Şehriban Aslan/JINHA

AMED - Halil Tüzülerk was killed by state forces in the Sur district of Diyarbakır as he was feeding the pigeons on the roof. "The state forced us to leave Sur and then [state housing]. They say they 'help' the people. However, they don't help us. They just killed my husband," said Halil's wife Hülya Tüzülerk.

For 56 days, state forces have continued the blockade and attacks on the Sur district of Diyarbakır. Halil Tüzülerk (27) was shot and killed on Hacı Nuri street in the Fatihpaşa neighborhood of Sur on October 10 by state forces while he was feeding pigeons on the roof. Halil's body remained on the roof for an entire day. His family couldn't retrieve his body due to the attacks. Halil's wife Hülya Tüzülerk (24) said, "My husband went to the roof to feed his pigeons every day at 5 a.m. We didn't know a curfew had been declared. He went to the roof at 5:00 a.m. to feed his pigeons as usual. I heard gunshots and tried to go to the roof, but I couldn't because police opened fire on me. His body remained on the roof for one day. We couldn't retrieve his body. Do the Kurds deserve this?

"Police told us, 'Go to the roof and check if the bullet is there.' We went up, but we couldn't find any bullets. Then we learned that the bullet was in my husband's kidney. They took out the bullet during the autopsy in the hospital."

Hülya said they were forced to leave Sur.

"We stayed in a rented house in Sur. We had to leave Sur when the conflicts intensified. We rented a house in TOKİ [state housing] and moved to this house. However, several people came to our house from Social Security and they told us that we had to leave our house because renting a house in TOKI is forbidden. We had to return to Sur again in cold weather. I have a four-month baby and three children.

"The state says they 'help' the people. How do they help us? First they forced us to leave the district by declaring 24-hour curfew, and then TOKİ. We have just a few blankets. I put them on my children and my mother in law. I'm freezing, so I can't sleep at night. However, I still have to, despite the difficulty I am living in. I will never give up to hope."

(tt/gc/gd)