731 days ago the inhabitants of the villages of Roboski (Ortasu) and Bijuh (Gülyazı) in the district of Qileban (Uludere) in Şırnak province lost 34 of their sons, 19 of them just children, in a bombardment by Turkish warplanes.

On the anniversary of the massacre we were guests of the families of Roboski. We visited the houses of those who died one by one, listening to the renewed sorrow and demands of the families. As everyone knows, there is just one demand: may the state reveal the culprits! But then we know the truth. We know who did it, we know the culprit!

(Hediye Encü, the mother of 16-year-old Şivan Encü)

“For two years they have covered up this incident. Not one person has been put on trial. They slaughtered our children. They saw hell as fitting for us, but we will not rise to the bait, despite all the persecution. We will fight until the last drop of our blood for the murderer to be tried. My son was only 16 but he was the bread winner for the whole family. They killed him and now we have nothing. My youngest son is 11. He has left school. What else can he do but smuggling? What shall we do?"

(Kadriye Encü, the mother of 21-year-old Hamza Encü)

“Tayyip Erdoğan is here today, but he will be gone tomorrow. The Kurds have been here for thousands of years. Erdoğan did not give us our lives, but he took them away. He will not get away with it. One day people will definitely find out that the Prime Minister murdered our children. We already know the killer, but the whole world will hear. Only then will we feel a little at ease. We were killed because we are Kurds. Everyone should know this. There is poverty and smuggling everywhere, but we are both Kurdish and poor, and smugglers. We have apparently deserved death!"

(Şükran Encü, the sister of 17-year-old Celal Encü)

“This village was so lovely... We had weddings at which we danced and laughed. We were happy. They ruined everything and now the mountains are crowding in on me. I am receiving psychological treatment. Every morning I go to the cemetery on the way to school. I visit all the graves. We used to talk about their hopes and dreams, and they vanished in one night! The word justice sounds nonsense to me, unreal. The Prime Minister carried out this massacre. We know this. Now they say there's a peace process. This process will pass through Roboski. Tayyip Erdoğan's destiny will pass through here. So many mothers' pain cannot be ignored.”

(Emine Ürek, the mother of 13-year-old Yüksel Ürek)

“My husband is a village guard. After the massacre he resigned three times. They didn't accept it, but they don't send him out on duty. I cannot accept it. My son used to work in a coal mine, but it closed. He went smuggling 6 times and on the 7th he didn't come back! I want to see Tayyip Erdoğan put on trial. We curse him so much he cannot get away with it. I told him to his face. I put my son's picture on the table next to my nephew's. I said: '‘Fehman Hüseyin was supposedly a terrorist, but the real terrorist is in Ankara. You're the terrorist. You have come and taken our property.’ He said: 'I didn't give the order.' But I understood it was really him. I'm a mother. I can tell from someone's eyes if they are lying. The murderer is Erdoğan.”

(Medeni Ürek, the mother of 14-year-old Salih Ürek)

“It has been 2 years since the massacre, but it feels like only 2 days. It feels as if we are living in the cemetery. Our life is hell. They died once, but we have been dying every day for 2 years. Everyone in Ankara, military and civilian, knows the truth. They all know Tayyip Erdoğan gave the order. As long as he is there the truth will not come out, but as soon as he goes everyone will learn the truth that he is the murderer.”

(Semire Encü, the mother of 22-year-old Selam Encü)

“He was my eldest. He didn't go smuggling for 4 or 5 years. Then he started to go again. The Prime Minister is a hypocrite. If he wished he could round up those responsible in an hour or two, but he doesn't because he too is guilty. Now they want my other son to do his military service, but I won't send him. Lots of people have come here to share our pain. We do not separate people as Turkish or Kurdish, but as people with a conscience or without. Roboski is important for the peace process. If the culprits are found there will be peace. Otherwise the war will continue.”

(Azime Encü, the mother of 19-year-old Fadıl Encü)

My grandfather, his grandfather, my father, they all went smuggling. My brother lost an arm due to a mine. My husband's a village guard. He resigned after the massacre, but they refused to accept it. Now he sits at home. Every day we live through the pain. We were poor but we were happy. They ruined our lives. It was Tayyip Erdoğan who gave the order. He is responsible. It was his soldiers, his planes, his drone. He is guilty, that is why he is silent. When we heard the sound of bombs and went there the soldiers said: 'go home, your children are coming'. If we had, they would have put guns next to the bodies and claimed they were 'terrorists'. They still said that anyway... No one, terrorist or civilian, deserves to die like that. But someone who kills people like that deserves to!”

(Fatma Encü, the mother of 19-year-old Hüseyin Encü)

“My husband is also a village guard. They didn't accept his resignation, but he handed in his gun and now he sits at home. I go to the cemetery every day. I ask them questions, they don't answer but still I ask. My son was due to go to do his military service, but they killed him. Now I will never send my children to do military service. Erdoğan's wife came here and said: ‘I will say to the Prime Minister, if he doesn't say who the culprit is then he will be responsible.' But he said nothing. If he is responsible then he is the murderer. Neither Emine Erdoğan, nor Tayyip Erdoğan, this state is a lie. They can deceive everyone, but not us. We know the truth. I said to Emine Hanım: ‘Give us your daughter in return for the 34'. She couldn't say anything in reply. It is not about money. Our lives are over. I hope they don't get away with it.”

(Sabriye Encü, the mother of 12-year-old Bedran Encü)

“They killed our children and then celebrated the New Year. They taunted us. How could people celebrate? It means we are people of another country, as they laughed as we were in mourning. Emine Erdoğan promised to tell her husband. They threw our letters away. But may Erdoğan know that his fate is in our hands, that of the Kurds. Sooner or later he will be called to account."

(Hazal Encü, the mother of 17-year-old Cemal Encü)

“Our life has completely changed in the last 2 years. We used to have weddings, it was so nice... Now we don't have such things. Now it is considered shameful to laugh. The children are sad. It was my son's second time smuggling. I pleaded with him not to go. He said he owed money to the school canteen. I said I would pay it. He died for 40 lira. Our children were slaughtered for the price of a pair of shoes. But the murderer Erdoğan's cronies' sons are smuggling money in shoe boxes. That's why they've sacked a lot of police. They didn't even change the commander of the military post when 34 people were killed. The Chief of the General Staff protected him and gave him an award. This means they support the massacre. Lots of people have come here from far and wide. People with a conscience. When they come here they understand what it means to be a Kurd..."