The extent of the cruelty in Amed’s Sur district has come to light with the lifting of the curfew in 14 of the neighborhoods. Rushing to the Savaş neighborhood where the clashes were the most intense as soon as the news that the ban was lifted reached them, the people were met with police barricades in the side streets. Neighborhood residents climbed onto roofs to see what the situation was for their homes were devastated by what they saw. Sur, the heart of Amed, was no more. Sharing their feelings with the ANF, the neighborhood residents cursed the government. The residents say they are resolved not to leave their homes, they would pitch tents on the empty lots if necessary but never sell their homes.

The extent of the cruelty came to light with the lifting of the state blockade after 173 days in 14 neighborhoods of the Sur district. The shopkeepers had left their shops, laden with bullet holes. Buildings were rendered useless, with traces of cruelty in every street. The smell of death rose from Sur. There was nothing left of the historic Sur, other than the damaged Four Pillar Minaret, rising into the air as if to say “We bear witness to this cruelty”, Kurşunlu Mosque and the Chaldean Church. Turkish flags hanged from the historic buildings as if in an invasion. People rushing to the neighborhoods to see their homes after 7 months were met with police barricades in every side street. Climbing to the roofs to see the situation of their homes, the residents were devastated. The homes they left had been razed by diggers, the neighborhoods had turned into open swathes of land. The surviving buildings had their doors torn open and were looted.

“I WILL PITCH A TENT IF NECESSARY BUT I WON’T SELL MY HOUSE”

Aslan Ayrıç was one of the residents looking for their home on rooftops. Ayrıç, father of 7, resisted for days with his family not to leave his home, pointed to their red house that survived in the Fatihpaşa neighborhood that had been flattened. “We used to live here in peace with our neighbors,” said Ayrıç,”My father lived next door to my house. But as you can see, his house and our neighbors’ houses are gone. All the houses have been torn down with tanks and artilleries.” Stating that they had to rent after they were forced out of their home, Ayrıç said the state had promised rent support but the support had abruptly ended after he was called into the Employment Office and found a job. Ayrıç said the state had no right to confiscate people’s property this way and stressed that they would never accept the urgent expropriation decree. A resident of Sur for the last 30 years, Ayrıç said: “We were forced out of our homes, without even taking our belongings. Now they want to take our homes, our neighborhoods, our lives away from us. I personally will not allow this. I will pitch a tent if I have to, but I won’t sell my house and I won’t leave my neighborhood.”

HOUSE TORN DOWN TO BUILD OUTPOST

The 60 year-old mother Besna Kumru couldn’t stop her tears in the face of what she saw and pointed to the newly built outpost, built in place of her home after it was torn down by tanks and artilleries. Kumru said she had to leave her house of 20 years in Fatihpaşa neighborhood, with all her belongings still inside, and continued: “I had bought a new fridge. I hadn’t even paid for all the installments yet, I just had to leave my house like that. And now I’m homeless.”

“BEFORE I UNPACKED MY DOWRY....”

Houses were looted as well as torn down. One of the looted houses belonged to Gülay, married for just one year. Gülay found her home pillaged and said: “Right after I got married, the war started. I had to leave my home where I lived with my husband, before I even unpacked my dowry.” Gülay said she doesn’t forgive the state, and asked: “What sin did we have?” Gülay expressed that she won’t accept the urgent expropriation and will not sell her home and said, “May Allah avenge me.”

THE POOR SUFFERED THE MOST

Necmettin Alan, father of 3, said the door to their home was torn down with sledgehammers and their belongings such as the fridge, plasma TV, computers and other appliances were stolen. Alan said there was no single person left in Sur who didn’t suffer and many people now lacked even a roof over their heads, pointed to the scattered school books and backpacks of his children and asked: “What a shame, such enmity is incredible. I can understand the fridge, but what do they want from the children’s books?” Alan said they will never bow down to any pressure and will stand up for their rights to the end.

Fırat had moved to Sur after his village in Lice was burned by the state in 1993. Going from door to door with his 4 children, Fırat said they couldn’t even find the ruins of their home and continued: “They burned our village in the ‘90s, and now they destroyed our home. Most of the residents in Sur had moved here because their villages were burned down. What changed? The poor suffered the most again.” Saying that he would not give up Sur for anything, Fırat stated that there was no trust left in the judiciary or the humanity and that they will continue their struggle with their own power.