When democracy cracks and injustice takes root, who stands up to fight? Not the politicians. Not the elites. It’s young people – those who still believe change is possible.
Time and again, we have proven to be the backbone of resistance, refusing to stay silent as authoritarianism tightens its grip. Turkey is a testament to that spirit. As its leaders drift further from democracy, young people are the ones pushing back when others look away.
Take Istanbul, where opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested on highly dubious charges. It wasn’t the political class that erupted in fury – it was the youth.
They flooded Maçka Park, making it clear they wouldn’t let the regime control the narrative. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a man who has spent years dismantling democratic institutions, responded in the only way authoritarians know how: riot police, arrests, repression. Because nothing terrifies a corrupt leader more than a generation that refuses to believe his lies.
This isn’t just about Turkey. The same story is playing out across the globe. In Serbia, students have stormed a state-controlled TV station, demanding accountability after a railway disaster in Novi Sad killed 15 people. Their daily protests have shaken President Aleksandar Vučić’s iron grip, forcing him into a familiar strongman playbook – claiming they are mere puppets of the West.
And in the West? It is students who are leading protests against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while politicians issue empty statements, prioritizing diplomatic niceties over human lives. While governments hesitate and the media moves on, young people refuse to let atrocities be reduced to mere talking points.
Yes, others fight. Workers strike. Activists campaign. But time and again, it is students and young people who ignite movements, sustain protests, and refuse to let outrage die just because the headlines fade. We aren’t just reacting; we are driving change, pushing past fear while the rest of the world shrugs.
Democracy doesn’t survive through polite appeals or passive concern. It endures because people – usually young, usually fearless – refuse to let it collapse. We are not merely the future of change. We are the force making it happen.
“Tear Gas used on İstiklâl Caddesi near Taksim Square – Gezi Park, İstanbul” by Alan Hilditch is licensed under CC BY 2.0.