Kurdish writer Mehmed Uzun spent much of his life in exile in Sweden. When he found out that he had cancer, and the Swedish doctors told him he had one week left to life, he decided to die in his country of origin.

"Let me die in my country"

“If I die, let me die in my country,” he said, and moved back to Diyarbakır, in the southeast of Turkey. Although he was so weak that it was unclear whether he would even survive the journey, he lived another 15 months. Thousands of people welcomed him at the airport.

Mehmed Uzun eventually died on 11 October 2007. 30,000 people attended his funeral. Writer Yaşar Kemal remembers the funeral thus:

“When I got up to speak at the funeral, there were at least twenty thousand people. I said suddenly, ‘Let them learn the respect for writers from you…let the Turks learn it. We grew up with oppression. We were brought up with oppression by the state. Look at this crowd: Literature is a value. Art is a great value. We have to take care of it. You have taken care of it. I have come here to thank you. Seeing your love for your writer has given me great happiness.’ Then I continued with my prepared speech.”

A book for future generations

Writer Şeyhmus Diken has now published a book of information about the writer and memories of his last 15 months. The 570-page book, entitled “Exile of a Life without Decline” (“Zevalsız Ömrün Sürgünü”), has been published by Lis Publications.

Yaşar Kemal wrote in the introduction, “He was a wonderful man, a wonderful writer” and added: “In this careful effort, Şeyhmus Diken has written about Mehmed’s last days nearly in the style of a documentary. During his illness he was always with him. This work is very important in terms of telling a new generation about writers and artists.”

The book is not limited to Diken’s memoirs. It has been enriched with articles by writers, artists and intellectuals, who visited him during his illness, or, in some cases, who could not come to visit. In addition, a selection of messages from readers and fans, some of them from prison, has been put in the book, as well as photos from his time in Diyarbakır. (SÇ/BÇ/AG)