Roma, Pavee, Yeniche, Rudari. People who identify themselves as Gypsy or who are identified as Gypsy. Here is your web page
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Foto-Narration: The Abdals of Kocabaş Village 02/11/2010
I think the city as a heap of dust while i am going to Kocabaş Village. Residents of Democracy Neighbourhood already went to beet farm with sunrise. Best part of long ways is to let you make new friend, and let you be a part of the world owned to one who can see with the eye of the heart. There are too many roughness, dust and dangerous dogs on the way of the farm. When i arrived the farm, beets were waiting to be put on a bogie. "This job will continue at most one month, than we are hungry again" someone said. "What could we do with 15 liras (10 $ ) for a day? There is a long winter. Should we but coal or eat something?" He told about being forgetten with his eyes opened largish. Çeribaşı started speak. "1 beet is almost 1 kilos. We are working for 12 hours a day. We are both cutting and putting beets on bogies. We are also working as building workers whenever we find job."
I saw him at that time. He was listening conversation from the place where he sit. He was looking only one person with his eyes squinted with the effect of shining sun, his mother. "What is your name?" i asked. He hided his eyes from me. "Çınar, his name is Çınar." the mother answered my question. E... started to speak. "We are not able to collect scrap now. They wrote to other towns as "Scraps collectors can not join". We were working as scrap collectors for winters. Now we can't do it. So what should we do? Should we steal after now?" Everybody started to tell, issues started to make new issues to be spoken. I am glancing at Çınar. He is playing with box of Coca Cola. He is also listening conversations. "I have pneumonia illness. But i have to work. I have a green card (health card for uninsured people in Turkey). However there are more need than medicine. I have to eat also..." Noise of tractor coming to place where we are make our voices unaudible. We are waiting. "What did you say sister?" i am asking. "They will take green card off. So we have to die!" What could i say any more to this question haviny many puzzling... If there is clue, we could do something but...
"How poor is your situation
Is your rose fade in the garden?
Let' look for a solution
To our problem together, nightingale"
Bell of mobile phone of H... is ringing with a high sounds. It's a known melody of an Abdal singer, Neşet Ertaş. "We love Father Neşet" he says. People are close to cry with the effect of the sing... I am looking at Çınar and looking for a good reason to speak with him. However he is still hiding his eyes from me and playing with Cola box. How should i communicate with you Çınar while people living in prat of the world is important for nobody and you know everything...
"Let's make full this bogie and we can have a break for eating..." a girl said. Songs of Tarkan, who is a famous Roma singer, start to be singed by the girls and people are laughing. "Nothing changes if we cry. To laugh is better than crying." However problems are deeply derived from events happened in hundreds of years. "Let's help them, Çınar." There is no answer. Do you want take photos of your mother while she is working?" He smiled looking at my face, at the end. "Wellcome small man". He listened technical details and started to take photos. People ask. "Let's take my photos too". He looked at me. "Decision is yours" i answered. Than we started to work with others. "You shouldn't work, you should take our photos so we could be famous" We are laughing together. "Come again in wedding season, we will call you". "I hope so" i answered.
I am only thinking about Çınar while i am turning to Istanbul. His eyes squinted and his deep silence. And the moment he put his head to his mothers chest. Those are some moments gathered from surviving war of the residents of Democracy Neighbourhood. Some moments are shorts as seconds. Some moments are long as medieval age and everlasting...
