MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Şırnex – The nature in Şırnex (Turkish: Şırnak) is under threat. The cutting down of trees, illegal mining and sand quarries and wildfires cause environmental degradation in the city. One of the warfare policies of the AKP/MHP government is the plunder of nature. One of these policies of plunder aiming to displace people in the region, is the dams built by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) in the Qilêban (Uludere) district of Şırnex in 2009. Seven dams have been built in the district until now.

After the construction of dams, people suffer from flood and landslide

The seven dams are built in a valley (60 km long) between Şırnex and Qilêban. The villagers say they have suffered from floods and landslides since the construction of the dams. The dams are built every 10 kilometers and there are many villages such as Nêrweh (Turkish: Taşdelen), Bilîh (Turkish: Işıkveren) and Kiror (Turkish: Ortabağ) villages in the area. The dams cause both financial and emotional damages because the villages suffer from floods and landslides after the spring rains.

Animals died

The women living in the village of Nêweh (Taşdelen) told NuJINHA that they could not sleep on heavy rainy days because of the dam built near their village. Every spring, their bans are destroyed and their animals die when the dams overflow. They call on the authorities to find a solution to the situation in the village.

‘There is no peace for us in spring and winter’

Sabriye Altürk is one of the villages. She says they do not have any living space due to the dam. “At the end, we will have to leave our village because of floods and landslides. We moved to this village when our village was burned down in the 90s. Then, they built dams here. The dam overflows in spring and winter. Many of our animals died due to floods. After the snow falls in the winter, the dam is still, but in the spring, we cannot sleep in fear of floods and landslides. There is no peace for us in spring.”

‘We have to leave our houses when a flood happens’

The house of Bedriye Özel is close to the valley. “Our village is always at the risk of being flooded. That is why we live in fear, we keep our animals away from the stream. We have to leave our houses when a flood happens. All villagers, including children are in great danger. We do not have any space to go now. Before our villages were burned down but now they are at the risk of being flooded.”