Who is David Davut Demirel?
David Davut Demirel is 34 years old. He is not a conventional author – but a person whose life is not told in chapters, but in turning points:
A survived cancer. A life-changing encounter with a blind, displaced girl. And the decision not to keep these experiences to himself – but to transform them into a legacy of art that remains.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London, one of the world’s oldest think tanks for social progress, culture, and education. As a Peace Ambassador for the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and a member of the World Humanitarian Drive (WHD), Demirel represents a new generation of humanists: calm, consistent, and connected.
His academic path is rooted in the study of communication psychology, accompanied by more than a dozen international UN certifications, including:
- UNITAR (UN Institute for Training and Research) – Youth & Peacebuilding, Conflict Sensitivity, Inclusive Negotiation Strategies
- United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) – Preventing Violent Extremism
- UN Women, UNDP, UNEP, WHO – focusing on sustainability, gender equality, peacebuilding, and global health
- UNESCO & FAO – focusing on education, cultural transformation, and international cooperation
This education is not decorative – it reflects his active commitment to human rights, healing, displacement, inclusion, and collective remembrance.
What defines him is not what he has achieved – but his gaze for what is often overlooked.
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What is “The Five-Finger Journey”?
This book is not a novel. It is a work made of fragments, voices, and silence. It emerged from an encounter with a girl who lost her eyesight during a crossing of the Mediterranean. Her friends did not survive. She did – and she spoke. Not loudly, but deeply. That moment changed everything.What followed was a book that does not simply narrate – but lets the reader feel.
It is structured like a hand: Five fingers – five chapters – five emotional states:
- Fear – what paralyzes us
- Patience – the endurance when everything is silent
- Memory – what remains when nothing else does
- Loss – the unspeakable
- Hope – what quietly returns
Each finger stands for a human capacity – not all equally strong, not all equally burdened. But only together can they form a hand – a grip, a connection.
A multidisciplinary artwork
“The Five-Finger Journey” is not just a book – it is an interdisciplinary project where art, poetry, and music merge:
- The first four pages were hand-drawn by a French artist – sketch-like, searching, like the first sensation of memory.
- The book cover, painted by an Argentinian painter, is a visual silence – it doesn’t show, it breathes.
- A Brazilian singer wrote and performed a song dedicated to the story – her voice is part of the book.
- A German pianist composed an original piece for this journey – accessible via QR code as a sonic companion.
- At the end: The girl’s last words – not a testimony, but a legacy.
This book is not merely a written work – it is a collective artistic statement, dedicated to those who gave Demirel strength, and to those in the world who deserve to be heard – even when they cannot speak.
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Why this book matters
In a time ruled by noise and haste, this book is an invitation to pause. It speaks to those who have walked through darkness – or who tried to hold someone who hadfallen.
It is for readers
– who are not looking for heroes, but closeness
– who don’t need theory, but truth
– who don’t consume stories, but want to feel what is real
“The Five-Finger Journey” is a place of remembrance – and a space for what remains deeply
human.
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“Fingers are not the same –
but only together can they hold.
It is the same with us humans.”
– David Davut Demirel
