MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Hüsna Dolan was forcibly displaced from the Daralan (Comelaş) village of Amed’s Lice district to Mersin province in the 1990s. Hüsna worked as a seasonal farmworker in Mersin for years. Years later, she decided to return to her village to build a greenhouse. She grows greenhouse peppers, tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers with her family in the village. She sells these products to sellers of vegetable markets to earn a livelihood.

“We start our own business”

Hüsna, who has worked in the greenhouse all day, stated that she returned to her village after she decided to start her own business instead of working in other people’s greenhouses. Hüsna worked as a daily wage worker in Mersin, “We used to work in the greenhouses in Mersin. I collected peppers in the greenhouses. We worked like this for years. Then, we told each other, ‘we have our own village and land, why don’t we return and start our own business instead of working for other people.’ We returned to our village and built a greenhouse here. We work for ourselves here, and we earn our own money.”

“We sell the products to sellers of vegetable markets”

Hüsna sells the products she grows in her greenhouse to the sellers of vegetable markets to earn a livelihood. “We planted peppers, tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers in the greenhouse. We sell these products to the sellers of the vegetable markets in Lice and Bingöl after collecting them. Sometimes, they give orders; sometimes we take these vegetables to markets and sell them ourselves.”

“It is a difficult job”

Stating that they do their job with love even though it is a difficult job, Hüsna said that their job is more difficult when it is very hot. “Greenhouse cultivation is a very difficult job; we get very tired while working. You cannot earn a livelihood easily. Earning your own money and doing something with your own effort is a very nice feeling. We work for ourselves instead of working for others.”