Villagers up in arms over plans to open pastures to mining

Villagers living in the Hasköy neighborhood of Malkara, Tekirdağ, have reacted against plans to open their village pastures to private mining activities. Gathering on the pasture during the holiday, citizens stated that a private mining company in the region wants to take over the village's pasture land and that this situation would completely end livestock farming. The pond and pasture area in the village were also filmed from the air.

"NO PASTURE, NO LIVESTOCK"

Hasköy Neighborhood Headman Erol Çelebi said in his statement, "These miners now want to open up 1,790 decares of our 12,000-decare pasture land. I do not know how they applied to our state. I am 61 years old, and we are still trying to produce. We have 300 cows. We have over 2,000 sheep, goats, and cattle in our village. The mining company wants to open a mine in the areas where our animals pass through on this route in our village.

They want to give us the hills you see opposite us as pasture. Can animals graze there? What I don't understand is that these miners dried up the fountains in our pasture. This pond is our only water source. Now, this miner wants to open the area where this pond is located," he said.

"OUR LIVES WILL ALSO END"

Headman Erol Çelebi continued his statement as follows:

"The day this pond is gone is the day our lives end. By engaging in livestock farming, I raised two children, one an architect and the other a veterinarian. My veterinarian son and I want to continue livestock farming here. We need to engage in livestock farming so that the people here do not disappear. Our President said, 'You produce, we are your supporters.' I believe in our President. Mr. President, perhaps you have no news of any of this.

Help us, save both livestock farming and humanity. The miners are trying to open this place because they have set their eyes on state pastures since buying fields is expensive. Please prevent this, hear my voice, Mr. President. We are the last generations. Let our livestock farming not end. Protect us. We are struggling. Let this pasture of ours not disappear so that our livestock farming can continue. It is Pullukçu that wants our pasture. Can an animal that cannot drink water graze on a pasture? This is our only water source. These mines dried up the wells in front of our houses, they dried up our fountains."

"THIS IS OUR LIFEBLOOD"

Mülayim Can, one of the village residents, expressed the situation with these words:

"When this water is gone, they might as well take our lives; it would be better. There were 3 fountains. They dried up all 3 fountains. Let them send officials to tour the 12,000-decare land. If there is any water other than this water, let them remove the village, let them dig up the village. This water is our lifeblood."

Gathering at the edge of the pond, the citizens chanted slogans in unison, saying, "They want to open our pastures to mining. We, on the other hand, use loans from the state to be able to engage in livestock farming. We are trying to be useful to the nation and the country; how will we engage in livestock farming when our pasture is gone? Our fountains in the village have dried up, we have one pond. If our pond goes, livestock farming ends. If the miner needs coal, we need milk and meat. The state also needs meat and milk from us. Our village needs this."