Meryem Sahin - Dismissed Teacher by Statutory Decree I was dismissed on September 1st by statutory decree #672. I think I was dismissed by “union” issue. I've been through difficult times past three years. If you ask which one was the harshest, I would say my family was destroyed in this period. I moved in another city. I felt more of my parents' absence.
I didn't even get a call from my close friends. For example, I served in Bursa for a long time. I had a friend I was very close with. I still expect a call from her. These circumstances had impact on me.
I found out my neighbor said, "she is a terrorist, this, and that." about me. I felt a knife in my heart that day.
“ My children are always innocent. Whether I'm a terrorist or I did wrong, my children should always be innocent in your face. You're a teacher. Please, never look at a child like this.” I left my kids with my neighbor one time. I heard that she said to that neighbor, “How do you take care of that woman's children? How quickly did you forget what happened on July 15th?” That affected me a lot. It may sound simple to many of you, but it broke my spirits. My pride was shattered.
I was taken into custody. A search was made offensively. The search was made unpleasantly. Your finger is printed, your picture is taken. Sounds like a joke. You're a teacher, you served this country for years. They come and search your house cruelly. They go as far as to look into your pots.
We have a lot of books. They looked inside the books page by page. For example, Oral Çalışlar had a book that I got during high school years. “Erbakan Gulen Fight”. That's the name of the book, if I'm not mistaken. The cops said, “Should we take this or not?” They had a moment of hesitation.
Tragicomic stuff like that. You know, the stuff we see in movies. Yes, we lived in that. "This book is harmful. This book should be taken, it should not be taken." We came into a world feared by the book. This is the 21st century, in the modern world. It was all story.
What kind of teacher was I? Let me just say this first. I graduated in 1999 from a religious vocational high school. I am one of those who witnessed the victimization of that time firsthand.
I meet a lot of people while looking for a job. “Should I express my identity or not? Should I say I'm a KHK person or not?” I live in this dilemma for so long. I go through the same questions while talking to my kids' teachers. I even think about it when I introduce myself to the neighbors in the apartment.
But I never ask, “Why me?” Because I have faith.
That's how I define myself. I lost my mother at a very early age, I lost my brother in a car accident. Then my dad got cancer and I lost him.
I think this is just a temporary period... This is a trial from Allah... I try to look at that way.
There's nothing more important than a clear conscience. You may be hungry, but if you have a clear conscience, you can sleep at night. We're going through hard things as KHK people. This is truly a genocide. No one can deny that. You can't get a job. You can't publicize yourself.
Unfortunately, there is incredible ignorance in people. They ask us questions, “Are you involved in the coup?” It's like a joke, but you're living it. There are people asking these questions.
I’m not sure if things will get better in the future. I'm investing in myself and my children at this period.
Labor is always sacred, but I was trained for teaching. I studied for four years. I worked hard and I had tough times. Suddenly, we found ourselves in an unrelated position. It pushes your limits. I really took what the kid said to heart.
No one has had it easy. Look at you for instance. You have become a judge. Another friend became a teacher. Another friend of mine was a soldier, a cop. Everyone worked their way up through blood, sweat, and tears. We are the special children of Anatolia. None of us went to private colleges. None of us had luxury bags on our sleeves. We didn't drive to school. We took pains, there were times that we waited for hours in scholarship lines. So, when people say, “What's wrong?”, I really don't understand. It's even so easy to lose your mental health. There are times when you're really overwhelmed! You don't have a penny in your pocket, you have children hungry or in need.
I've worked all these years, have career. Look at where we are, “I am accepting donation” and we are in that situation. It's really insulting.
Then I think, “Did I make a mistake?” No, I didn't make any mistakes either. Make a mistake and pay the price. We didn't make any mistakes as victims.
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