Azize Akoğlu - Gülistan Gülmüş 

 

AMED - While the treatment of a worker who was seriously injured in a racist attack in Niğde continues, his family demanded that the attackers be punished. Family members said, "They attacked him because he is Kurdish. We will prosecute and we want them to be tried." 

 

On August 29, 24 Kurdish seasonal workers from Sêwereg (Siverek) district of Riha province, who had gone to Çukurkuyu town in Bor district of Niğde to pick tomatoes, were attacked by the landowner and his relatives. During the attack, one of the workers, Orhan Yedikurt, was shot with a firearm and seriously wounded. Yedikurt spent four days in intensive care in Niğde and was later transferred to Diyarbakır Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital. While his treatment continues, his family continues to wait anxiously in front of the hospital.

 

Speaking about the incident, the family stated that the attack was racially motivated. 

 

'Punish the attackers'

 

Zinet Taş, the aunt of Orhan Yedikurt, who was attacked, explained how the incident happened and said, "They attacked him with a firearm and insulted him. They do this because it is their village. For 4 days they were in intensive care there. He has been here for 3 days, he was in surgery for 2 hours. We are afraid he will be crippled. Those who attacked him should be punished. We work as porters for them, we do their work, and then they attack us. We were always in this situation, when we went to pick hazelnuts, when we went to work in other jobs, there were people who treated us well, but we were always afraid. He is only 19 years old, he just got married, they treated him very badly. We feel very sad for him."

 

'We will sue them'

 

Evin Dağaçay stated that they will file a lawsuit and said, "My brother's son is wounded and undergoing surgery. They were very unfair to him. We are suing them, they attacked him. He was in surgery for almost 2-3 hours but we still haven't gotten any result. We don't know what will happen, we are waiting here with our hands tied." 

 

They were saying 'Kurds should not come here and work'

 

Medine Dağağaç stated that the perpetrators of the racist attack should be prosecuted and said, "We don't want those who caused this to get away with it. They hated us because we were Kurds, they said ‘Kurds should not come and work here’. May God help everyone, those in prison, those who are sick. I hope they don't get away with it. They operated on him, his veins were damaged, I hope he will recover."

 

'We will prosecute, we want them to be tried'

 

Sevdet Yedikurt said that her children had gone to Niğde to work and that she was at home on the day of the racist attack. Sevdet Yedikurt used the following words: "They called me and said he was injured. He was wounded in both legs, they operated on him. I brought him here two days ago. They beat our children, they insulted them and they defended themselves. They attacked him because he is Kurdish. We will file a lawsuit and we want them to be prosecuted."