Those who know Deniz Poyraz talk about her: There was no one who didn’t love her

* Photos: Gamze Deniz

Click to read the article in Turkish

Turkey heard her name after the armed attack carried out against the İzmir office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on June 17.

Deniz Poyraz was the eldest child of a nine-child family from Mardin. As her mother, a worker and a member of the party, had undergone a surgical operation on her hand, she went to the HDP İzmir office in her place that day. While she was having her breakfast with olives and tomatoes, assailant Onur Gencer broke in and massacred Deniz with six bullets.

Deniz Poyraz was born in Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir in 1983. She was the child of a Kurdish family. Shortly after her birth, the family went back to the southeastern province of Mardin.

While she was still a child, soldiers raided their house several times, her parents were held in detention for days, they were tortured. Her father was arrested in the meanwhile, he was behind bars for a long time.

Raids, arrests, detentions... Then came the migration back to İzmir. Deniz was 12 years old at that time.

After they settled in İzmir, she could not continue her education because of poverty.

She was the eldest child of the house, she made so many sacrifices so that her siblings could continue their education. She dropped out of school and started working at a textile workshop. She worked in textile for a long time.

She did several jobs; she was a sales assistant for some time, then a secretary. She had been unemployed for the past year. She was preparing to get married. Their rings had been bought. The families were going to meet on Friday and the two would exchange rings.

It has been interrupted.

Her three siblings were in prison. Her father was a house painter at construction sites. He would sell bagels when he didn't have a job.

Her father had also been unemployed for a long time, like Deniz. The mother was sustaining the family.

Let's hear the rest of the story from the ones who know Deniz Poyraz, from those who touched her life...

'She was still holding her fork...'

Gamze Deniz is the cousin, sister and friend of Deniz Poyraz, they grew up together. "She was older than me, she raised us," she says:

"Deniz was a very naive person; she was very calm and always smiling. Her presence would give you peace. She would always speak calmly; she was always the peacemaker, she was always the one resolving problems. She wouldn't hurt anybody.

"She was very keen on her family, she was also very active. For this reason, she had not thought of marriage for years. Recently, there was a person as nice as her in her life. They were going to marry. In fact, there would be a ceremony next Friday, when his family would ask for her hand in marriage. We were making plans and preparations, even the rings had been bought.

"She was thinking of preparing her wedding dress herself. While we are talking and thinking about this, we are now receiving condolences. We are shocked. It is as if she went somewhere and would come back soon, as if she would walk through the door any minute... We still don't believe it.

"My maternal aunt had a surgical operation on her hand. Deniz couldn't bring herself to let her go to work in that state and she went there herself that day. She went to do the dishes and cleaning. They had always been there. There was a meeting that day. The meeting had been cancelled. There were three others at that moment. Right after they left, the assailant came.

"Deniz was apparently having breakfast.

"In a place where there is a police station, where the police set up a tent across the street, the assailant came with a bag and a long-barrelled gun in his hand and carried out a massacre.

"The gun is not a small gun, it is not a gun that can be hidden. He opens the door by shooting at it. He shot Deniz in her legs and head, she shot around. There were 35 bullets inside.

"She had her fork in her hand while she was lying on the floor, soaked in blood. Her eyes were open.

"He threw gasoline at the door and set it on fire; he removed the mats on the floor and put them beside Deniz. He threw gasoline on them as well. He wanted to burn after he had shot at Deniz.

"He did all these things, he fired 35 shots, but the police did nothing. They prevented the ones who heard the gunshots and wanted to go inside. They said, 'There is a conflict inside, we are waiting for steel vests.

'All Deniz wanted was peace...'

"They just waited there. The murderer just came downstairs. There were no handcuffs or something. They took him away, taking his arm and asking him, 'What is your name brother, where do you live?'

"Our house would be raided for no reason everyday. We are handcuffed behind the back, forced to lie on the ground and taken into custody.

"But they did not even handcuff the one who carried out a massacre. There might have been 40 people. 40 people might have died. But my Deniz has become the hero of 40 people. No one should forget this.

"There are so many police officers there and how couldn't they see this man? How couldn't they see him with the bag in his hand? This person was chosen and sent there.

"Deniz would never differentiate between Kurds and Tıurks. What Deniz always wanted was peace. She always defended peoples' solidarity, she always defended that peoples' be brothers and sisters.

"Now, those who declare us and Deniz terrorists must be ashamed. There was no one who didn't love Deniz.

"She was very pure-hearted, always smiling. She used to play the violin, she took up painting. She loved arts."

Election campaign for Selahattin Demirtaş in 2018. They show the peace sign to the poster of Selahattin Demirtaş in front of the Karşıyaka HDP District Organization. Serpil Kemalbay, Deniz Poyraz and party members. Photo: Serpil Kemalbay

'I cannot imagine an HDP İzmir without Deniz'

HDP İzmir MP Serpil Kemalbay says, "Deniz was a very active member of the party" and adds:

"It has always been stated, but you would always see the smiling face of Deniz, you would see her teeth all the time.

"When you said 'İzmir province', Deniz would come to your mind. I cannot imagine an İzmir HDP without Deniz. Deniz would be everywhere, from the protest demonstrations on the street to the elections. She was especially taking part in women's works. She was always with Peace Mothers.

"Deniz was very self-giving. She was a person walking alongside other cultures and peoples while trying to keep her culture and language alive. Women's struggle was her priority. Peace Mothers were very important for her. Deniz was a woman who wished for peace and struggled for it."

'Deniz was in every protest'

Hayat İzgi, the HDP Konak District Co-Chair, knows Deniz since her childhood. İzgi says Deniz had been involved in party works since a very young age, briefly sharing the following with bianet:

"Deniz was a very decent person, she was very well-intentioned. They were engaged in party work as a family. Her parents were detained several times. Her mother was detained and tortured even when she was pregnant.

"Her four siblings were in prison, one of them was released last year. Her three siblings are still in prison. One of them has been given a life sentence. We worked together with Deniz on several occasions, we were held in detention together for a week.

"As she was small and thin, I said, 'She has not yet turned 18.' I said, 'Release her, she is not old enough.' She objected, saying, 'I am older than 18.' I angrily asked her, 'Why did you say that? They would leave you.' Deniz was calm but very resilient. There was this embracing side to her. Deniz was definitely in every protest demonstration." (RT/SD)