Families from Şırnak who settled in the Toptepe village after their homes were demolished during the curfews point to the harsh winter conditions and called for participation to the 1000 Sister Families Campaign.
Hundreds of families continue to struggle for survival after they had to settle in neighboring districts and villages because their homes were demolished in the curfews between March 16 - November 14, 2016. Families have settled in the Toptepe (Avgamasya) village 5 km from the city center and they are pointing out the harsh winter and worsening living conditions. The families called for participation to the 1000 Sister Families Campaign extended for one more year by the Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê.
“THEY TORE US AWAY FROM OUR LIVES”
Emine Katar had to migrate to the village after her 3 story house in Yenimahalle was demolished in the curfews. She pointed out the importance of the campaign and said they had moved to Şırnak city center after their village was burned in the 1990’s: “We built a home we could live in, under very difficult circumstances. We thought it couldn’t ever be destroyed, but they destroyed it.” Katar said they lived in a tent for a while after the curfew and then built a small house: “The house here doesn’t have a sound structure. The roof leaks when it rains. We don’t know what we will do when the winter hits full on.” Katar said, “We have been torn away from our land, our home and our lives,” and called for awareness.
“POWER AND WATER CONSTANTLY GO OUT”
The Külter family with 11 members is one of the families who settled in the village after the curfew. As he continued to build the wall for the new house they are building, Ömer Külter said they couldn’t send the children to school due to the difficult circumstances they had and pointed to their limited resources. Külter said the winters are extremely harsh in the village, and added: “There is no decent electricity provided. Our water constantly goes out.”
“WE CAN’T LIVE IN THE TOKİ’S”
After her home was demolished, Taybet Önge settled in Silopi first, then in Kumçatı (Dêrgul) and finally in Avgamasya. She said their lives have gotten much more difficult with the onset of winter. Önge added that they were pushed out of their homes without being allowed to take anything with them, and protested the TOKİ buildings constructed in the city. “They tore down our large homes and built narrow apartments,” said Önge and added that they can’t continue their lives in the TOKİ’s.
“ALL SHOULD SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH PEOPLE OF ŞIRNAK”
Nedim Sondak stated that he built a house with help from his relatives in the village where he had to settle in, and called everybody to show solidarity with the people of Şırnak. Sondak said: “The cold weather is here. We are having a hard time affording wood and coal. I was only able to build this house by undertaking a huge debt of thousands of liras.”
