İstanbul municipality removes iron gates in Romani quarter: 'It was like Israel and Palestine'

Photo: Hacer Foggo / Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish

Pointing at an area where a private school is located, he says, "Look, our house was there."

We are walking around Sulukule with Sulukule Romanis' Association chair Şükrü Pündük.

Pündük (53) was born and raised in Sulukule, just as his father and grandfather. He always fought against what happened to the neighborhood. What happened to Sulukule is similar to all urban crimes that occurred under the name of "urban transformation."

Şükrü Pündük (Photos: Evrim Kepenek / bianet)

To summarize briefly, a decision by the Council of Ministers 15 years ago brought the end of Sulukule, which is now in memories.

In Fatih, İstanbul, houses, many of which were owned by the Romanis, were demolished one by one. "Luxury" villas were built instead. Typical, ordinary and nothing special, tied cottage-style villas...

Iron gates have been demolished

The Romanis have applied for legal remedies many times via their attorneys. Although a court canceled Fatih District Municipality's urban transformation decision in September 2019, the result has not changed because the buildings were already built.

Maybe because those who lived in the villas would be disturbed by the fact that the Romani citizens, who lost their homes because of them, were living in the neighborhood next to them, they applied to the municipality, which was run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the time.

About 10 years ago, 14 iron gates were built in the area between the villas and the area where the Romanis live.

Hacer Foggo from the Deep Poverty Network announced on Twitter on Tuesday (July 7) that the gates were demolished by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

The municipality said in a statement that the gates "blocking the natural path of the people of the neighborhood" were demolished by the municipal police.

"These days will be over one day..."

Thereupon, I went to Sulukule. I took a walk around the neighborhood with Pündük and then Mehmet Asım Hallac, a resident.

Both are pleased that municipality removed of the iron gates.

"We used to live here as 620 households. Family, neighbors, altogether... Then saying, 'We'll build new houses, we'll grant you a share too,' they demolished our houses. We fought a lot and failed. They built these houses, then erected these 14 gates in order for those who live in them not to be disturbed," says Pündük.

"620 houses were demolished, 650 houses were built. We didn't have a share. It's too expensive anyway. When they put the iron gate, it was like Israel and Palestine here. As if there were two different countries... We wouldn't be able to cross there although it was the place we had been running around. We are pleased that [the gates] have been demolished.

"Those who removed us from the places we lived despite the fact that we had deeds were disturbed by even us looking at the places where we used to live."

Pointing at the villas, he says, "In the area where the houses are located are our childhood, our fathers', grandfathers' labor."

"It turned out that we were right"

Mehmet Asım Hallac

Then we meet Mehmet Asım Hallac. "You may have heard that a verdict was given for the demolition of these places," he says, adding that they had been fighting for 15 years and won at the end, he adds.

"I also think that [the villas] will be demolished. They removed us from our neighborhood. Did they think they would live here happily? Thanks to İmamoğlu [Ekrem, İstanbul Mayor], he has come and these ugly structures have been removed.

"We have a curse on this neighborhood. I fought against those who built these villas. They even threatened to kill me. In the end, it turned out that we were right. The law is on our side. We are waiting for the day when these buildings will be demolished. We've heard that other projects are being considered here. This is our place. We have deeds from the Ottoman era. They should give this place to their owners." (EMK/VK)