İSTANBUL – Taking back her job at District Health Directorate of Sarıyer as a result of her continuous struggle of 22-months, Türkan Albayrak said, "I am happy to see that you can resist and win against fascism on the street”.

 

Türkan Albayrak, who was dismissed from her job on August 5, 2018 as she was working in the District Health Directorate of Sarıyer, İstanbul on the grounds of “Security and Archive Check” managed to get her job back as a result of her one-woman resistance, which she continuously continued in harsh conditions for 22 months. Following her dismissal Albayrak started her demo in front of the Sarıyer Governorship on September 3, 2018, which she continued for the next 22 months. Notwithstanding the fact that in each of these demos, she was exposed to police attack and was taken into custody, she continued her resistance undauntedly and she got her job back by June 6. 

 

We have talked with Albayrak about her victory of getting her job back as a result of her resistance. 

 

CUSTODY ATTACK FOR 22 MONTHS!

 

“My 22 months has passed coping with police custodies, torture and the illnesses”, told Albayrak stating that she was taken into custody during all her sit-in protest, which she did every day within the weekdays from September to April and due to the illness of her husband, she continued her protest once a week. Albayrak said that there were many similar protests pursuing rights when she first started her own resistance, she knew that it was not going to be easy and quick to obtain a result.

 

Underlining the fact that she had to cope with many economic hardships during that process, Albayrak told, “You lost your job and you have no income. You have an ill husband and you just survive with his retirement pension, including all the treatment costs and all. You of course feel the poverty, but you solve this through solidarity.”

 

A HOPE FOR THE PEOPLE

 

Noting that she was also dismissed from her job in Paşabahçe State Hospital in Beykoz, İstanbul on the ground that “she carried out union activity” and she had managed to get her job back then after her tent-resistance of 118 days, Albayrak compared to her current victory with the previous one: “This victory is different than the other one. Her I was taken into custody every single day in front of my workplace where I was dismissed from and now I start to work in the very same workplace. There is an happiness coming out of the knowledge that I resisted and I won. I am happy to see that you can resist and win against fascism on the street. And the people feel also happy about me returning back to my job. It is not me returning back to the job what makes them happy, but the hope I have become for them. When I won, people saw what is to be done when their rights are taken away from their hands.”

 

‘WE SHALL RESIST’

 

Reminding that there are still many other protests for the pursuing of rights continued by the many citizens around the country, Albayrak shared her last message as follows: “They will win, of course. But how can this victory come sooner? It does when more croweded. We shall resist and all parts of the society must support to the ongoing resistances. I won mine, I hope other friends will win too. But who is going to pay the price for all the things suffered? I mean, there must be a price to pay. They shall pay, so that non of these will ever occur again.”