Mustafa appeared confused by the questions. He never really thought of politics that much, so he struggled to answer them. "I am not sure. I am not really into politics", he said. "Do I approve of the revolution? Yeah, I'd say so. Before the Greens took over, we had a war. These guys, they're called the Grey Wolves, they really hated everyone. Romani, Kurds, homosexuals, socialists, workers. They burned the building i grew up in and killed a lot of my neighbors, because they were Kurdish or because they were transsexuals or drug addicts. They almost killed my father because somebody told them he was a Kurd."
Mustafa glanced at his phone as he continued "Not everything the Greens did was good. But they got rid of the Grey Wolves. In my old neighborhood, there was this middle aged guy, Ahmet, I think was his name. Crazy guy. He was on heroin I think. Walking home from school, I'd always see him, mumbling gibberish to himself while walking in a weird way. He was kinda creepy, I'm not gonna lie, but he... Never hurt anybody." Mustafa put down his phone and began to look somber.
"Then, during the war. He... Uh... I saw him on a lamp post.", Eliseo asked him to clarify. "Uhhhh, he was all bloody. His face was a mess. He was missing an eye. He was tied up to a lamp post." Mustafa stopped for a moment before continuing, "They killed him because he was crazy and a drug addict... The Greens punish people a lot and, I guess, sometimes I think they're... Too harsh. But they never punish anyone innocent. They don't punish someone just for being a drug addict. They take care of drug addicts. They take care of the poor and those sick."
Mustafa was visibly more sober and taking the questions more seriously. "I do think the Greens can be... I think sometimes they go too far. I don't feel comfortable when they make us participate in those "Struggle Sessions". I think they're trying to make sure Wahhabism and Fascism never comes here again, and they become too... They just go too far. But I still love the Greens. I know the Greens are good. Have you met Nisa? She's our Commune deputy. She's the woman who got me a job here taking care of the elderly and she helped me receive help for my PTSD. Shes a good person, Muhammet will tell you that too. I feel like I matter and am a part of my community, and I have her to thank for that."
Muhammet got out of the restroom, "What are you folks talking about?", "Oh, uh, how I felt about the Revolution.", Mustafa replied.
An otherwise uneventful hour passed as the three talked, Eliseo didn't learn anything new from them. They did mention a Commune meeting, at noon, which was also on Eliseo's itinerary.
It was 11:47 AM. Eliseo left Muhammets apartment and he already saw a fairly large crowd beginning to gather. Food stands sprung up, women in green armbands and some in purple armbands passed around sweets and tea. In the distance, in the middle of the street, Eliseo could see a small platform, with a green banner stating "THE REVOLUTION BEGINS IN EVERYDAY LIFE" in Turkish. Pop folk music blared out of loudspeakers. It was like a neighborhood block party. Ten minutes passed and the crowd was now in the hundreds. Not a bad turnout for a commune of some ~1500.
Eliseo moved himself near the platform, before a hand tapped his shoulder. It was Muhammet, with a young woman. "Eliseo, this is Nisa!". Nisa was a transgender lady, slightly taller than Eliseo, and wearing a camouflage battle dress uniform, odd for a politician. When Eliseo heard of Nisa, he assumed she was a fortysomething social worker. Not a woman in her mid-twenties in camo.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!", she told him, giving him a firm handshake.
