Itinerant salesperson Hamdi Toka, 35, died in Taksim

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Hamdi Toka was born in 1942 in the district of Gerze in Sinop. He was an itinerant salesperson who earned his money making and selling sandwiches.

On 1 May 1977, he went to Taksim Square to sell sandwiches, in the hope that the crowds there meant he would sell all the sandwiches in his basket that day. He was 35 years old when he died.

One-year-old daughter

According to the autopsy report, the cause of his death was mechanical asphyxia as a result of rib fractures from compression of the abdomen and chest. Hamdi Toka's grave is in the village of Başsökü in Gerze, where he was known as "Tokaoğlu", meaning "Son of Toka".

I was unable to interview Hamdi Toka's daughter, Ayşe Uysal, as she was only one year old when she lost her father. Thanks to Bülent Aydın, we managed to contact Hamdi Toka's nephew, Nedim Toka, and his paternal cousin, Ali Toka, through the former Mayor of Gerze, Osman Belovacıklı. Hamdi Toka's relatives spoke to us about his work, why he was in Taksim that day, and the difficulties they had even in claiming his body.

Nedim Toka, nephew, tells

I was seven years old when my uncle died, so I don't remember him very well. But I can tell you what I remember my dad saying about him.

I remember what he looked like. He was blind in one eye. When they were having a snowball fight as kids, someone put a stone in the snowball. The snowball hit my uncle in the eye and he lost sight in that eye.

He went to Istanbul in the 1970s. He worked in the Tophane neighbourhood. He'd take whatever work he could find.

Poverty

My uncle's family had a poor childhood. After my uncle got married he had to go away to earn money, he went to Istanbul.

He had a basket, he'd make sandwiches and put them in his basket to sell. That day he was again going to sell sandwiches but as luck would have it, death found him instead.

His brothers couldn't go to collect the body because of the roads. There were no roads back then in Gerze. A villager who happened to have the same last name claimed the body and brought it to the village. His grave is now in Başsökü Village.

My uncle was a very honest, kind person. He was nice to everyone, never upset anyone.

My dad died in 2007. He would have been able to tell you more about him. He really loved my uncle. And [after Hamdi's death] my dad's life was never the same as before.

The following months and years were a sad time for the whole family. But we didn't ask for help from anyone. And until today we've never spoken to anyone about it. When Mayor Osman called, I didn't turn you down.

Ali Toka, cousin, tells

He died in the crush in Taksim. I was in the village at the time, some villagers brought his body. We buried him here.

His daughter, Ayşe, was still in the cradle.

He was an itinerant worker. He'd work in construction, wherever, whatever job he could find. We didn't have any particular trade.

In those years he'd gone to Istanbul to find work. He was selling sandwiches that day, he thought there'd be a crowd and business would be good. How could he have known?

He died trying to earn a living

The villagers were really helpful about claiming the body. There were no roads at that time, they brought the body by tractor.

He was poor. Hamdi Abi was someone who minded his own business, just trying to get by.

He was one year older than me.

We didn't grow up together but sometimes we worked together. Once we worked together planting trees, that job took us a long time.

Like I said, we didn't have a trade. We never even went to school. We were workers, we'd take whatever job we could find. And as you know, he died while he was trying to earn a living. (TY/APA/SD)

This text was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union provided under Etkiniz EU Programme. Its contents are the sole responsibility of "IPS Communication Foundation" and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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