MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed- Necime Yaşarer hasn’t seen her son and husband for years. Necime Yaşarer struggles alone against many difficulties of life but she concerns about the ongoing hunger strikes that began in prisons. She calls on people to raise awareness against repression in prisons.

The indefinite and rotating hunger strikes launched in prisons of Turkey on November 17, 2020, continue. The rights violations have reached the highest level in prisons after the hunger strikes and prisoners try to hold on to life under the increasingly difficult conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

54-year-old Necime Yaşarer cannot see her son and husband for years. Necime’s son Selahattin Yaşarer has been held in L Type Closed Prison located in Gaziantep province for seven years and her husband Hida Yaşarer has been held in E Type Closed Prison located in Trabzon province for five years. Necime always thinks about her son and husband tens of kilometers away from her and she tries to meet her two children needs.

Necime Yaşarer says that she put her head on the pillow with her longing for her son and husband and that her son and husband are innocent but they have been held in prison.

“Now I don’t know how they look”

“I haven’t seen my husband and son for two years. Now, I don’t know how they look. I don’t know whether they have lost weight or not, or whether they are ill or not. When they call me, they don’t tell me anything about their conditions. Last year, I sent clothes to my husband but he hasn’t received them yet. Who knows what those who do not give them their clothes today will do to them tomorrow. My son and my husband are innocent; they received prison sentences for false reasons,” says Necime.

“For two years I haven't been able to touch and kiss my son's face”

Necime Yaşarer describes her life as “a hell”, and says, “After they were taken to prison, I and my children live from hand to mouth. We have faced financial and moral difficulties. Our life is like a hell. We pray every day to days pass fast. Every night, I think about them. If you visit the mothers like me, you can shoot a 2-hour film. When a mother has to put a plate less on the table for years, it is difficult for a mother. For two years, I haven’t been able to touch and kiss my son’s face. I don’t know what he eats and how he lives.”

“I have a pain in my heart”

Necime Yaşarer also talks about the ongoing hunger strikes in prisons and she says, “I want to make my voice heard all around the world. We should stand up for our children. They should be the voice of people in prisons. My son called me and he told me they would launch a hunger strike because no one did anything for them. I have a pain in my heart. End this persecution against mothers and their children. We don’t accept this persecution carried out against us just for being a Kurd. We are Kurds and this will never change. We will struggle to the end.”