Page 226 - KAZOVA - ENGLISH

help… Four of us set up a tent here. Of course everyone looks
warmly on marches and we can gather 20-25 people. But the idea
of a tent was scary.

Y: Why were workers afraid of a tent?

Serkan Gonul: They were like tailors who had measured

everything. After that they came up with an excuse. Now if you
give a worker wages for four months, what does that worker eat?
For four months we worked without receiving pay. There is debt
and expense but all friends went to work. It is necessary to go to
work by entering a tent. Wednesdays we go to Sisli. Saturdays to
Taksim, Sundays to their houses. All these things need permission.
It was necessary to stay at night. The tent was something that de-

manded much more self-sacrifice from friends. Because everyone
has pride and honour. There was also no sense in pitching a tent
and then taking it down three days later. If it had seemed logical
to set it up and then three days later we took it down, it would
have broken our spirits. We said let us put the tent up but on a
sound basis.

Y: Don’t be like a monopoly…

Serkan Gonul: For this reason, there was some hesitation.
But Bulent showed self-sacrifice and we stopped examining it all

so much. Because if there were four people, there could be six,
but it was vital that people stayed here in the tent 24 hours. The
DIH said they would support us, they would stay, and we set up
the tent. 70-72 days later we realise we made a good decision to
set up the tent. If we had not put up the tent those who stay here
might have drifted away.

226