Water and Conscience Watch on its 15th Day: 'There is Freedom Wherever You Are'
As the gold excavation works of Alamos Gold company continue destructing nature, the local community and environmental activists have been standing watch in the region for 15 days. We are reporting from Çanakkale.
Today marks the 15th day of Water and Conscience Watch in İda Mountains. As of 10 p.m. yesterday (August 8), everyone completed their daily walk to the mining site of Alamos Gold and came back to the camping area.
Camping areas are divided among the villages here, they have me as a guest in the Village of Diren, which means "Resist" in Turkish. They provide me with portable electricity so that I can write my news.
In the darkness, someone from the neighboring camps shouts, "Ida Mountainsss". And the other camps answer: "Ida Mountainsss", which is now a routine exclamation of the watch.
The watch has got more crowded after the "Great Water and Conscience Meeting" on August 5. There are now around 200 tents and over 500 volunteers at the watch in Ida Mountains.
Tea Lobby and its biscuits
When I go inside, I am greeted by the Tea Lobby and Kadir. Kadir offers tea, water and biscuits provided by the volunteers to everyone.
Kadir says that he is from Çanakkale and adds, "A new group comes everyday and it makes us very happy. We offer what everyone brings to everyone. A new group with motorcycles will join us at the weekend. Our door is open to everyone who wants to come to Ida Mountains."
'There is Freedom Wherever You are'
The Summer School students of People's Houses were among the ones who came to the camping area to support the watch.
Coming to the watch with their colorful banners after school, the students first sing children's songs, then make kites.
Time to walk: It is just the beginning
While the children are making their kites, we hit the road with the group taking their daily walk to the mining site. All through the 30-minute walk, the group chant the slogans, "It is just the beginning, our struggle will continue" and "Gold company, leave the Mount Ida".
The ones keeping the "Water and Conscience Watch" in Ida Mountains walk to the mining site with slogans at 7 in the morning and at 7.30 in the evening. Attending yesterday's walk, Çanakkale Deputy Mayor and Agricultural Engineer İrfan Mutluay gave information about the functioning of the mine.
Önder Yılman from the walking group reminds us, "Friends, we have protested in a peaceful manner to this day. Our problem is not with our laborer friends there. Let's display the same attention today".
When we we reach the mining site of Alamos Gold company, we see that the area which was a forestland not long ago is now dug up. The workers standing behind the wire fence listen to the slogans in silence.
'Soil is stripped and dug up, destruction continues'
"It used to be a forestland, but now the trees on it have been cut down, the soil has been stripped and dug up. The destruction continues", says Çanakkale Deputy Mayor İrfan Mutluay and continues as follows:
"We have tried everything to make it stop. Both the Provincial Municipality of Çanakkale and environmental and professional organizations have tried all legal means. The villages in Ida Mountains have also been informed one by one.
"They will dig this place up, they will open a hellhole here. They will dig up 72 million tons and around 26 tons of it is ore.
"They will grind this ore, lay it as layers and spray dilute cyanide on them. Around 15 million tons will be extracted and they will create a waste dam with cyanide-contaminated material (it is, of course, mixed with water) left behind.
'Apart from cyanide, metals will come to our table'
"Our expert friends say that it will require a dam of around 50 million cubic meters. That dam will affect the rear basin. And it will mix with the cyanide-contaminated soil.
"Not only cyanide, but several toxic metals will pour on us during the operation of the mine as well as in the years to come.
"Heavy metals have a toxic impact on plants, they will both come to our table and affect the agricultural production here.
"They will come back to us as health problems. We have tried all legal means, we have started the water and conscience watch. It is growing with your support. What we want to do is to make people see it."
While we are trying to stomach what we hear about the mine, that is all for today. We will continue reporting on information about the mining site and the people at the watch. (PT/SD)
bianet dış haberler ve iklim krizi editörü. Habertürk ve Vatan gazetelerinde muhabirlik ve politika editörlüğü yaptı. Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Radyo, TV ve Sinema Bölümü mezunu....
bianet dış haberler ve iklim krizi editörü. Habertürk ve Vatan gazetelerinde muhabirlik ve politika editörlüğü yaptı. Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Radyo, TV ve Sinema Bölümü mezunu.
Doctors treating Sırrı Süreyya Önder, deputy speaker of the parliament and a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, have reported that his neurological condition is deteriorating.
Önder suffered cardiac arrest due to torn aorta at his home in İstanbul on the night of Apr 15 and has been receiving intensive care at Florence Nightingale Hospital in Şişli district since then.
After nearly two weeks of treatment, Önder's life-threatening condition is now progressively worsening, said Prof. Çavlan Çiftçi, head of the hospital, during a press briefing today.
"We have reached another breaking point. Our patient's neurological reflexes related to the brain have decreased and brain edema continues," she remarked.
Neurologist Prof. Yasef Özsarfati also acknowledged a "clear neurological decline" compared to early days.
Prof. Ertan Sağbaş, who led Önder’s emergency surgery, explained that the neurological condition has begun to affect lung function, causing pulmonary edema.
"Although the lungs are affected, the ECMO machine is fully supporting both heart and lung function," he said, adding that Önder has currently no problem with circulation or oxygenation.
However, he said, "We cannot say anything definitive about his neurological, cardiac, or pulmonary condition. We look at momentary data and organize the treatment."
"One of our biggest fears is infection, we have protected him so well so far," Sağbaş added.
He also noted that Önder has not been given any sedatives for eight days. "There has been no sign of awakening, and no improvement in reflexes. We are still trying to achieve a miracle," Sağbaş said.
Earlier in the morning, the hospital issued a written statement confirming that Önder's neurological condition has continued to worsen despite maintaining hemodynamic stability with ECMO and inotropic support.
A journalist and advocate for press freedom, Ceren Kaynak İskit contributed to independent media outlets and worked to defend women journalists against rights violations.
Journalist and press freedom advocate Ceren Kaynak-İskit passed away on Apr 25 in Ankara after suffering multiple organ failure caused by a widespread viral infection. She was 38.
İskit was hospitalized early Friday morning with a stomach-related complaint. It was later determined that a flu-like infection had spread throughout her body, leading to her death.
The news was announced by the DİSK Basın-İş union. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of our journalist friend Ceren Kaynak İskit. As DİSK Basın-İş, we extend our condolences and patience to her family, loved ones, and friends.”
The Ankara Branch of the Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD) also released a statement, describing İskit as a journalist who “always stood in solidarity with her colleagues, who never hesitated to go out into the field with her camera during social events, and who continued to practice journalism despite the many challenges and insecurities she faced.”
“In her memory, we promise to never stop practicing journalism," said the association.
People's Houses (Halkevleri), a political organization of which İskit was a member, also shared a condolence message.
"We have lost our comrade, member, and journalist Ceren Kaynak İskit. We will remember her persistence in pursuing the truth and will keep her legacy alive in our struggle. We are grateful that our paths crossed. May the stars be your companions," the statement said.
İskit's funeral will be held today following the afternoon prayer at Ankara Karşıyaka Cemetery Mosque.
About Ceren Kaynak-İskit
Ceren Kaynak-İskit was born in 1987. She completed her undergraduate degree in Communication and Information Management at Başkent University between 2004 and 2009. She earned her master's degree in Cinematography and Post-Production at the University of Greenwich between 2010 and 2012.
İskit began her journalism career in 2014, working as a freelance journalist in London from 2014 to 2016. Her reports were published by outlets including sendika.org, Gazete Solfasol, Euronews, bianet, Turkey Recap, Kısa Dalga, and Fayn. She also produced news content on her YouTube channel.
After returning to Turkey, İskit worked as a project assistant in the "My Daughter Will Go to School" campaign at the Halkevleri Foundation in 2018. She also contributed to the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey at Hacettepe University between 2019 and 2020.
From 2020 to 2022, she served as Research Coordinator for the Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ), where she documented rights violations against women and LGBTI+ journalists and engaged in advocacy efforts for press freedom. (VC/VK)