JINHA

AMED – “We won’t give up the struggle against those who want silence our voice. We will continue to raise our people’s voice against pressure and the closure,” said the İMC TV correspondent Emgihan Gülmez, who had returned to the land where she had been forcibly displaced 23 years ago.

One of the journalists of the İMC TV, among the channels shut down within the scope of the Statutory Decree, Emgihan Gülmez had been forcibly displaced with her family from Batman’s Gercüş district when she was 17 days old. Emgihan, who had to move to Konya with her family, preferred to be journalist in order to raise the voice of people.

Emgihan has worked as journalist in Diyarbakır for more than one year and she told her story by saying, “I immigrated with my family; however my mother’s story began before that. My mother forced to immigrate from Mardin to Konya in 1980s. She met with my father in Konya and then she moved to my father’s home town Batman with my father. Our village was burned when I was 17 days old and they had to move to Konya again. I saw many things in 1990s; my mother was subjected to torture in front of me. My father was also subjected to torture for one month. I lived in Konya for 23 years despite everything. But I often missed my homeland and hometown.”

Emgihan stated that she wanted to be voice of her parent and people by being a journalist and continued: “I always wanted to return Diyarbakır and then I returned to my hometown; however, I experienced the same things that my parent faced in 1990s. The truth in this area has been wanted to be hidden. I wanted to work here in order to raise my parent and people voice and I will continue to do that whatever happens.”

Emgihan emphasized that their channel was shut down for reporting what is going on in the recently year and continued: “They cannot cover what they did to us; our duty is to bring them to light under all circumstances. As a journalist, I tried to do that. We saw how the people in Sur, Cizre and Nusaybin were forcibly displaced from their homes and how their homes were burned and blew down. I am happy to report all of these things by choosing this profession. As journalists, we will continue to raise the voice of people whatever happens.”

(mm/gc/gd)