Journalist, writer, publisher, NGO manager, human rights activist.
Cem Duman was born in 1956, as a child
of the teacher of local village educational centre in Artvin.
His father has consequently
put the effort of directing him towards reading books which led to an habit.
After finishing primary
school, he pursued high school in Trabzon. Thereafter, having finished is
degree in Electronics at the Izmit Vocational School he graduated from the
Faculty of political sciences of Şişli with a degree in Public Administration.
During college he was taken
in custody many times due to the political circumstances of that time. In 1985
he therefore felt forced to leave Turkey. He settled in the Netherlands and
equally sought to address socially relevant issues by working as a journalist
for over 10 years. Additionally, he was a volunteer for Amnesty International
taking interest in topics such as the role of Turkish migrants in the Netherlands
as well as issues relating to education, environment and health.
For his kids he took part in
the clubs where they played chess and soccer.
He is one of the founders of
the European Turkish Writers Group (Avrupa Türkiyeli Yazarlar Grubu - ATYG),
a group with European Turkish writers. As the president of ATYG he directs
activities on literature and art.
He started to write in his
20s, during his intense political works. Because of a police raid his typing
machine was taken, all his notes were torn in front of his eyes and thrown
away.
In 2001 he founded his
publishing company, 3C Uitgeverij,
in The Netherlands. He published many books with the
purpose of creating more awareness of Turkish literature in The Netherlands and
Belgium, and to create more awareness of Dutch literature in Turkey. In these
countries he also organized literary meetings.
In his active period as a
publisher he many times hosted literary meetings for writers and poets from
Europe and Turkey with the intention to promote their books. He wrote down
memories of and experiences in his book called BİR BAŞKA ANILAR, with
acquainted writers and poets, and with writers and poets he hosted. In his
bundle of stories BEN BU ÜLKEYİ
ÇÖZDÜM - HOLLANDA
ÖYKÜLERİ he wrote about the relationships, discrepancies,
successes, longing, the feeling of insufficieny and sometimes the desperations
of foreigners in The Netherlands in relationship with Dutch people. The stories
and talks were published in several magazines and newspapers.
Books:
Bir Başka Anılar, İstanbul, 2018
Ben Bu Ülkeyi Çok Sevdim - Hollanda Öyküleri, İstanbul, 2018
SOURCE: Kemal Yalcin (confirmation of information, 17.04.2021).