ANKARA - Journalist Meltem Oktay, who witnessed the curfews in Nusaybin, said, "Self-government was a reaction against femicide, a declaration of the will of women."

 

While curfews was declared in the cities of the region by the order of the government in 2015-2016, the most basic rights of at least 1 million 809 thousand people such as freedom and security were violated during the months-long blockade. In this process, according to the report of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV); at least 310 civilians were killed.

 

 

6 NEIGHBORHOODS LEFT IN RUINS

 

Living spaces were destroyed during the curfews, which turned into a policy of aggression in which the state mobilized all its means. One of the places that was besieged for months was the Nusaybin district of Mardin. The curfew, which was announced for the first time in August 2015, was implemented 8 times, the longest of which was declared on March 14, 2016 and was partially lifted on July 25 after 134 days. The curfew in the Fırat, Dicle, Yenişehir, Abdulkadir Pasha, Zeynel Abidin and Kışla neighborhoods was lifted on April 20, 2018. At the end of 25 months, 6 neighborhoods were left in ruins, and TOKİ buildings of the state were built instead of the original houses of the district.

 

Free press workers who followed the reports on the conflict zones were oppressed, attacked, detained and arrested during this period. However, unlike the pro-government media, the workers of the free press continued their work by overcoming all difficulties in order to report the  truth to the public. Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Meltem Oktay was arrested and held in prison for 3 years after that.

 

Witnessing those days with her camera, Meltem Oktay spoke about what happened in Nusaybin and what she faced as a journalist.

 

'HEAVY WEAPONS CAME INTO PLAY'

 

Reminding that the curfew in Nusaybin started in August 2015, Meltem Oktay said, “Self-government is a democratic and popular demand, a system of government that is embraced by the people in many parts of the world that unites peoples. There were many attacks against Kurds before. When all basic rights were suspended after 2015, connection with Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan were also cut. Operations were constantly carried out in places populated by Kurds. Women and young men and women were detained and arrested. Due to the pressures of the state, the people protected themselves with the self-government they declared. However, self-government was gradually turning into a war, and then came a period of massacres in which heavy weapons came into play.”

 

THE SYMBOL OF THE RESISTANCE WAS WOMEN

 

Stating that women are the subject of resistance wherever there are conflicts and wars, Meltem Oktay said, “Women always resists. Curfews started to be declared in Nusaybin. Women who did not leave their homes,  could not meet their basic needs, and their most basic needs were taken away from them. Nevertheless, the symbol of resistance was women, although they were the ones who had difficulty the most. It was women journalists who witnessed the self-government resistances declared in Kurdish cities. I was in Nusaybin too. Working there as a women journalist was risky. I was working as a war reporter. I had a responsibility to report the facts.” 

 

 

'I WAS HOVERING BETWEEN HELPING THE PEOPLE AND REPORTING THE FACTS'

 

Pointing out that the de-identification and genocide attacks against women were experienced most intensely in Kurdish cities, Meltem Oktay said, “As women journalists, we were under constant pressure during the self-government processes, including situations like being arrested, being the target of bullets, and even dying. In the self-government processes, there was no other press that followed the developments and extended a microphone to the public, apart from the free press. When there was an attack somewhere, we would go there and report on that family. As a woman, I was effected emotionally. I was both a journalist and I was very emotional and it was very difficult. People were dying in front of my eyes. I was asking myself, 'What exactly is my mission here? I was hovering between helping the people or reporting the facts."

 

 

WOMEN'S VOICE AGAINST BULLET SOUNDS

 

Stating that she acted with the responsibility of roporting the events to the world and the public, Meltem Oktay said: “I was emotional watching the struggle of the women. Bullets were pouring down on us. Women's shouts were drowning out the sounds of the bullets. Self-government was a reaction against femicide, and a declaration of will of the women there. As women journalists, we were reporting where the heaviest weapons were used. Towards the end of the attacks, the pro-government media came to Nusaybin. It tried to report what happened with the logic of embedded journalism. While the Kurdish people were massacred, they acted as if nothing had happened. Those of us who report through that ordeal, later faced arrests, oppression and exile.”

 

SELAMET, SÊVÊ, PAKİZE, FATMA…

 

 

Noting that the last days of the curfew coincided with March 8, International Women's Day, Meltem Oktay said, “Women from Nusaybin celebrated March 8. The state of war could not prevent women's struggle. I came across attempts to send infiltrators inside and assassinations. This is how they were trying to break the resistance inside. Self-government resistance was important to the people and they embraced it. Women were killed in the middle of the street, in the garden or while doing their daily chores. Selamet Yeşilmen was one of the most important examples of this. She was killed by dozens of bullets from an armored vehicle in front of her house. Sêvê Demir, Fatma Uyar and Pakize Nayır were also among the murdered women.”

 

Stating that her life was never the same after what she had been through those days, Oktay explained that she was in a depressed mood, she got jumpy and she had perpetual nightmares but she never regretted it. Oktay said: "I was arrested and held in prison for three years. But I don't regret what I had done. I would do it again. I had to migrate after I got out of prison. I went to Greece from Maritza River. Greece was not safe for me because it is so close to Turkey.I walked through 5 countries and reached Eastern Europe.

 

Emphasizing that it is women who continue the struggle and resist against oppressive and tyrannical governments all over the world, Meltem Oktay continued: “This is like that everywhere. We see the resistance of all women from Poland to Chile. Against masculine mentality, against sexist practices, women are fighting back . It was the same in the self-government process. Today, women are on the streets and will always be  there. As a female journalist, I will continue to report, work and fight against fascist governments.”