For generations, nomads— known as “Koçerler” in Kurdish—have lived on the plains between Ceylanpınar and Viranşehir in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Long before the establishment of the Republic, they held land here and were offered title deeds. But decades later, their ancestral lands were absorbed into the Ceylanpınar State Production Farm, and the government now demands that they leave.
The Koçer refuse to go. They say this land holds their history—and the graves of their grandparents. In response, the state denies them municipal services and legal recognition, citing their “nomadic” status. No roads connect them to towns, and no public infrastructure supports them. Water is delivered by tank trucks. Solar panels, if affordable, power only the basics.
Women give birth without medical aid, cutting umbilical cords themselves, washing three children with just one bucket of water. With no schools in the area, children walk long distances to reach village schools—unless the river floods in winter, making travel impossible. The Koçer live not outside the system, but beneath it—claiming their rights while being denied them.
Sanliurfa, Turkey, August 2012
