Hacer was among the hundreds killed during the military curfews imposed in Cizre between December 2015 and March 2016. Many of those who died were buried in anonymous graves in various provinces. Hacer’s body was never recovered. Her great-uncle İhsan Arslan, detained by soldiers in the 1990s, has also been missing for three decades.

 

“I will never forgive those who did this. But I would do anything for peace, so no other mother has to endure what I did,” said Hizne Arslan. She emphasized that peace must be a mutual effort and criticized the one-sidedness of the current process, noting that despite the PKK’s recent decision to lay down arms in response to Abdullah Öcalan’s peace call, the state has yet to take any meaningful steps.

 

“The process cannot progress from one side only. If there is to be peace, both sides must act. Mothers should be reunited with their children. Prison doors must open,” she said. Speaking of the suffering and loss her family has endured—two children, a brother, and two uncles, Hizne Arslan said her pain is still fresh: “The smell of burning from the Cizre basements is still in my nose, the screams still in my ears. Time passes, but this pain never fades.”

 

She also stressed the importance of justice for those responsible for the killings: “Even if peace comes, the killers of our children must be punished. I won’t forgive them, but I will still fight for peace, so that no other mother’s heart is broken.”

 

Hizne Arslan dreams of a grave where she can visit her daughter: “Every Friday, I wish I had a grave to visit for Hacer. Others can visit their children's graves. I want that too.”

 

She ended her plea with a call for unity and action: “Let mothers of police, guerrillas, and soldiers hold hands. Let this bloodshed end. The Kurdish people have done their part. Now the state must take concrete steps, starting with the release of ill prisoners.”

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut