The importance of milk - a useful note not only for cats

The very first sentences I have learned in Turkish were "Smoking kills" and "We got tear gassed by the police".
A couple of weeks ago my first host decided to introduce me to the nightlife of Ankara and also to some of his friends, so we eventually took a dolmuş (a blue little bastard that you can only catch by shouting and waving like an idiot next to the road) in order to reach the centre and when we finally arrived in Kızılay, immediately started our bar-hopping tour.
One of the places we visited that night was a reggae bar on the third or fourth floor of a building, therefore it was quite easy to notice people shouting and singing on the streets in small groups while marching towards the main street. Turns out, on that particular day they were demonstarting in memory of that young protester who, according to the news, was killed in Antakya by the police during the demonstrations just a day earlier.
People noticed it but soon enough they returned back to their beers and friends, no longer paying attention to what was happening. However, about 10-15 minutes later protesters started running back from a distant point with the police on their trail. A strong smell of something unnatural then suddenly caused people quickly jump up from the tables and immediately cover their faces with scarfs or even with the nearest tablecloth they could find. We looked out of the window and saw the empty street fully covered by smoke in which policemen were walking casually, throwing bottles all around. Even on that floor we could smell and breath the endless stream of tear gas and at that point I have learned that in certain situations dropping milk (or lemon juice) right into your eye can actually be helpful; besides, drinking the rest of it makes your throat hurt less. After a while it became clear that we need to leave the building because the smell slowly but surely became more and more disturbing. We run out of the bar, some of the friend's took a taxi, some of them left by bus.
That experience have left me with ambivalent feelings about the current situation in Turkey: on one hand, it was heart-warming to see people instantly becoming protective not only towards their loved ones but others as well; but on the other hand, it was terryfing. I mean, sure, we sometimes see what is actually happening in other parts of our world but looking at it from the perspective of one's television and being affected by it are completely different. I didn't get hurt nor I did risk my life on that night but I thought of people who really are fighting against political forces or even die for their believes. I find it beautiful and hopelessly sad at the same time.

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