Letter from a child in prison
Letter from a child in prison
Cihan Karaçöl, one of the 218 children who have been sent to Sincan prison in Ankara following the exposure of sexual abuse, rape and torture they were subject to in Pozantý M Type prison for juveniles, said the followings in the letter he has most recently sent;
“We don’t know if there is anyone left who hasn’t heard about what happened. Those who have heard about it but, whether knowing or unknowingly, become hardened to the cruelty the Kurdish children are subject to should put their children in Pozantý hell for a while. You cannot do this but those children felt the fascist state’s dirty hands on their bodies and its grievous sound in their ears for long days and months.
There is/was not only torture in Pozantý and other prisons, there are/were also the children of a resisting people there. Mazlum is only one of those children.
The iron barred gate of the ward is opened; a brunet child enters in, holding his head high in a matured stance. The necklace on his neck made from olive seed and the gladness in his eyes are the first things catch my eye on him. As if fulfilling his years of longing, he warmheartedly and friendlily shakes our hands and says ‘My name is Mazlum’. We hug his small body, seeing that he is one of the aggrieved children of a people. With the happiness and excitement of meeting us, his small heart beats so beautifully that I feel ashamed of my heart which beats slower than his.
We speak Kurdish with Mazlum who answers our questions with a great maturity and sensation. He talks, and we listen to him saying that; “Like all of you, we are also planning our lives. All we have is common and communal. We regularly read books and papers, watch news and hold political discussions. We make all decisions in common after long discussions. This is how we are. Neither the administration nor guardians can interfere in us owing to our strong stance. All of us should display this attitude, not only one of us.”
Mazlum is so conscious of his experiences that you can easily realize it while listening to him speak. He assured, wholeheartedly and non-contradictorily tells that ‘We sang our ballads, marches and chanted slogans around the fire we lighted for Newroz’. I hereby put in a word and mention the 'Biji serok Apo' slogans we have heard for days. A gleam and honor appears in his black eyes when I ask him where these slogans come from. When we ask him what it is about the attitude of the administration, he answers that ‘We never bow to them’.
Following his trial, Mazlum enters the ward with the news of his release. We hug him with a great happiness. ‘When I go to Mersin, the first thing I’ll do will be to gather my friends and tell them the struggle’, he says. To our question about the needs of his friends in prison, Mazlum gives a single answer; ‘They need books to read’.
It is quite obvious that generals have let down the ‘Great’ Turkish state’s policy for intimidation, slaughter, torture and arrest which was put into effect against the ‘small’ Kurdish children after 2006. However, we should never forget that revenge has been one of the most characteristic sides of the fascist Turkish state and government of the AKP. The physical and psychological torture on jailed children will simply increase and reach the dimension of savagery if the sensibility outside happens to decrease. The inhuman torture lived in Pozantý and other prisons needs to be exposed in all platforms and the masses should comprehend that POZANTI means the AKP. Solidarity with jailed children should always be kept alive with the slogan ‘freedom for jailed Kurdish children’. Those released should also continue to act in solidarity and expose this savagery with together their families.”
“We don’t know if there is anyone left who hasn’t heard about what happened. Those who have heard about it but, whether knowing or unknowingly, become hardened to the cruelty the Kurdish children are subject to should put their children in Pozantý hell for a while. You cannot do this but those children felt the fascist state’s dirty hands on their bodies and its grievous sound in their ears for long days and months.
There is/was not only torture in Pozantý and other prisons, there are/were also the children of a resisting people there. Mazlum is only one of those children.
The iron barred gate of the ward is opened; a brunet child enters in, holding his head high in a matured stance. The necklace on his neck made from olive seed and the gladness in his eyes are the first things catch my eye on him. As if fulfilling his years of longing, he warmheartedly and friendlily shakes our hands and says ‘My name is Mazlum’. We hug his small body, seeing that he is one of the aggrieved children of a people. With the happiness and excitement of meeting us, his small heart beats so beautifully that I feel ashamed of my heart which beats slower than his.
We speak Kurdish with Mazlum who answers our questions with a great maturity and sensation. He talks, and we listen to him saying that; “Like all of you, we are also planning our lives. All we have is common and communal. We regularly read books and papers, watch news and hold political discussions. We make all decisions in common after long discussions. This is how we are. Neither the administration nor guardians can interfere in us owing to our strong stance. All of us should display this attitude, not only one of us.”
Mazlum is so conscious of his experiences that you can easily realize it while listening to him speak. He assured, wholeheartedly and non-contradictorily tells that ‘We sang our ballads, marches and chanted slogans around the fire we lighted for Newroz’. I hereby put in a word and mention the 'Biji serok Apo' slogans we have heard for days. A gleam and honor appears in his black eyes when I ask him where these slogans come from. When we ask him what it is about the attitude of the administration, he answers that ‘We never bow to them’.
Following his trial, Mazlum enters the ward with the news of his release. We hug him with a great happiness. ‘When I go to Mersin, the first thing I’ll do will be to gather my friends and tell them the struggle’, he says. To our question about the needs of his friends in prison, Mazlum gives a single answer; ‘They need books to read’.
It is quite obvious that generals have let down the ‘Great’ Turkish state’s policy for intimidation, slaughter, torture and arrest which was put into effect against the ‘small’ Kurdish children after 2006. However, we should never forget that revenge has been one of the most characteristic sides of the fascist Turkish state and government of the AKP. The physical and psychological torture on jailed children will simply increase and reach the dimension of savagery if the sensibility outside happens to decrease. The inhuman torture lived in Pozantý and other prisons needs to be exposed in all platforms and the masses should comprehend that POZANTI means the AKP. Solidarity with jailed children should always be kept alive with the slogan ‘freedom for jailed Kurdish children’. Those released should also continue to act in solidarity and expose this savagery with together their families.”
