Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RIVISTA STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BAStN ÖZETi
suppo~t either si~e in the bloody conflict.
AccordIng to the rrugrants, they would either be
forced to. become village guards by the
Gendannene or PKK supporters by local guerrillas.
Today, it seems as though they have lost all
hope of returning to their homes. Almost all of
them prefer to suffer in their current conditions
rather than go back. "We may be starving here
. ~ut a,t,least we don't have to worry about ou;
hves, said one camp resident.
Another elderly man, pointing to the decrepit
huts aro.u~d ~m, said a.ngrily: "Did you ever see
Turks hVIng In tents !l~e t~es~? :rhey say th'!t
there are many Kurds hVIng In slrrular conditions
Vt(ewant this to end so that we can return to ou~
vl!lag~s." Others sitting nearby voiced agreement
with hiS remarks.
Referring to the. way in which officials have
responded to their problems, one man said that the
local mayor used to visit the village, but does not
any~ore. "He brought us electricity and provided
us With a ':Vatersource, but that is nol enough. We
need hOUSIngas well, but the locals find our existence
here threatening." .
Becaus~ of the controversy that surrounds their
presence In the ~~ea, the Beypazan Kurds have
been used as polItIcal tools. During the March 27
local elections, the Nationalist MQvement Party
(MHP) candidate tried to generate support by portraying
t~e. Kurdis~ migrants as PKK supporters
and promisIng to eVIctthem from the region.
However, the ~0f!1erland Partfs (ANAP) candi- A child of Kurdish migrants from Mardin
date .ended up WInnI~g the electIOn by promising to who are livingin poverty. 1'h v d' h
proVIdethe settler~ wlthhousing. . e l\.u~ IS
Deputy Mayor Ibrahim Demir, on the other hand, hospital due to their financial situations. Furthermore, villag.ersresnond b"
claimed to have no information on the inhabitants of no doctor had visited the camp until now, although a l' J
the camp and but added that the municipality sent diarrhoea outbreak has been threatening the children saying that they
clean water to the camp to protect the Beypazan of the village. In .addition to medical care, the .
locals from the spread of diseases. . migrants stressed their need for housing to improve earn extra money
According to municipal police, the villagers "come their standard of living. "The land we are living on, bl".working on
and buy German marks, which they collect and send which belor.gs to the Treasury, should be given to us J
to the PKK..How could a person who is supposedly so that we can construct permanent housing." fianns altho gh
earning TL 80,000 a day collect enough money to buy The delegation also heard complaints concerning , U
marks?" . poor treatment by local government officjals. "We their wagesare
The Kurdish villagers respond by saying that they .should be treated as normal citizens. We have been
earn extra money by working on farms, although their living here for five years and still no government offi- lower than those of
wages are lowe.rthan those of Turkish farm workers. cial has come to us to askus if we need anything," Tu"kishfiarm
In fact, they claim that their camp has been tolerated one resident said. 11 "
by officials for the pa~t five years only because of the "They should treat us like human beings. We want wo"ke~'S,Infiac.t,
cheap labor they proVide. - . to live and work here.. , ,
Fifty-two-year-old Ramazan Abay, who looks more . However, we are also prepared to return to our vil- the" claim that
like 80 or 85, says, "Harsh condition have caused me lages if the problem in the region is solved and the J
to age quickly, but we still thank God that we are pressure from the village guards is lifted," another their camp has
alive." Rahime, a 60-year-old woman, expresses more frustrated Kurdish migrant added. .
bitter sentiments saying: "Why dû you need my The settlers from the Southeast have not been com- been tolerated by
. name? We are hungry and sick. My husband died IS . pletely disregarded by the government, as they have Iff:' lsfi
years ago. It doesn't matter if one has a name or if been convemently rlaced in between three hills, per- 0JJ~Cla or
one owns nothing." Meanwhile, the children com- mitting easy contro of the village. Moreover, the mil- the pastfive
plain of social isolation and verbal abuse by class- itary does not forget to recruit the young men of the
mates who tell them, "You are Kurds." However, they camp for their military service when the time comes. years only because
add that they are protectedby their teachers. The "The only thing they have not been able to do is colhealth
representatives in the delegation stated that the lect taxes; . . Of the cheap
living conditions did not appear to be hygienic, but . But when the circumstances wiII be right, they will
added that they would first have to test the water. do that too," says one old man wryly. labor they
Apparently, the Kurdish villagers in need of medical A full report prepared by the delegation wiII be sent ~.1
care are unable to receive treatment fromthe nearby to the relevant government offices. prOVlue,
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