Resisted being a village guard, died in the mine: Abdulbaki Aydın
The mine collapse in Şirvan entered its twentieth day as tens of lives are ruined.
Sixteen workers got trapped when the mine owned by Ciner Holding in Siirt’s Şirvan district collapsed on the night of November 17. Despite the presence of a Disaster and Emergency Management Authority unit in Şirvan, the families and friends of the trapped workers are leading evacuation efforts at the mine. Twenty days have passed since the collapse of the mine and four workers are still trapped underground.
The body of the 33 years old Abdulbaki Aydın, who used to live in the Cintepe village of Siirt’s Eruh district prior to the mine collapse, had been retrieved one day after the disaster. Aydın’s family told Abdulbaki’s story to ANF.
HE HAD THREE CHILDREN
Abdulbaki’s wife Mukadder Aydın stated that her husband was driving service minibuses between their village and the city before he worked in the mine as a truck driver for a year, and was ostracized by village guards for not joining them. Mukadder said "He had been working at the mine for a year, and with the disaster that happened, our two month’s old son Veysel, two years old son Vedat and four years old daughter Elif lost their father."
SAID GOODBYE AS HE ENTRUSTED HIS CHILDREN TO HIS WIFE
Mukadder Aydın emphasized that her husband often talked about the dangers and the negligence at the mine and was scared of not being able to return home one day. Mukadder said that she tried to convince her husband to quit that job, but Abdulbaki felt obliged to go in order to take care of their three children. Mukadder said "He said goodbye and entrusted his children to me, we were sad every time he left home."
ÇELİK: HE WAS RESISTING THE STATE’S PRESSURES TO MAKE HIM A VILLAGE GUARD
Abdulbaki Aydın’s brother-in-law Mikail Çelik stated that Abdulbaki was very humane and had been resisting the state’s pressure to turn him into a village guard as he was struggling to make a living. Çelik noted that Abdulbaki started working at the mine in November, 2015, often talked about the negligence and hazards at the mine, and described how his bosses bribed auditors to hide the hazardous working conditions there.
