MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed- Thousands of people were forcibly displaced from their villages in the Kurdish region in Turkey, in the 1990s. The citizens living in the villages of cities such as Amed, Mardin, Şırnak, and Hakkâri had to leave their villages for big cities in the west of Turkey. Hundreds of villages were destroyed and depopulated by Turkey. The villagers were subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Although years have passed since the villagers were forcibly displaced, the displaced women never forget the time they spent in their villages and they want to return to their villages.

She has lived away from her village for 28 years

Nefise Bayram is one of the thousands of women, who had to leave their villages with their children in the 1990s. After her village and her memories were burned in front of her, she took her children and left her village. She has lived away from her village for 28 years. She told us that all she wants is to rebuild her house in the village and live there. But she never forgets what they faced in the 1990s.

“We saw nothing but the smoke”

Nefise Bayram and her family were subjected to torture because they didn’t want to leave their village. “But soldiers came to our village and gathered all villagers in the middle of the village. They searched house by house. They stayed in our village until the evening. Then, they burned our village. On that day, many villages were burned. We saw nothing but the smoke rising from our village and other villages. The soldiers told us, ‘Now, we are leaving but we will come back tomorrow morning and we don’t want to see you here.’”

“I regret having left my village”

The next day, the soldiers returned to their village and told the villagers, ‘Go to cities’. Nefise Bayram left her village by holding the hand of her four-year-old son. They went to Amed (Diyarbakır).

“After our village was burned, we lived in a house with several families. Then, we had to move to the city. My children grew up here so I had to stay here. I miss my village every day. I regret having left my village.”

“All I want is to return to my village”

Nefise Bayram told us that all she wants is to return to her village. “All of the villagers have already returned to the village. They rebuilt their houses. The one who hasn’t returned to the village yet is me. But one day, I will also return to the village and rebuild my house.”