patient by looking at their posture, by the way they breathe, the way they walk and talk.

He was the first doctor from Guatemala to go to Harvard University for his specialization in the field of pediatrics. An excellent student, Dr. Chavez Castillo was a curious man, loved reading and reciting poetry, was passionate about learning, even more passionate about helping people, understanding and changing the world he lived in.

I always felt there is much affinity between Turkey and Guatemala, my two homelands. They are both beautiful countries: History, natural and cultural heritage, food, people and the emotional landscape of everyday relations. They are both troubled countries: Politics, corruption, inequality, patriarchy, economic crises and resilient people amid all the turmoil. That is why, my mother always says, she didn’t have that much difficulty in adapting to Turkey when she moved there after my parents got married.

Back to my grandfather. Dr. Chavez Castillo was one of the members of the parliament during the revolutionary years of President Jacobo Árbenz’s administration. Revolutionary in its literal sense, because Árbenz’s era from 1944 to 1954 was named “Revolución de Guatemala”, which began with the overthrow of US-backed dictator Jorge Ubico. This period has also been called the “Ten Years of Spring”, highlighting the implementation of social, political, and agrarian reform that was influential across Latin America. The Spring came to an end in 1954 with a coup d’état orchestrated by the United States, overthrowing the democratically elected President Arbenz. If anyone from Turkey is reading this, the story might sound all too familiar.

During this time of great change, my grandfather joins forces with Arbenz’s administration to improve the public health policy in the country, by founding the system of peripheral clinics, which aimed at bringing greater access to health services for everyone. There is a sentence by my grandfather often repeated in the family: Yo naci para resolver problemas (I was born to solve problems). When Dr. Chavez Castillo saw a problem, he wanted to fix it.

… tbc …