As Türkiye prepares to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan, families of youths abducted by the PKK terrorist group maintain hope they will be reunited with their children.
Families, mostly mothers carrying photos of their missing children, colloquially known as the Diyarbakır Mothers, have been protesting against the PKK in front of the now-defunct Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in the southeastern Diyarbakır province for over five years now.
As their sit-in protest enters its 2,034th day, many families hope this Eid will be the one their children will return from the mountains.
Bedriye Uslu, who has not seen her son Mamut for 15 years now, is one of them.
“I have been away from my child for 30 Eids now. Our wound deepens when Eid comes around,” Uslu said, clinging to a picture of her child.
She said she expects “good news” from her son soon and urged him to surrender to security forces.
Claiming to fight for Kurdish self-rule, the PKK lured many to its cause in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye. For years, through intimidation, killings and bombings, it kept its grip on the Kurdish population.
Then, in September 2019, something rarely seen in the region happened. A group of mothers who had not heard from their children for years started a protest outside the offices of the HDP, which is known for its ties to the terrorist group. They claimed that the party staff helped the PKK to draw recruits.
Under the guise of participation in “festivals” and similar events organized by the HDP, Kurdish youth were brainwashed into joining the terrorist group.
The women’s simple protest in Diyarbakır soon grew into something more significant and eventually led to a lengthy sit-in strike.
The “children watch,” as they dubbed it, drew some 382 families, while fathers also joined the sit-in strike. It also gave birth to similar protests in other eastern provinces and, in one case, in Germany, where a mother launched a solo sit-in against the PKK’s abduction of her daughter.
The solidarity of families has drawn nationwide praise and shed light on the dark side of the terrorist group seeking legitimacy through the HDP. In about five years, some 60 families have been reunited with their children.
Some children, now in their 20s, fled the terrorist group when they became aware of the sit-in, while others were already planning to escape from the northern Iraqi hideouts of the group.
Türkiye has remorse laws in place for surrendering terrorists. In some cases, they can walk free if they were not involved in lethal terrorist attacks.
But for the rest, waiting prevails amid occasional visits by families reunited with their sons and daughters that boost their morale.
Mother Güzide Demir, who is protesting for her son Aziz, was firm as she declared the families would “not move an inch until our children return.”
“I have been away from my child for 19 Eids now. I want my child back,” she said.
Hatice Levent, who has been waiting for her daughter Fadime to return for 20 Eid holidays, said she hoped this Eid would be the one the families rejoice.
“Our Eids are always bittersweet. We pray our children will come back on this Eid so it will be a double holiday,” Süheyla Demir said.
Father Süleyman Aydın said he would continue keeping watch until his son Özkan returns.
“I cannot get any news from my son for 20 Eids now,” he said and called out to his son. “Özkan, my son, turn yourself into security forces.”
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