Waiting for justice amidst the remnants: urban development, displacement and resistance in Diyarbakir

This paper looks into the lives of displaced people and their material bonds with the past while waiting for justice during exceptional times in Diyarbakir, Turkey’s Kurdistan. Diyarbakir is known for its central location in the Kurdish conflict in Turkey for many decades. In August 2015, the old city of Diyarbakir called Sur joined other resisting cities and districts in the Kurdish region of Turkey, where Kurdish militants built barricades all around their controlled neighbourhoods against the state’s violent attacks and declared autonomy. Months after the beginning of the resistance, the Turkish state managed to take back control of Sur after heavy clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants. All the resisting neighbourhoods of Sur were razed to the ground, and close to 24,000 residents were displaced. Since then, a massive urban transformation project for Sur has been in the making. The everyday survival of the displaced people from Sur depends on the ways they negotiate with the state in a long process of waiting. Bringing together different accounts of waiting, I intend to shed light on temporal dimensions of forced displacement embedded in the remnants of the past and shaped by present history of subjugation and state violence. Cet article examine la vie des personnes déplacées et leurs liens concrets avec le passé, alors qu'elles attendent la justice dans des circonstances exceptionnels à Diyarbakir (au Kurdistan, Turquie). Diyarbakir est connue pour sa position centrale dans le conflit kurde en Turquie depuis plusieurs décennies. En août 2015, le quartier historique de Diyarbakir (connu sous le nom de Sur) a rejoint d'autres villes et quartiers en résistance dans la région kurde de Turquie, où les militants kurdes ont construit des barricades tout autour de leurs quartiers contrôlés. Ayant créé ces barrières contre les attaques violentes de l'État, ils ont déclaré leur autonomie. Plusieurs mois après le début de la résistance, l'État turc a réussi à reprendre le contrôle de Sur après de violents affrontements entre les forces de sécurité turques et les militants kurdes. Tous les quartiers résistants de Sur ont été rasés et près de 24 000 habitants ont été déplacés. Depuis lors, un projet massif de transformation urbaine de Sur est en cours d'élaboration. La survie quotidienne des déplacés de Sur dépend de la manière dont ils négocient avec l'État au cours d’un long processus d'attente. En rassemblant différents récits d'attente, je mets en lumière dans cet essai les dimensions temporelles du déplacement forcé. Celles qui sont ancrées dans les vestiges du passé et façonnées par l'histoire actuelle de l'assujettissement et de la violence d'État. Hasan’s11 All names of the people mentioned in this paper are pseudonyms. family is among thousands of families that were displaced from their homes in Sur, the old city of Diyarbakir,22 Sur is one of four districts of the city of Diyarbakir. The interior part of Sur district that is surrounded by a historical fortress is called Suriçi. after the urban armed clashes between Kurdish militants and the Turkish security forces started in their neighbourhoods in November 2015. Their new apartment, where Hasan with his wife and their two children had resettled, was only 10 minutes’ walking distance from their old neighbourhood, which had been obliterated and they could not visit. The last time Hasan and his wife were at their old house was in March 2016, when the round-the-clock military curfew was lifted on Sur for only a day for the people to collect whatever remained from their houses. When I first met him, Hasan showed me some pictures and videos on his phone that he took during that very last visit. Their house had partially burned down, and most of their furniture was destroyed. ‘Not much was left’, Hasan said. But they still took all they could anyway. The first time I visited Hasan’s family, he was impatient to show me a room where he stored their furniture from their old house in Sur. As soon as I got to their apartment, he insisted that I should first see that room and then we could chat and have tea. He led me into a room full of dusty household items: a fridge with its door detached from it and kept on its side; a stove and a gas cylinder; a large brown wooden cabinet unit with shattered glass doors; a toddler’s bed filled with pillows of different sizes and colours; a queen bed on which carpets, mattresses, duvets, blankets, and sheets were stacked; a big electric heater with broken heating bars; a few household items and two large cardboard boxes on the floor; a tall round vase with discoloured plastic flowers; a large flat-screen TV; a few white plastic chairs; a white desk with a computer case on top of it; and beside the case, an old computer monitor with a hole right in the middle of its broken screen. My eyes were locked to that screen for a few moments, and Hasan was quick to notice. ‘They shot at the screen. The bullet must still be inside’, Hasan said. ‘Do you know whose bullet?’ I asked him, and he responded with conviction ‘of course, I know’. Hasan told me that he has carefully documented these items from their old house. ‘All of these are of they have to I with a time when at as Hasan for some of the and mattresses, they of the items stored in this in that room had a to be Hasan and many displaced families that I met in Diyarbakir were in a state of not their during the exceptional times that Turkey, and Diyarbakir, was were in and to with of their and other they were to and in by while they had to time in their in to the they The many of waiting that their with the state were embedded in everyday waiting for the of the curfew and to old for of their and they had for the of their at for in other that they for to a a for for a they could for their to a for a that could a in their for a that could be and at close to they had in the and for justice in a time that The waiting Hasan and other displaced families lives is shaped by a past that in different of and The of a past in the everyday material in which these displaced families the that they they are This paper around this and the of displacement in the lives of the displaced people in Diyarbakir during the times of waiting. I that the of justice is the that waiting for the the displaced is filled and with the bonds they with the of the past the one these remnants of material a past that is and the they are on to they as for the when the is that justice be This paper looks at the remnants of Sur and of displacement from a into and around to the process of as a project that to and that in the is the at the of and the people with and in which in to to the to the and to the shattered around looks at around the and its on the people with I that in a project of displacement material bonds an that not and as it is by of the that is and My is to see the homes of displaced people in Diyarbakir for and they has remained for in their displaced times as from a destroyed. I these of the displacement into the of the present time and their waiting for justice in a they the displaced people and to the remnants of a past not and homes not and they are these between and by at in is in their with the is as that is to be for its and is as The material of Sur I examine are as the of of the in the displaced their of is by of the that of Sur have a during a time in waiting. I waiting as an that the of The of is in their and as in the case of a from to the past and to on the to the time and of that I remnants of Sur all these in their of But I that all these remnants are to and to a are kept for a time they are for the time of justice and to their a is the that the displaced The that I examine in this paper are of different and I with the of a that a that But it for a history of and against people in an have to a city in that was by its and and a for of different and a that has been of the city in the process of But many in and in The of the of Diyarbakir other around a to broken household of Hasan and other remnants of Sur in the lives of I different of in Diyarbakir. is to that in this paper are I the of and waiting in in I first met Hasan in was during the last of in Diyarbakir for This was one of the most times in the history of the Turkish a few had the of 2016, and the was in the state of for was the in the in Diyarbakir the had started the Diyarbakir had been times a the In the of 2015, many neighbourhoods in Sur joined resisting cities and districts in the Kurdish region in where the Kurdish militants had built barricades around their controlled neighbourhoods against the state’s attacks on their curfew against Sur, which is still partially in November this part of Diyarbakir from the Months after the beginning of the resistance, the state managed to take back control of this district after heavy clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants. neighbourhoods were to a by displaced and Sur right to close to 24,000 residents of Sur were were and a of were In March 2016, urban clashes in Diyarbakir, the Turkish an to most in Sur. Since then, an urban project for Sur has been in the the district of Sur for historical and in to it Hasan’s family and other displaced families were in a of that was not only by their displacement temporal that their survival as they were with the state on the and for the of to their old to their and for of they had were in a long process of waiting which many in their and in their of their with the state are not in the ways that are by the In different and of take in this process of waiting, which are by the of displacement and a history of subjugation and state violence. of I met in against a process by the state that is on a much of they had were to in Sur. justice in a and process that could take a was the and that many had and Hasan’s to collect of his family had been was in for this people is the part of the is not and to in time is when it to where position in and the and of waiting. As in his of waiting among urban for in is and are in waiting time that are and to is in this of waiting time and the to one that is and of the the of in which history is for the of In the case of Diyarbakir, waiting is embedded in many of state and they for a justice to they as the of the they are as of waiting where one is not waiting for waiting for to As in the case of displaced in of displacement their lives in a present and at a where they not to a they which in the past and is by the and lives they were forced to The of waiting in are not from the justice for the and in the Turkish The Kurdish led by the has been on the The an armed in and Turkish military in the Kurdish region in have the in in the and a people were displaced in the Kurdish region central location in the Kurdish region of Turkey it a city for of thousands of displaced from to close to in a and The declared a in its was This with many and was by to the in Kurdistan. in after the a for a in Kurdish with the of urban of and Since the in Turkey and the of the in the of the Kurdish region and most Diyarbakir a have been of the Kurdish in the region an for the Kurdish to their new of a Kurdish in the Kurdish region on of and Diyarbakir has been in the of this urban in the Kurdish The historical that Diyarbakir has among the has this city an of the for The Turkish state has been to and the Kurdish in this as of the and in the Kurdish and of urban in Diyarbakir by the and in Kurdish has the of the urban in Kurdish and the the city has in in the last two decades. The of and the process this In a to an to the in the of between the Turkish and the was with an violent in 2015. In in 2015, the a by of and for the first time the The its after a at the Kurdish the Turkish the a of and and the state violence against Kurdish and an In the of 2015, Kurdish militants started a of neighbourhoods and districts in different cities of against violent and attacks by the Turkish security forces against their neighbourhoods and of This was called In Diyarbakir, neighbourhoods of the part of Sur and took part in this round-the-clock were declared against these urban of resistance, and Turkish security forces started a against The military in was by the of the of 2016, the against the Kurdish in and of Kurdish city of and of were were by and of between and and Kurdish were In a of a few had in urban was are many of violent to be told Diyarbakir, of and that their remnants from be from the of Sur. As of March of Sur where took to be curfew the that only was from and a very few of the city from by on on their in of Diyarbakir have been the only the of in Sur. for a few historical the of the part of Sur was destroyed. In many historical of Sur were and Sur is surrounded by called Diyarbakir most of which have and with the beside its on the of the were on in the of 2015. is the part of Sur that is from the by is where old and historical and where the of the first Kurdish after the of the Turkish was in in known as of Diyarbakir. the of is where the is The urban started from this part of Sur in a project called the and in by the of and This is the in of Sur. When I first visited Diyarbakir in an surrounded this that has is right of a with this some the were and into for the Diyarbakir and other In the of the to the I visited this a few after the The to was and the of security forces from the had the and most of the people were to the fortress to see the Sur on the other of the the of Sur from The part of Sur on top of the was the where curfew was in I the and on top of the The and on its were at the of the of the all I could see was with some and among the historical and some on top of the were all at the and you could and few of from the of were still in I an old on the of the the and his back to the built He was still and with a in his between his I told he must be an old of Sur, and he have to me he was I beside and a he a few of he his to a with on its top house was right This is he said. I asked some and his his was only that of is I He responded and a few it is to to at of My to from He told me he has been waiting to see to his house after they and the of he to where he was and looks at his He he only to have a around it by after this the to the with and security forces after the from to to on top of the and at the other The old was not from where we were it was his most of a the in the city that was exceptional of the state of it was in an that in between time and all in a conflict could in be a to a past that the old was not a past that was from the of the and the few remnants of it were The in Diyarbakir in the old city on from it is to many the of and in different on their are in this is one of the of many old in the old the central you with and from the of from the that old from Sur, I was to the the many in the and a few times in with I asked are in of one had a I the history the of a past of a city that is to of are for and Diyarbakir was an of on the was a by and residents of the In the last the of the and in Diyarbakir was one of where the of and took for a few they in Diyarbakir and in its are new by the to the in Diyarbakir to all around the the of Diyarbakir, the to Sur and one of and in Sur on their The had all the and it and the state of after the of was the it could to of against its In Diyarbakir, the in the started to and of the Kurdish in the city that remained from the and the Turkish state’s to its and of Diyarbakir and Sur. The new Sur was from were all around the city is an by when they Sur, in the of was on one of these the then with the of a of the new Sur videos for urban transformation project were on Turkish during of the Sur and families walking around and children with different and on were all this new Sur was a in the to Sur into an of its and for the Kurdish the in the city was of and I to was in one in a of were against by the of their for the Kurdish after the of Sur in March 2016, a of and a in Diyarbakir and a case against this on of of Sur at the The case was and the case to be which the All were at the and at the called the Turkish of this these could to the of a process that take to be the was the and the could against the the of it be this case was only against the the process by family for their right to to their homes and for of their took was where many displaced families to a that was to Hasan was not with he could his the Turkish some other displaced families from Sur, he was a from the his case for the of his in Sur was He was told that the of his in Sur was Turkish after Turkish in The four to all the displaced in Sur. to be with the of their to their to a on an in one of the built by in Turkey and be for some to the for the In the of built in Diyarbakir could be between to and on location and other to for the urban project in Sur to and for one of the built houses. In this case, they a with their and some to for the He was told that the of the new be between and to times they for their of the displaced families I met be to for they could they after their the was to their house in Sur to the urban location and must the and for it they to the of their old In this case, the of be many times displaced families could Hasan’s in Sur was only and its was with much He first had to of his part in the of the and the curfew and had the of his with the very He was told at the that a was to be built in of their in the the and were not to He told me he the other two after the He was a of the first and was asked to he to He was for his which he as He that their was much the process for which he had He had other families to he not know to He that he should take pictures of he had and as for the time is for his He of displaced people from the a process for of they had had a in their for Hasan had and kept household he could take from their house in Sur. was not Hasan and displaced families were many I met were not the during the state of were different to the process that were In of the process was The was in with the displaced families of Sur from the where urban clashes to a from the Turkish of the of families had for their and This was a to a by mentioned and it a of to the for the displaced families of Sur. to this the for these was on an article to on the of that to and the against The was in to had material of the in between the Turkish and the in the as a to thousands of against the Turkish state in the of were this and a were for was this after This and its in the region is that is the of this In the the of Sur, only were for and thousands of residents in were from this were in the by the clashes could only for their furniture and Sur was the that they took after their displacement from their in the is to that many families in Sur in that is with other are very the and after the of displaced Kurdish to Diyarbakir, were to to for was much other in Diyarbakir, were and was families and and survival was a displacement and to to the residents of Sur is of their of survival and of the families I met that was with the process was an was a in his family had been different of and In the of the and of the his family from in the Kurdish region of to the of a city of Diyarbakir. started a and for decades. In the their was among many that was and and family was from the many thousands of displaced they to to Diyarbakir. soon managed to back on his and started a He some in Sur and for with many people in their neighbourhood, his family was after the urban clashes they had to their house and in it had a case to justice after the displacement from their in case was for He was very by the process and the of the not only in of the they this of with had state violence. This all that in the on the of the and had to an with the this in to their many I was not the of the it to He told me that he had other they that it was with they had The for him, and many was still and to that As this not between the state and Kurdish it was by the state its in the region and to its and the of as the and the of I visited and his family in their while I was in Diyarbakir. I was for at house. asked his to show me their house on I they have a of their I was took the control of the in his the to and on a called to that has a with The that it had from Diyarbakir were and one could and some of the and of Sur by they were on an from the of a house and told me this was their house. started me all his house and big it his neighbourhood, the beside their house and its the people in their in that and the history of a whose could be by the of their was around the one of the of their house wife asked to was a in of the to the and is the of and the is of the room and back with the in still have and a few of in the that they had many screen from these in case they are from the was a of of their in Sur and other to the new urban He was the four which he all whatever they I justice it he had the for their and he was to of his with the he was the and and he to take his all the to the of I have house I it into a with a for and I to by house. I not I see that the urban displaced people in Diyarbakir, of are shaped the of the state’s where are to forced In Diyarbakir, between the displaced people and the remnants of in Sur bonds and that remnants have an that a history of violence on the of Sur. displaced from Sur, these are to their The the displaced people with are to their everyday waiting for a and for the time when justice be of waiting in have been by a history of and against the and for the Kurdish and have been for in Diyarbakir. after of the Turkish state to its in the Kurdish This has As in of the of by of the of the to the of between it and the was for in Diyarbakir to the all around the city the urban project in Sur. the displaced these were of their present and a that was to be built on their houses. The of the displaced people of Sur in their new displaced lives is in to the of their household pictures of their of in their old of the very of their that be they not and a that a are of their and and and and of waiting The is that one day justice be the of the is I many times from different people in Diyarbakir that is to is to has the for the of the present in which not to and The and to all of in Diyarbakir their to me and their of displacement with me for this The to and in for their on of this The for this article was by from the and of of at the of and of at the of

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