This is the Incirlik NATO Air Base in South-Eastern Turkey near the borders of Syria and Iraq. Greenpeace is here because the Turkish people, including the people of Incirlik, have never been informed nor consulted about Incirlik’s deadly secret.

Incirlik is a gritty, hardy small town ten kilometres from Adana – a city of nearly two million. In recognition of its origins, Incirlik means “fig orchard”. These days, there’s more concrete than figs.

Fifty metres from our door is the first of several formidable double razor wire fences. Beyond is another world of neat roads, suburban gardens and Disney-like buildings. I didn’t expect that the nuclear frontier for the Middle-East would look quite this sanitized and out of place.

I also did not expect that representatives of the world’s major nations would be so close to total failure to maintain the only agreement and hope we have to limit and reduce the world’s deadly nuclear stockpiles. In Incirlik,  news of stalemates and disagreements at the 2005 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty meeting in New York is grave news indeed. Our Embassy is within stone’s throw of a destructive power that could obliterate entire nations not only robbing them of life but also poisoning any future on their lands. To me, this is the closest real equivalent to the infamous “Death Star” of Star Wars fame.

Yesterday, I joined the exceptional team that made the Embassy possible. They are Greenpeace staff and activists from Incirlik, Adana, Istanbul, Lebanon and Holland. With guidance and support from Malta, Amsterdam and even Canada, they have overcome obstacle after obstacle in order to take Greenpeace’s Nuclear Disarmament Campaign to one of its key frontiers.

The Incirlik base and township is tightly controlled by the military. The livelihoods of many locals heavily depend on the military base and some are openly antagonistic to any sign of opposition. Just finding an owner willing to rent their place to Greenpeace, let alone getting the permission to operate required exceptional effort and local support. Their efforts and persistence has meant that we are the first anti-nuclear organisation to successfully establish and maintain a presence in Incirlik.

The team, led by campaigner Aslihan Tumer, launched the Peace Embassy on the 16th of May. Before the media had arrived, the local military police turned up in full riot-gear and blocked all access points to the site. Journalists who had travelled to Incirlik to cover the event were delayed as the team negotiated with the military commander to allow the launch to proceed. Gerd Leipold, the Executive Director of Greenpeace International, addressed the packed press conference by phone, highlighting the world’s new nuclear perils and the great need to counter these threats.

The next morning, there was strong coverage in all the major news outlets, including many headlining the presence of 90 nuclear missiles in Incirlik. Within 24 hours, the team had already succeeded in raising public awareness and debate.

This morning, I joined Aslihan on a live regional news show. Even though Aslihan had already appeared on many news shows, our planned ten minutes extended to thirty. The show’s host made it clear that there is a thirst for more information and discussion about the presence of the missiles and their risks. Our host encouraged and supported our campaign. This was a response that was repeated when I joined Aslihan and the team to meet with the Bus Driver’s Association in Incirlik and a Worker’s Union in Adana. We later talked with shop-keepers, students, market stall holders, neighbours, US military personnel and their wives and a whole array of local supporters. Motivated to learn more and have their voices heard, people dropped into the centre for long discussions over cups of tea. Others looked at our display of panels of the horrors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This was just in two days. Since the launch, the team’s public outreach activities established excellent relations with the local community. They forged links with local organisations and talked to hundreds of people both on the streets and in Adana City. The walking-talking ‘missiles for peace’ helped break the ice and started many discussions.

Having opened the Peace Embassy, keeping it open turned out to be quite another challenge. The military police and a few local shopkeepers repeatedly warn the team that there are narrow-minded and armed people here who are very unhappy with the Peace Embassy. The message is that things could get out of hand and it would be better for us to pack up and leave.

Well, the team disagreed and stayed. They stood up for the right of local people to know and to discuss the presence of the missiles. Many locals from Incirlik and Adana agreed. They donated their time, their hospitality – even their furniture. Many were grateful that the taboo on discussing nuclear missiles was broken and that they had a chance to have their voices heard.

Indeed, as I joined some of the team to walk around Incirlik earlier this afternoon, I noticed that hidden between the houses you could still see the occasional grand fig tree. Kids rushed up and hugged us. I sensed that the seeds for a safer life are already here.