Kurdish Shepherds started a solidarity campaign titled “We have enough for us. Donate a sheep!” to give sheep to the villagers affected by the fire between Diyarbakır (Amed) and Mardin (Mêrdîn) in which 15 people lost their lives, and almost 1000 sheep and goats burned to death. They have already distributed 350 sheep and goats to the villagers.
The shepherds from the Kurdish majority cities of Diyarbakır (Amed), Mardin (Mêrdîn), Urfa (Riha), Bingöl (Çewlîg) and Erzurum (Erzirom), came together to show solidarity with the villages affected by the fire.
Speaking on behalf of the campaign, Mehmet Çetin Tarı said that the “campaign will continue for a while. He added that they “travelled from village to village, and the villagers supported us. We thank them all. Our call to our people is to support our families and solidarity with our people.“
The goal of the campaign is to provide the affected villages with enough livestock so they can continue their village life after being affected by the fire. After the devastating fires, local people had stated that they were concerned about new wave of migration, because the villagers could no longer afford to live in the villages.
Bahri Ay, one of the shepherds, said that families also need hay and barley to feed their animals and called for public support. Süleyman Şeyhan, another shepherd, stated that they did not demand money from anyone within the scope of the campaign and said that only the animals and the food needed for the animals should be sent. The shepherds distributed the animals to the affected families and paid condolence visits to the villages.
