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HIKMET SAYLIK
Father's Name : Ziver
Mother's name : Söhret
Place of Birth: Van Gülsünler
Date of Birth: 1901
I am from the village of Gulsunler, which used to be called
Sihkara. We left the village when the Armenians raided the
villages and started massacring the Muslim population. We
were going toward Van, but the Armenians stopped us before
we arrived. We had no choice but to return. About 300 people
from the village gathered in Zeve, while an equal number returned
to the village. We fled toward Hosap as a group. Turkish soldiers
were in Hosap, and they told us to leave as soon as possible
and get out of the line of fire.
In spite of the difficulties we faced, we went as far as Siirt.
Many of the refugees suffered and died due to widespread hunger
and disease. From there, we arrived in Diyarbakir, Mardin,
and finally in Adana. We then went to Konya, because the French
had occupied Adana. The government then sent us to Mersin,
but when the Turkish military took back Van, we returned.
But Van and its villages were completely ruined, burned, and
destroyed. There, hundred people were martyred in our village.
They gathered the people in houses and burned them alive.
The inhabitants of Van fled, and those that remained were
cut up by the Armenians. When we returned, not all of the
Armenians had left. Some of the villages, such as Alaköy
remained as they were, and the Muslims did not hurt anyone
there. The government later sent the Armenians to Russia.
Many members of my family were martyred in this village including
my mother, father, brother Mustafa and other relatives. Around
30-40 families fled with us, but only ten families returned.
Those that stayed and those that went to Zeve were all massacred.
I found the skeletons of nearly 200 Muslims killed by Armenians.
I buried them here, but could not afford to provide headstones
to be put in the graveyard. This includes the graves of my
mother and father, as the Armenians had burned them alive.
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