Gülistan Azak 

 

DERSİM - In the village of Çayüstü, which was burned and evacuated by the state, life has not been allowed for 28 years. Hacime and Hüseyin Aktaş, who live in the village that has been without electricity for eight years, are preparing to hold a sit-in in front of the governor's office to protest the situation.

 

Çayüstü village of Dersim's Ovacık district is one of the villages that was evacuated and set on fire by the soldiers in 1994. The villagers, who were forced to migrate to Elazig and different cities due to the impositions, could not stand this life any longer and returned to their lands in 2013. However, the scene they encountered in the village they returned, were increased their anger and sadness. Neither grass nor a single standing stone remained in their devastated village. Citizens who started to work to rebuild their villages lived for a while in tents and small barracks they built.

 

Electricity and water problem

 

The electricity and water problems of the citizens who managed to repair their living spaces are waiting for a solution since the day they returned to the village. Citizens applied to the authorities for years to solve the electricity and water problems that they could partially meet with generators and water engines, but the promises that they would make were not fulfilled.

 

Everyone goes home as it gets dark

 

The fact that the newly built houses do not have a lamp on the ceiling and a switch on the walls reveals that the citizens have no hope of solving the electricity problem. The ones most affected by the electricity problem in the eight-home village are the elderly, who make up the majority of the population. Citizens with visual problems have to go to bed just as it gets dark and have difficulty in using their medicines.

The couple Hacime (71) and Hüseyin Aktaş (83) is one of those who have this problem. The couple, who live alone, try to prevent their food from rotting in the fridge, which they can run for a few hours during the day with the small generator they put in front of their house.

 

‘They do not allow us to establish life in our village’

 

Stating that the electricity and water problems cause great difficulties, Hacime said that the life they want to establish in their village has been prevented for 28 years. Hacime continued: “How shall we live? We have visual problems. When evening falls, we immediately go to our beds. We cannot even use our medicines. We have a small generator. With this generator, we can only run our fridge for two hours. I cook on fire. The village has no water. Two drops of water flowing from the faucet. Despite my advancing age and illness, I do dishes and laundry. We can't do agriculture because we don't have water. We have a few saplings planted in front of our house, but wild animals break them when it gets dark. Since there is no electricity, we cannot intervene. There has been no life in this village for 28 years. No matter what we did, nobody listened. We wanted to re-establish our life in our village, but they do not allow it.”

 

‘We will protest the situation in front of the governor’s office’

 

Hüseyin, on the other hand, tells the following about the problems they experienced: “Using the PKK as an excuse, they burned our villages. For years we were separated from our villages. We rebuilt our houses with debt in our devastated land in the village we returned to after 19 years. They haven't given us electricity for years. We have been in the dark for eight years. Is it unbelievable that a settlement in this era was without electricity? Does it make sense for a settlement to be without electricity in this period? We reported the problem many times, no one listened. Since there is no electricity in the village, we cannot see the wild animals that come to our door at night. This is not our only problem. The village has no water, no roads, no transportation. We use the water we bring from the mountain via pipes for both the house and the garden. We cannot water the gardens because the water is not enough. There is no life in this village. I sent it to the mayor. If our problems are not resolved for another week, my wife and I will start a protest in front of the governor's office. That is enough, it is a shame.”