İSTANBUL - Her friend Sibel Güler, who defines Evrim Alataş as "the smile on the faces", said that Alataş, who cannot tolerate the language of victimization in journalism, brings a different perspective to women and rights-oriented journalism with her humorous aspect.

 

It has been 13 years since the writer, journalist, critic and screenwriter Evrim Alataş, who put a smile on the face of everyone who knew and started to know, passed away due to cancer. Alataş, who was born in Gölpınar village of Akçadağ district of Malatya on April 15, 1976, faced the persecution of the state at an early age, like every other Kurdish child. Alataş, who saw the true face of the state with oppression, detention and house raids, moved to Istanbul with her family after studying primary and secondary school in the village. Alataş, who worked here for a while in a textile workshop, started journalism in Yeni Politika Newspaper in 1994 when villages were evacuated and "unsolved" murders were experienced.

 

'FİNCAN HANIM'

 

Later, she worked as a reporter and editor in newspapers such as Demokrasi, Özgür Bakış and Ülkede Özgür Gündem, and also occasionally wrote columns for Evrensel, BirGün and Özgür Perakende newspapers. Alataş, who tells the lives and experiences of the Kurdish people in a satirical language with the "Fincan Hanım" column in Özgür Gündem Newspaper, has also published articles in many magazines, especially Esmer, Birikim, Amargi, Siyahi and Tiroj. She was closely interested in the Kurdish  Question and the problems of the Kurdish people in his column called "Kurts Valley" in Radikal İki Eki and Taraf newspaper. In her book titled “Meiosis Split Stories” published by Aram Publishing in 2003, she narrated the events in Kurdistan with tragicomic stories.

 

'MIN DİT'

 

Her book “The Shadow of Every Mountain Falls on the Sea” was published by İletişim Publishing in 2009. In this book, Alataş told about her uncle Teslim Töre, Mahir Çayan and Deniz Gezmiş, one of the leaders of the 68th generation, through the eyes of a child. She wrote the script for the feature film "Min Dît (I Saw)", about 3 children whose parents were murdered by JİTEM in Amed(Diyarbakır). The film was awarded the "Behlül Dal Best Story Award" at the 46th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Dedicating her award to Ceylan Önkol, who was killed by bombing in the Lice district of Amed on September 28, 2009, Alataş drew attention to the children killed by bombs at the ceremony.

 

Alataş, who lost her life in Amed on April 12, 2010 due to the cancer she was caught, was laid to rest in the land where she was born, as per her will. Just before she died, her book titled “We were the flower of this mountain” met the reader.

 

We talked to Sibel Güler, with whom she works at Özgür Gündem newspaper, on the occasion of the anniversary of her passing, about Alataş, who lives and makes life "laugh" as well as makes us think and act.

 

NEWS PERSPECTIVE

 

Stating that Alataş did not avoid news that could be considered "dangerous" for her even after she fell ill with cancer, Güler said: "After the murder of 14 PKK members with chemical weapons in Muş in March 2006, the actions started after the bodies of 6 PKK members were brought to Amed. No one could stop Evolution from watching the actions. I remember very clearly how we watched the news in that corner in Bağlar, despite the fatigue caused by the chemotherapy drug. When a reporter from the Dicle News Agency (DİHA) called while watching the protests of those people and said, "Sister Evrim seized the people's police station, the police station fell," it was not possible to hold Evrim at all. Although she was very weak, she went to the news agency, not home. I mean, she felt a great responsibility towards the readers for every news story about the Kurds.”

 

WOMEN AND HUMOR

 

Stating that she also frequently deals with newspaper distributors and listens to the problems they experience, Güler said, “They used to listen to the criticisms of the public from the newspaper distributors. This is an example of showing the bond she establishes with the reader and the responsibility she feels towards them. Evrim Alataş was a crying and victimized person who could not tolerate language. She believed that fighting another kind of language would be more effective. Which she was right about. Her humorous aspect was also a first for Özgür Gündem because Evrim Alataş is the person who brought women into existence in the field of humor in Özgür Gündem. Evrim is the first woman writer to write humor in Özgür Gündem. She was saying, 'Let's break the order as women with a little laugh.'

 

Referring to Alataş's "Fincan Hanım" column in Özgür Gündem, Güler said: "Fincan" is a woman who lives in Van and does not hesitate to express her opinion, and that's why she gave her column this name. Evrim means 'Humor is the weapon of the other. We should use this weapon by talking and explaining a lot like Fincan Hanım. As a matter of fact, these columns she started showed at the same time what hurt Kurds and women. The corner was loved. She made people laugh not only in the readers but wherever she worked because she had an intolerance to cry, aggrieved language. If you say Evrim to everyone whose life she touches, you will see Evrim as a 'smile' on their faces. Evrim is a smile on the faces of Kurdish journalists."

 

THE PLACE OF RESISTANCE

 

Noting that Alataş constantly uses the figure of "mountain" and gives a great meaning to this figure, Güler continued: "As in every Kurd, the mountain is a Kurd. The mountain is the only friend of the Kurd. It is the only place that creates Kurds and multiplies their existence; therefore, it has great meaning. The mountains have witnessed the oppression of the Kurds since the day she was born in that land, and she is also someone who has experienced that oppression; therefore, like every other Kurd, she is a person who gives meaning to the mountains as a place of resistance. For her, mountains are the place of resistance.”

 

MA / Mehmet Aslan