The year was 1993. The inhabitants of the hamlet of Tarlabaşı in the Uludere district of Şırnak province had been forced to flee their homes as the Turkish armed forces rained down 150 shells on their hamlet. Then 40 of them were forced to become village guards. But it did not end there. If more of them did not agree to become village guards, their houses would be burnt and their families killed.

Their orchards and gardens, the only things they owned, were taken from them and turned into minefields by the army. They moved to Bijuh (Gülyazı) and Roboski’ye (Ortasu). They received nothing for their property. The only thing they could do was cross border trade. Or what the authorities called smuggling, implying that they deserved death.

This trade has continued since the formation of the Turkish Republic, despite the line on the map, in the four parts of Kurdistan. Countless people have been killed while carrying out this trade, "for refusing to stop" when ordered by soldiers, or shot dead by troops, to "intimidate" or "threaten".

The 28 December 2011 began as a normal day and ended with the slaughter of 34 people. What made the incident at the Roboski border different was that the "killing of smugglers" was carried out by aerial bombardment and the strong allegation that the order emanated from Ankara. Was it a planned massacre? Or was it just a routine recurrence of the destiny of the Kurdish people?

Perhaps it was both....

The village guards handed in their weapons

The Botan region of Kurdistan has always been one of the areas where the state's policy of occupation and assimilation has been at its most intense. Becoming a village guard there was more a matter of survival than a willing choice. So it was for the people in the villages of Roboski and Bijuh. But after the massacre of 28 December most of the village guards handed in their guns. The Governor refused to accept the resignations, while not sending those who lost sons on missions, but the mothers have held firm, saying: "the photos of the 34 and these weapons cannot hang side by side on the same wall."

34 people have decided to declare conscientious objection

34 people, 19 of them from Roboski, including young women, have stated that they will not be tools of the state and have refused to take up arms. Young people coming from Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakır for the second anniversary of the massacre have also decided to declare they are conscientious objectors.

The women are saying that as women and children are those most affected by conflict, they will not send their sons to war.

Elçi: The families have been very patient

The Şırnak Bar Association President Nuşirvan Elçi said: "For 2 years the authorities have done their level best to cover up the massacre. They have also fined families who went to the scene and left carnations of the 500th day after the incident. Even those who didn't go were fined. This struggle continues and organisations, the media, anyone who calls themselves a democrat must get involved and do their bit. The families of Roboski have a single demand: find those responsible. They do not want compensation. This is an honourable stance. They have been very patient and persevering in their struggle for the perpetrators to be revealed. We will continue the legal battle until we have exhausted the domestic remedies. If that fails we will go to the European Court of Human Rights. The families have never wanted anything other than to find out the truth come out. It is our duty to support them."

We are not 'smugglers'. We are border traders

We spoke to village guards and smugglers in Roboski and Bijuh. They told ANF that what they do is not 'smuggling', as described in the media, but border traders.

‘Military officers are also involved in border trade' (20-year-old border trader)

“For ten years I have been doing this. A day before the massacre I had been across the border. That day I had yet to sell my diesel so I had no empty jerry cans. Otherwise I wouldn't be here today! We are still going. We have relatives on the other side. This is not smuggling, it is border trade. Why is it that people who do this in Samsun or Edirne are not smugglers but we are? There is an officer who has a mule and he gets a villager to go across for him. How come he's not a smuggler, while we are?"

‘They burnt our walnut trees and laid a minefield' (27-year-old border trader)

“I have to do this work. I'm responsible for a family of 13. They took away our land, burnt our walnut trees and turned it into a minefield. They shot at us, killed our relatives and forced us to be village guards. This is the only work we can do. For 100 lira a week I continue to go with my mule in cold and snow, if I don't we'll starve."

‘Every time I pass that place I feel the same things' (21 - border trader)

“I go twice a week. I get about 80-90 lira. I have a family of 11 to support. There is no other work. I won't become a village guard, even if they kill me. My brother died in the massacre. It's our hamlet where it happened. They call it the border, they draw it where they like. Every time I pass that place I cry. When one person cries as they pass, everyone stops and starts to sob. Sometimes someone will shout to the heavens: 'take us as well'. It's traumatic, we can't get over it. I became a conscientious objector last year. I reject the military and weapons. I won't go!"

‘They won't accept my resignation' (48-year-old village guard)

“They took our hamlet and drew a border. Then they forced us to become village guards. We had no other option. I served the state for 20 years. In return the state gave me my son in pieces. I've handed in my resignation on many occasions, but they refuse to accept. They don't send us on missions as they don't trust us. We can't hang our guns up on the same wall as pictures of the 34. I am no longer a village guard. I do not want any compensation, nothing will make up for losing my son."