Families in sit-in protest: They stole our dreams
The families who continue to sit-in protest outside HDP office in Diyarbakir expressed that their dreams had been stolen along with their children by the PKK/HDP while demanded that their children be given back to them.
Families who have staged a sit-in protest outside HDP office in Diyarbakir for 24 days have stated that their dreams also have been kidnapped along with the abduction of their children.
Families, mostly mothers and come from poorer parts of Kurdish society, accusing HDP [People's Democratic Party] kidnapped their children at different times to the rural areas and recruited by the PKK, while almost all the children are under 18 when kidnapped.
The families, who have stated that they will not give up their sit-in protest until their children are given back to them, are waiting with hope for the day when they will be reunited with their children.
Türkan Mutlu, who participated in the sit-in action from Bursa on September 16, says her 24-years-old daughter Ceylan Şeyma Tekin was deceptively kidnapped 7 years ago during she was on her way to enroll in Balikesir University.
Mutlu stated that her daughter Ceylan had big dreams just as she had dreams for her daughter and that the PKK and HDP have made them live a dungeon life by kidnapping her daughter.
"My daughter has been in this swamp for 7 years. I want my daughter back," Türkan Mutlu stated.
"I was dreaming big for the Ceylan. If Ceylan was with us, in her hometown, she would have studied and become a teacher. She would have helped a lot of people. Ceylan would have a pen in her hand instead of a gun. There is no happiness, no peace in our house. We haven't had a laugh in years. Every time the door knocks or the phone rings, we get excited that maybe it's Ceylan."
"They stole our dream, they stole our life, they killed us and put us in the grave," said painful mother Türkan Mutlu, adding that Ceylan's greatest dream was to become a teacher and to provide education to abandoned children.
"They say we are defending the rights of the Kurds. This is not the way to defend the rights of Kurds. Are they going to build a state on the backs of us poor mothers? The children of the leaders of this party and organization are with them. Their children are not sleeping in caves and on mountains. They even do not speak Kurdish with their own children. I want my daughter from the HDP."
Mother Sevdet Demir, 55, joined sit-in protest outside HDP office on September 13, claims that her son Fatih Demir, 24, was kidnapped in 2015 when he was working as a bakery in Hani, a district of Diyarbakir, demands her son to be given back to her.
Grieving mother Sevdet Demir said she keeps crying looking at the belongings of his son, Fatih Demir.
"My son was a vehicle enthusiast. He always said to me, 'Mom, I'm going to work and buy myself a car.' We bought our son a car. They brainwashed my son and took him away. They didn't give my son a chance to get in the car and drive."
"My son's car and bike were left at the door. I look at them every day and cry," she said.
"I raised you like a sapling, was it for these days? Son, come home. I knocked on every door for you. I've been to Syria, Iraq, camps, looking for you. I've asked everyone for help. We collapsed and we're done," she concluded.
Mevlude Üçdağ, another mother from Diyarbakir, joined the sit-in protest on September 9, outside the HDP office in Diyarbakir for her 22-year-old son Ramadan Üçdağ whom she hasn’t seen for 5 years, demands her son back.
Describing her son, painful mother Mevlude Üçdağ emphasized that his son was busy with prayers, memorized 23 verses from the Qur'an, and that his goal was to be Hafiz.
My son has been missing since June 1, 2015. We will continue to struggle. I'm not leaving until my son gets here.
"My son had dreams. My son wanted to be a Hafiz. He never left his prayers. He loved to recite the Qur'an, to memorize the Qur'an. He told me not to tell anyone of his love for the Qur'an. His dream was to pray constantly, to read and memorize the Qur'an. But the PKK destroyed his dream, stole it, and took it away."
The pair, Şevket, and Fatma Bingöl, who live in Istanbul, say their 19-years-old son Tunay Bingöl was kidnapped in 2014 in Arnavutköy, Istanbul after he left home saying one of his friends found him a job.
Expressing that their son's dream was to be a cop, painful pair noted that he was kidnapped at his 14 while studying at school.
"They destroyed my son's dream, my dream. My child is now 19. If they had let my son come back, if they had sent him back, I would have done everything I could to make my son happy," said parents. (ILKHA)