MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 Amed- The fire that sparked by an electrical fault in an area between Mardin’s Şemrex (Mazıdağı) district and Amed’s Xana Akpar (Çınar) district on June 20,2024, killed 15 citizens and hundreds of animals. The people living in the villages affected by the fire are going to file a lawsuit against the Dicle Electric Distribution Company (DEDAŞ).

NuJINHA spoke to Hatun Esen, board member of the Munzur Environment Protection Association, and Semra Mamut, member of the Amed Ecology Association, about their observations in the area.

 ‘Only the sky witnessed their screams that night’

“The people of Kurdistan have always healed their wounds alone,” said Hatun Esen. “Only the sky witnessed their screams that night while some again remained silent against their screams. During our visits to the villagers, we saw that the fire did not only kill 15 citizens but also hundreds of animals. For us, the soil is sacred and all living creatures have the right to life.”

‘The suffering of the people has been ignored’

The villagers told Hatun Esen that the DEDAŞ had cut off power to the villages for days before the fire. “The villagers had often suffered from power outages before the fire. Due to the power outages, all the electrical appliances of the villagers had been damaged or burned. After the fire, the DEDAŞ repaired power cables in order to cover up its fault. The mainstream media also played ostrich. The suffering and the losses of the people have been ignored.”

‘This plunder should not be the fate of this region’

Hatun Esen called on the government to declare the area as a disaster area. “Our mountains were bombed, our forests were burned and our trees were cut down. We were not even allowed to extinguish those fires; we were forced to watch the fires from a distance. In the region, mountains, forests, living creatures have disappeared. Our water have been cut off by dams. Recently, the region has been suffering from fires. This plunder should not be the fate of this region. We should raise our voices together to stop this plunder of nature. Doesn't this country have a helicopter to extinguish the fire? They just watched the fire.”

 ‘The environmental degradation continues systematically in Kurdistan’

Upon the call of the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, ecologists from many parts of Turkey and Kurdistan went to the area affected by the fire on June 20. Semra Mamut, member of the Amed Ecology Association, was one of them. “We went to the area to be in solidarity with the people. In the interviews, villagers told us that fire had erupted due to negligence.”

Speaking about the late response to the fire, she said, “We face a mentality that never accepts responsibility and supports the policies of capital and companies. Unfortunately, the environmental destruction and the massacres continue systematically in Kurdistan. The people and animals were abandoned to their fate in the fire.”

The recent fires and tree cutting are a part of the policies of depopulation being carried out in Kurdistan, Semra Mamut emphasized. “Neither human life nor animal life was taken into account. Their living spaces were destroyed. Before the fire, people had often suffered from water and power outages. This shows us that a policy of depopulation has been carried out in Kurdistan.”