TNT Women's Edition: Forced Labor & Diary of Torture

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 12 April 2019)


                                         Gettin' it done.

Women who live in the rural areas of the Black Sea region have
started to head back to the fields, orchards and gardens, with the
coming of Spring.  According to data from the Turkish Statistics
Council (TÜİK), Black Sea women have to work from an early
age to contribute to the family budget.

Ayşe Aydın (67) explained that "we look after the cows, sell milk,
work in the fields.  Our children tell us to stop but we can't. If we
don't work we'll get sick."  Ayşe Yıldıran (71), who was waiting by
the roadside to sell strawberries to tourists, related that "we made a
household, our grandchildren are in school.  I have no regular income
and my kids won't work - I give what I make to them." (!)


For a realistic look at the lives of Black Sea
women, TNT highly recommends this film.

Seher Altuntaş (60) noted that "we're accustomed to working from
early in the morning. We grow corn, potatoes, beans and cabbage.
This season is the planting season here, so it's very important.  Black
Sea women have a very hard life."  Fatma Arı (63) said that "we have
to work because we have no other income source.  Our husbands'
salaries aren't enough.  We even go to the forest, cut wood and carry
it."


                            Turkey's Black Sea region
 
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türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 11 April 2019)



In Balıkesir's Edremit district, nurse Ceyda Malay (24) shot and
killed her fiancé Gökhan Evinç (28) in January and was arrested.
Malay's family's lawyer is claiming self-defense because of Evinç's
continuous violence inflicted on Malay, noting that the day before
Evinç's death he had driven her to the brink of suicide.  Ceyda hanım's
diary entries reflect the torment of her life with Evinç:

"Last night he came to my house again and made me drink beer. Then,
he scraped lines on my arm and wrist with a razor. He wanted me to
commit suicide.  I don't know what to do. I can't say anything to 
anyone.  My only hope is to kill him. May God help me."

"Since 29 November 2018, the black and blue marks on my body
haven't healed.  I often say I wish he had killed me that day because
living like this is much worse. Every time I go to sleep I wonder 
whether I'll wake up the next morning.  He's killed 3 people and
slashed another's throat.  My mistake was to consider him a human
being.  As I write this my hands are shaking because last night he
hit me so many times that I can hardly hold the pen."


                                   He won't be missed.

Ceyda hanım's older sister Ceren Malay explained to Milliyet that
her sister killed Evinç in order to prevent her own death, relating
that "my sister met this guy 9 years ago.  Then he went to prison
for murder.  When he got out of prison he kidnapped my sister at
gunpoint and beat her.  Ceyda got a restraining order but it was
not a deterrent.  Then she said she would get engaged to him." (!)

As for Evinç's past, at the age of 14 in  2004 he was put in  prison
for 2.5 years for killing his older brother and Rasime Kara.  In 2007
he killed İlkay Demir (18) and went back to prison, being released
in 2018.