ŞIRNAK/HAKKARİ - Ranchers who were kept from ranching due to the military operations of Turkey are looking for places to graze their animals.
With the heat of the summer, ranchers set off to the uplands to graze the animals in Şırnak and Hakkari. In Hakkari and Şırnak, where the winter is rough, animals have started to be taken to the highlands. One of the plateaus ranchers set up their tents in, is is the Feraşin Plateau at an altitude of 2,625 in the rural area of Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak. Ranchers are coming from surrounding cities to the Feraşin Plateau.
THEY SET THEIR TENTS IN THEIR VILLAGE, ONCE SET ON FIRE BY TURKISH SOLDIERS
Bahar Borak (67), who came to Feraşin from Van, stated that the place where they set up their tent was the village of Akarsu (Tengaxanê), which was set un fire by the Turkish soldiers and emptied in 1994. Stating that it was their village, Borak noted that they were forced into migration due to the destruction of the village and had to settle in Van. Borak said: "After staying in Beytüşşebap for 2 years, we went to Van. They tortured my wife before they set our village on fire. They raided the houses after she was released. They burned down our house. We barely got out with our lives. We had gone through very difficult days when we left our village. We had to get out of there, but we never stopped missing our village and never gave up on our lands."
Stating that they used to come to the village to graze their animals in the spring, Borak said: "For a time entering our village was banned by the state. We weren't able to come here. This year we were able to come here very late due to the military operations of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). I love it here. I will never give up on our village until I die. This is our land."