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It's not a Maritime in The Bosphorus; a Shed in Bakkalköy 29/09/2009

Yuksel Dum and his family had their formal land allocation certificate belonging to their in Kucuk Bakkalkoy. However, during the Urban Transformation Project in 2006, their house was destroyed mistakenly. Dum says that after being left homeless they constructed a shed on the same land they used to have their house once. But it seems very difficult to keep survive in the conditions that they face now.

“The Roman Neighbourhood” in Kucukbakkalkoy of which a large part was destroyed during the Urban Transformation Project is now almost completely empty. Now there are concrete remains everywhere that used to ring with the joy of children`s voices previously. We met Yuksel Dum there, who tried to hold on to life through his small plant house he established with limited opportunities in his own land. Mr Dum is now living with 18 family members under very difficult conditions in the shed he himself established.

Dum said that his house was destroyed in 19.07.2006 sharing the same faith with the other houses around, although he had his formal land allocation certificate. He said although he was guaranteed compensation for the damage made mistakenly, he did not receive anything afterwards.

Moreover, a notification he has recently received asked him to buy the land and house again which he was already given after the reconstruction amnesty. And because of the amount he is required to pay in order to buy the land and house again is so high that Mr Dum is missing sleep for days now.

Mr Dum claims that the amount that was required for the house in 2008 was 27,009,78 TL and he is in a position to prove this through a formal document. He says that he has 475 square meters land in total, including his father`s land and adds: “They estimated 2,150,00 Turkish Liras for a square meter of my house. It is impossible for us to pay that amount.” If the fair price of the land mentioned in the related document is confirmed, then Mr Dum will have to pay this amount which goes up to million Turkish Liras to buy again his own shed. But it seems impossible for him to pay this as he is making a living out of selling flowers in the streets. Mr Dum asks: “Is this a maritime in Bogaz or a shed in Bakkalkoy?”

Yuksel Dum wishes to live with his family and keep up with his work where he was born. Dum says that he is determined to seeks his rights in the legal platform

PS: To contact and support Yüksel Dum you can send an email to cingeneyiz@yahoo.com