The tragedy of living on the border
by editor | 2nd January 2012 9:56 am
Roboski victim 13 year-old Erkan Encu’s father had also been shot and wounded at the border in an earlier “incident”
It has emerged that Roboski victim 13 year-old Erkan Encu’s father had also been shot and wounded at the border in an earlier “incident”. Mother Felek Encu reacted to the PM and the Turkish state. “You call Kurds terrorists – she said – but you are the real terrorist Mr. Tayyip. My son and two of his uncles were slaughtered in the bombardment. What kind of a state is this?”
The 28 December Roboski slaughter in Uludere (Qilaban) district of ??rnak has once more shown the tragedy the people of the region live. Risking their lives, the people in the region got involved in smuggling since they were long ago forced to abandon their means of existence, agriculture and stock breeding, because of the war. Besides those who lose their life while smuggling, many people in the region become permanently disabled for stepping on mines.
However, F-16 warplanes have made the people suffer their greatest pain so far. 41 people, most of whom were children, were targeted by huge bombs on the way of smuggling at the border of Federal Kurdistan Region and Turkey. Among them, 35 lost their lives. While the slaughter grieves a lot of families, the people in the region have once again been observed in the poorness they suffer. The people here have to make a living with the income of the oil, sugar and cigarette they smuggle from borders on donkeys. Mourning doesn’t end in the houses that have received 35 bodies that torn apart beyond recognition. While the bodies were put into coffins after autopsy procedures, the broad vastness and mountains of ??rnak have once more witnessed the scream of region’s people. “You buried us alive” cried families, unable to leave the bodies of their children during the burial. The parted corpse of 15 year-old Aslan Encu was buried in a body bag, passing into the history as a mark of the savagery.
Seve Encu, sister of Zeyda and Orhan Encu brothers who were both killed in the bombardment, said the followings; “We are leaving the punishment of this fairness to god but we will till the very end go after the rights of our children and the Kurdish people. Why have they purposely dropped bombs on our children now although they have been closing their eyes to their there and back for many long years? We weren’t able to recognize the bodies of our children. They were all burnt and melted.”
Mother of 13 year-old Erkan Encu said the followings about the death of his son; “My son was a secondary school student. His father was also wounded in the same way many years ago. This was the first time he went to buy oil from Iraq. Although I told him not to go, he insisted on going there to earn some money for his school expenses. How can a 13 year-old be killed? The government says it was a mistaken intelligence but how is this possible? How can they not see the people passing there? Most of the bodies were still burning when I went to the scene earlier than everybody else. They should know that my son die a martyr. We lost three persons from one family. What kind of a state is this?”
18 year-old victim Osman Uysal’s aunt Naime Uysal cried, asking; “Who had the right to make us suffer this pain? They killed children aged 12. Like the majority of the Kurdish people, we are also a poor Kurdish family. Our children are doing this work to earn our living. Our children have been slaughtered. Erdo?an has no right to make this to us who want peace in this territory. That’s enough!”
A young woman among those attending the funeral ceremony expressed her reaction with the following words; “This state martyrized our people. Why are they remaining silent? What is the reason for the silence and nonperformance of the state? Don’t we have enough of this bloodshed and suffering? We are unable to do anything because of our pains. Why is the media remaining silent? “The young woman also made a call to the press members at the ceremony; “Show the world what has been done to us. Everyone should hear our scream and see how we bury our brothers. We couldn’t recognize the bodies. See us now.”
Source URL: https://globalrights.info/2012/01/the-tragedy-of-living-on-the-border/