Sulukule: The End is Near
Photo from Today’s Zaman
Istanbul’s Fatih municipality has announced that it will cut electricity to the Sulukule neighborhood for the next eight days while parts of the neighborhood are demolished. Sulukule is Istanbul’s Roma (gypsy) quarter dating back to Byzantine times. The municipality’s attempts to raze the neighborhood and displace its residents to an area far outside the city center has drawn the attention of Turkish and international groups who are fighting to allow the Roma to remain in Sulukule. The municipality has plans to build 620 new houses, a hotel and a culture and entertainment center. The Roma would not be able to afford to buy back into their neighborhood. They will be dispersed or move to an isolated newly built neighborhood at the edge of the city and undergo job retraining, since their musical and entertainment skills will no longer have a venue. This will spell the end of a thousand years of Roma culture and community in Istanbul. (see my previous blogs on this issue under the “Istanbul” category.)
Eight days without electricity are clearly meant to move the population out of the neighborhood so their houses can be demolished. This is particularly egregious during Ramadan, when food must be stocked in refrigerators for the evening breaking-of-the fast feasts. (click here)
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