34 people were killed by bombs on December 28, 2011. The mourning of their mothers never ends. Today marks the 10^th year since they were killed. The villagers, particularly mothers, have demanded justice for their killed relatives for 10 years despite the policy of immunity in the case. The women of the Roboski village have worn black clothes since the massacre took place.

MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Şırnex – Wherever you go in Turkey, you see people demanding justice; dismissed people, politicians being held in prison, sick prisoners, families looking for their disappeared relatives, killed women and children, and many more. From the Galatasaray Square to the Roboski village, everyone demands “justice”.

They wake up every morning with feelings of grief after the loss of their children

34 young people from Roboski village were killed in the Turkish airstrikes that took place on December 28, 2011, near the Iraq-Turkey border, where they went to bring 20 kilos of tea and two bags of sugar. Today marks the tenth year of the massacre. “Every morning, we wake up by feelings of grief, every day is December 28 for us,” say the villagers, who have demanded “justice” for 10 years. The Roboski village is not the same village since 34 people, Kurds, and relatives were killed on December 28, 2011.

While 12 months are not enough for the Kurds for mourning our losses, we have lost many people in December. Like every Kurd, I also grew up with massacres and the suffering of December. 10 years ago, we heard the massacre took place in Uludere on TV before the massacres in Sur, Cizre, and Silopi. Those who said “Every abortion is an Uludere” in the foggy weather of Ankara didn’t care about the names of 34 Kurds, their dreams, and the people they left behind. The people in the country didn’t know 13-year-old Orhan Encü, Osman Kaplan, who went to smuggle to earn money for his three children, or Bilal Encü, who wanted to earn money for treatment of his father's blind eyes.

Years have passed but nothing has changed

Although years have passed, nothing has changed in Turkey. Dead bodies of 34 people were carried by mules 10 years ago. The body of Garibe Gezer, who died suspiciously in Kandıra Prison, was carried by women because a funeral vehicle was not allocated. As we never forget the mothers of Roboski, we will never forget how her mother mourned in the back of a small truck while her daughter’s coffin was next to her.

Mothers have worn black dresses for 10 years

The mothers of Roboski have worn black dresses for 10 years in feelings of grief. I went to Roboski on the 10^th anniversary of the massacre. Although 10 years have passed since the massacre took place, nothing has changed in the village; the same grief. Mothers wearing black dresses greeted us. They have woken up in the same morning every morning for 10 years. Everyone knows that the white headscarves of Kurdish mothers symbolize peace. But the mothers of Roboski haven’t worn white scarves until justice is delivered.

Where words fail…

We visited Halime Encü, the mother of Serhat Encü, who was killed 10 years ago along with 33 people. She looked at the picture of Serhat on the wall. Their house is located right across from the mountain where the massacre took place. Halime Encü looks at the mountain every morning and feels the same pain in her heart. “We are where words fail… There is no word to express what I feel,” she says.

“We first faced torture, and then we were forcibly displaced because we didn’t accept to be village guards. We were condemned to live in poverty. In the end, they killed us while trying to earn a living,” Halime Encü’s other son Veli Encü says. What he says actually summarizes their situation.

“They called us at 2 am”

 “They called us at 2 am and told us the bombardment. We began to run to the region. Mothers walked in the snow without shoes,” the families of Roboski say. “The families collected their children’s pieces and put them in bags. We recognized them from their clothes and shoes,” one of the mothers of Roboski says. The mothers of Roboski have struggled for justice for 10 years. Kadriye Encü, one of the mothers, recently died from a heart attack.

“My son Hamza Encü weighed 80 kilos. They put my son in a bag and gave it to me. They put the pieces of my son’s body in a bag and buried it. I have been lamenting at the grave of my son for 10 years,” Kadriye Encü said before she passed away.

“Justice must be served”

I am walking among the black tombstones of Roboski and feeling the pain of people but I cannot express their pain with words. The people of Roboski have been left alone with their memories, pain, and poverty. “Justice must be served,” the families of Roboski demand and I demand the same thing…