"State's Duty to Protect Children in Mardin"

Following the massacre in Mardin, Bilge village where 44 people died, Social Services Workers' Association (SHU) chair Murat Altuğgil says the children who are left behind should stay with relatives to overcome the trauma they experience.

"Taking those children out of their livelihood and placing them under institutional care could cause another scar." He expressed that the state is responsible for making sure the children are protected and criticized the authorities and the media for neglecting their right to protection.

He holds the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education as well as the Social Services and Child Protection Department (SHÇEK) responsible. Yet, the newly appointed Minister of Education, Nimet Çubukçu stated that the children would be placed in regional pension schools. Among the 44 dead, six were children in Bilge village.

"The state institutions should protect the children's right to education, health services and first and foremost their right to life. What has happened can't be undermined to one specific cause, the feudal social structure in the region should be analyzed in order to determine possible action."

Altuğgil notes that there is a system of landlords in the region, which dates back centuries and it's not easy to take people out of it. "That's why placing children in regional pension schools won't provide a solution. The best thing to do is helping them normalize their lives in their livelihoods."

He also draws attention to media scrutiny over children. "Journalists, knowingly or not, abuse children's rights. Their identities are revealed in reports, media reinvent their pain and trauma again and again."(BÇ/AGÜ)