Şhafii Hayme spent most of his 70 year life in front of prison gates, being migrated, facing oppression. He carries some of the photos taken in prisons with him. Hayme who tells the stories of all of the photos one by one, shows that he was in the same prison with his 3 sons.

 

7 OF THE FAMILY OF 9 IMPRISONED

 

The only person who never saw the inside of a prison is their speech and hearing impaired son. The story of the family of 7 starts in Silvan. The family moves to Diyarbakır after their house was burned down by the rangers. Hayme said: "They gathered our clothes and food and burned them all. They were going to burn the barn too but luckily the animals ran when they opened the door. Nothing was left from our house. We had to migrate."

 

Hayme family whose house was constantly being raided was not free of the pressures even though they moved to Diyarbakır. Father Hayme who was taken into custody and got arrested in 1998, was released after a year of imprisonment. Father Hayme said: "I don't remember but it took almost a year. I was arrested again in 1999. I was held there for a while. I was arrested again later."

 

FATHER AND 4 SONS IN THE SAME PRISON

 

Hayme who was arrested for 6 months in 2007 and 1 and a half years in 2009, gets arrested again in 2010. But this time his sons was also arrested. 4 people from the same family was put in Diyarbakır Type D Closed Prison. Father Hayme says his two sons were finally able to see each other after 20 years because they were exiled to different prisons when they were arrested.

 

TWO CASCETS, TWO GRAVES, TWO WAKES

 

Hayme's daughter Şenay gets arrested in 2018 because she wrote a poem for Kurdish scholar Musa Anter. His youngest daughter Berivan loses her life in a clash with the soldiers. Father Hayme says he had to dig two graves and carry two cascets for his son Mehmet. Father Hayme said: "They gave me a body. They didn't let me look and identify the body. It turned out we buried someone else's son thinking he was our son. It was revealed when I learned that my son is still alive."

 

In 2008, the family recieved the news of the death of their son Mehmet again. Father Hayme buries the body next to the grave of the person he thought was his son. 3 months later, Hayme learns that his son is still alive, again. His son Mehmet who was told be have died twice, gets arrested in 2016 in Muş, Varto and sent to Bolu Prison. 

 

At present, Hayme lives with his 3 children and his wife, says they have financial problems but they have never submitted to oppression. 

 

 

MA / Arjin Dilek Öncel