DÎLOK - Mahmut Aycan, who was detained countless times and tortured many times in his struggle for identity, is fighting against cancer today. "If I could, I would still work today. I always wish I had worked a little more" Aycan said.

 

He was detained, tortured and arrested many times due to his Kurdish identity and political ideas. However, he did not give up his struggle for identity. Mahmut Aycan was born in 1954 in the Mizara Gir (Yatırtepe/Tepeli Mizar) neighborhood of Pirsûs (Suruç) district of Riha (Urfa-In southern Turkey, Kudistan), and started to struggle for identity before the coup of September 12, 1980. In 1977, he was detained in the district, arrested and released in 1979.

 

In 1980, he was detained on the grounds of "being a member of the PKK". He was detained in the building opposite Cebeci İş Hanı in Riha, one of the torture centers. He was released, but was detained again twice in 1982 and 1984.

 

CANNOT REMEMBER THE NUMBER OF DETENTIONS

 

The detention process in 1984 lasted 3 months: "They took me to Amed at that time. I was detained there and exposed to various tortures. Then I was released. During this period, we were going to Yozgat and Kırşehir intermittently during the summer months to collect sugar beets. I was detained several times during my visit to Yozgat. I was detained so many times that I don't remember the number."

 

Aycan's detention adventure did not end there. He was detained again in 1990 and remained in prison for 3 years. Although the dates of the detentions changed, the accusation did not change; "becoming a member of a terrorist organization."

 

Aycan, who still carries the traces of the torture he experienced in custody during the September 12 military coup, did not hold back from the fight despite the pressure and detentions he experienced. He lost one of his four children, Mustafa Aycan, in a conflict in 2000 after he joined the PKK. Today, Aycan lives in Dîlok with his 3 children. Aycan, who is currently fighting cancer, has only one problem: he thinks he "works less in the fight".

 

HE WAS TORTURED

 

Describing his life as "always spent in poverty, labor and imprisonment", Aycan said the following about his story: "In 1990, we had to leave Suruç and migrate to Osmaniye due to our debts. During that period, I had to go to Mersin. I was detained in Mersin in 1990. They were arrested me and taken to Diyarbakır. I was held in Diyarbakır Prison until 1993. I was tortured every time, but I never pushed back. I was subjected to many tortures, from strapado to rough beatings."

 

THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FROM HEP TO HDP

 

Stating that he was subjected to intense violence during his prison period to make him "betray", Aycan said, "Friendship meant very different things to us. They wanted us to betray those with whom we sat at the same table and slept under the same roof. I did not betray any of them. Because we had faith that we would build a free future."

 

Stating that he and his family settled in Dîlok in 1993 when he was released, Aycan said that he did not refrain from political activities in the process from the People's Labor Party (HEP) to the People's Democratic Party (HDP). Aycan, who was the manager of the Assistance, Solidarity, Unity and Culture Association with the Families Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations (MEBYA-DER) for a while, said: "I have been treated for cancer for 1 year. I have cancer and many other illnesses. If I could, I would start working today. I was not afraid even once during this process. I never wanted to leave my village. I used to water cotton in the morning and work in the evening. I never regret what I did, I am always proud. I just think that I worked less, I always wish I had worked a little more." 

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli