At the fifth anniversary of the massacre in Roboskî, we wanted to remind everyone of the stories of the 36 people.

34 people from Roboski and Bujeh villages of Şırnak’s Uludere district, 28 of them from the same family, were massacred by bombs from Turkish jet fighters on December 28, 2011.

As the fifth anniversary of the massacre draws close, those responsible for the massacre are still in the dark. At a time when deaths are reduced to numbers, we as the ANF will remind you of the stories of those murdered in Roboskî.

SERHAT ENCÜ

Serhat was the third child in his family. He quit school after one year in highschool and supported his brothers in university. His mother never slept whenever he left for the border and waited for him to return. He went that day with his best friend Celal. The two best friends never returned from that trip.

CELAL ENCÜ

Celal was 12 years old. He was the youngest in a poor family of 6. He had lost his mother 5 years earlier. Due to the economic circumstances of his family, he could only study until the 8th grade, and then he started dealing in border trade to take care of his family. He loved playing football.

HÜSEYİN ENCÜ

Hüseyin was born in 1991. He was the eldest child in the family. As he was older than his siblings, he started working alongside his father. Even though he worked, he managed to finish high school. He took on all the responsibility so his brothers wouldn’t have to go smuggling. The whole household stood up to wait for him when he left for the border.

CEMAL ENCÜ

Cemal was born on a cold night in 1994. He was 17 when he was murdered. They were poor, so he started smuggling when he was in high school. He looked after his family and covered his expenses for the school. He went to the border that day to pay his debts to the school’s cafeteria. His mother couldn’t walk too well, but she ran to the spot when she heard the bombs.

SALİH ÜREK

Salih was only 16. He was one of the 34 who fought for his life for five hours and lost, in the dark of the night and the cold winter of the mountains. He was a senior in high school. He wanted to go to a university. He knew he had to study hard to return to his village as a doctor.

YÜKSEL ÜREK

His father was in an accident and wasn’t able to work, so Yüksel had to quit high school in his first year. He had a family of 8. He went to the border, come hell or high water, to look after his family. He was young, like the others. And he was poor, like the others.

BEDRAN ENCÜ

Bedran was the eldest in a family with 9 children. He was 13. He was in the 8th grade. He wanted to be a lawyer, but he was also aware of his family’s poverty and so he started smuggling to cover his expenses. He was with his cousin Şivan that night.

His father found a torn 20 lira bill and a piece of cake in his pockets. He looked for his son’s legs for days, but couldn’t find them.

ADEM ANT

Adem was the eldest child in a family of 12. Like the others, he shouldered all the weight. His father had had operations in both his eyes so Adem had to go smuggling.

He was engaged. He was to move to Şırnak centrum when he got married. He was planning on saving up and having a wedding in the summer. He had been shot in another trip to the border and his fiancee had forbidden him to go again, but the poverty forced him to.

SELAM ENCÜ

Selam was the eldest in the family. He was introverted and shy. He had an associate’s degree in construction and was studying to continue to civil engineering. When he asked for money for the application, his father told him to “wait a little”, which is how people of Roboskî say they don’t have it. He started going to the border for the exam fee. He was murdered before he turned 23.

ASLAN ENCÜ

Aslan’s brother who used to go to the border before him stepped on a mine and lost a limb, so Aslan had to take care of the 10 siblings. He was to take care of his family and renew his brother’s worn out prosthetic leg. He loved partridges. He was always telling his mother to give them enough water.

HAMZA ENCÜ

Hamza’s common trait with the others was poverty. He had started early, and was 24 years old. He couldn’t go to school, but he was trying hard so his brothers could study. His family received only one of his arms and one leg. His mother got back 10 kilos from her big and strong Hamza. 70 kilos of his body were scattered in the Roboskî mountains. His mother says her prayers to the mountains now.

YILMAZ ENCÜ

Yılmaz was a deputy operator, the chief dancer in weddings, and the most handsome in the village. He was 36. He was from Roboskî. Same time, same place: Border Stone No.15, 21:40. That was the exact place fire rained down on the 34. If justice had been served, the second Roboskî massacre wouldn’t have happened.

VEDAT ENCÜ

Vedat was the second among 10 children in his family. It was his second year in high school. He was also very poor. He used to play football really well, and dreamed of becoming a doctor for the doctorless clinic in the village. He took offense at the empty building. He dreamed of becoming a doctor from Roboskî and both inspire children to become doctors, lawyers, teachers and he would help them.

6 of his close relatives were murdered in the same place, at the same time on December 28, 2011. His teachers brought a trophy and medal he was supposed to receive from school to his wake, they had thought to give them to him along with his report card.