Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has written an emotional letter to US First Lady Melania Trump, urging her to use her influence to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 

The appeal, made public by the Turkish presidency, is a move that seeks to bypass traditional diplomatic channels that have been severed between Turkey and ‘Israel’.

 

The letter was directly inspired by a previous "peace letter" Melania Trump sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which focused on the plight of Ukrainian children.

 

In that communication, Trump appealed to Putin to "singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter".

 

"I have faith that the important sensitivity you have shown for the 648 Ukrainian children will be extended to Gaza as well," Erdogan wrote.

 

She highlighted the severity of the humanitarian situation, noting that UNICEF has called Gaza "a graveyard for children".

 

Erdogan’s appeal provides stark details from the conflict, stating that the phrase "'unknown baby,' written on the shrouds of thousands of Gazan children...is leaving irreparable wounds on our consciences".

 

The letter urges Melania Trump to "send a special letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an end to the humanitarian catastrophe".

 

Below is Emine Erdoğan’s letter to Melania Trump:

“Dear Melania,

 

“I greet you with my most sincere love and respect.

 

“Your heartfelt conversation and gracious hospitality at our meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., remain fresh in my mind even after six years. In your conversations during our private dinner and our walk in the garden, I sensed your sensitivity to current issues and your conscience.

 

“I saw the reflection of this conscientious sensitivity in your recent letter to Mr. Putin, President of the Russian Federation. I believe your writings express the common sentiment of humanity and appreciate this valuable stance. As you stated in your letter, children's right to grow up in a loving and safe environment is a universal and indisputable right. This right is not the privilege of any geography, race, ethnic identity, religious group, or ideology. Therefore, standing with the oppressed who are deprived of this right is, first and foremost, fulfilling a great responsibility towards the human family. In this context, the sensitivity you have shown, especially as the wife of a leader, to the lives destroyed, families torn apart, and children left orphaned under the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine is an initiative that instills hope in hearts.

 

“Your request to bring back the joyful smiles of Ukrainian children who were "forced into silent laughter" is deeply meaningful. I believe you will show even more sensitivity to the 648 Ukrainian children who lost their lives in the war, and to Gaza, where 62,000 innocent civilians, 18,000 of them children, were brutally murdered in two years.

 

“For Gaza is witnessing a cruelty unprecedented in history, the most painful genocide of our time. In Gaza, where a child is killed every 45 minutes, the UN Children's Fund likens the aboveground to a "hell" for children and the underground to a "children's cemetery." Did you ever think that the term "unknown soldier," used in wars for unidentified soldiers, would one day also apply to children? The phrase "unknown baby," written on the shrouds of thousands of Gaza children who have no one left behind, whose names cannot even be determined, inflicts irreparable wounds on our consciences. Driven to profound psychological devastation, having completely forgotten how to laugh, these children shout into the microphones they are given that they want to die, carrying in their innocent hearts the exhaustion of a war they cannot cope with. History in Gaza records the indescribable pain and fear experienced by these little orphaned children, turning their hair gray.

 

“It's not just the children of Ukraine whose laughter has been silenced. The children of Palestine also deserve the same joy, the same freedom, the same dignified future.

 

“It would be extremely meaningful if you sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu containing your strong call to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In these days when the world is experiencing a collective awakening and recognition of Palestine is becoming a global will, I believe that a call from you on behalf of Gaza would also fulfill a historic responsibility to the Palestinian people.

 

“What is happening in Palestine is more than a genocide; it is the imposition of an arbitrary international system in which everyone and everything else can be devalued for the benefit and comfort of a select few.

 

“We must unite our voices and our strength against this distorted order, which deems the lives of children in some parts of the world less valuable than others.

 

“We must defend the discredited rules of international law and our shared human values, and unite around our shared principles. Only then can we "nourish the hopes of future generations" who are driven to despair daily in the face of this brutality. Only then can we speak of the possibility of restoring joy to "children whose laughter has been silenced" and of a sustainable and lasting peace throughout the world.

 

“As a mother, a woman, and a human being, I deeply share the sentiments in your letter, and I hope you will cultivate the same hope for the children of Gaza who are thirsting for peace and tranquility.

 

“It is too late for the 18,885 Gazan babies and children we have lost, like 6-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed with 335 bullets, and 3-year-old Reem, whose grandfather kissed her goodbye from inside her joyfully smiling eyes.

 

“But we still have a chance for the over 1 million Gazan children who have survived.

 

“It's time.”