Playing while drinking tea in the Kurdish cultural capital Amed. Life feels slow. In the background you can hear the engine noise of a warplane and a helicopter. Loud voices rang out from the street full of young demonstrators.

I think the elderly — with whom I have been drinking tea for a while — have seen a lot of this war and this violence. I think they are tired and just want to sit and play, be undisturbed in the here and now…

After a while, a cohort of young people emerges demonstrating against the state: there are thousands. They are loud and determined. I turn my head in their direction and want to get up and look more closely. But the hand of the old man With whom I am sitting here prevents me from doing so wordlessly. I look into his eyes and understand wordlessly that I should be sitting in my chair…

A few seconds later, people warn with the ak47! It is police officers who take care of “security” here. I don’t feel as sure as they think…