ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Singer Erkan Benli, who was arrested and sentenced to aggravated life and 20 years and 3 months in prison after stepping out in Nusaybin during a military curfew, shared in a letter his experiences in prison.
Erkan Benli, who had travelled from Istanbul to the Nisebin district of Merdin in 2015 to give a concert and ended up staying longer, was trapped in the city following a military curfew launched in 2016. Unable to leave, Benli remained in the conflicted area during the self-government resistance initiated by the Kurdish people, and was dounded on 26 May 2016 after a piece of shrapnel punctured his body.
Benli, who was tried at the 4th High Criminal Court in Mardin after the process, was sentenced to aggravated life and 20 years and 3 months in prison. He was sent to Mardin Type-E Closed Prison, and later transferred to Tokat Type-T and then to Samsun Bafra Type-T Closed Prison.
Benli shared his experiences in a letter posted to Mezopotamya Agency:
Benli, who still has pieces of shrapnel in his body, said that he opened his eyes to the world in the Çaldıran district of Wan, where he studied elementary and middle school in Wan, and later headed to the west to study high school.
Underlining that he grew up in a feudal traditionalist and partially religious-dominated family, Benli explains why he left school:
“I settled in the West during high school. I immediately saw that the current education system was stupid, this is an opinion. Therefore, I hope that it will be perceived as a principal criticism. I had to leave school. My life ideals were almost nonexistent in that institution.”
Benli expressed his relationship to music in his letter as follows:
“One day I went to town with my father. I was young. He bought me a radio. The current audio players, MP3s, etc. did not exist. The first technological product I used was the TV remote.
There was a huge rocky cliff just above our village, and the radio would only have reception there. One day I came across a Kurdish frequency by chance. It was a Kurdish radio frequency broadcast in Armenia. I learned later that it was Yerevan Radio. You don’t know how glad I was.
Most evenings, I would sit on this rock till the morning dreaming of listening to Kurdish songs.By now I was slowly learning the names of the artists. Karapetê Xaço, Susika Simo, Şakiro, Miradê Kinê, Şeroyê Biro etc. they all had a strong larynx. Especially Şeroyê Biro had a very different spiritual world.
Again, Miradê played various characters with the sound of Kinê. They were great people. I was very impressed by these valuable people. So I learned dengbêj songs. I memorized over time and created a large repertoire. Then I started singing and this process lasted until I left school. Then, from a scientific perspective, I researched music theoretically. ”
Explaining that he started making music in Beyoğlu, on İstiklal Road in March 2013, Benli met a certain audience with his street music. Stating that he had only one goal while singing on the street, Benli said, “I was also singing revolutionary songs in Kurdish, and I strongly believe that I succeeded. Afterwards, there were deviations from the ethical values of the group.
My first professional work after the separation with the group was a clip called ‘Kobanê’. Soon after, I made the ‘Büka Bave Min’ clip. And then I started working on a polyphonic modern classic album. It was a process in which the conflicts and attacks against our people were initiated in the most comprehensive way in 2015, and I had to have been involved in this process. ”
Adding that there is oppression and persecution every second in the region, Benli added, “I can say that this is the most correct reaction I have made against this persecution imposed on our people.
In this respect, it is necessary to evaluate today and make the most of it accurately in order to create a strong future. I see it as a requirement of our revolutionary responsibility to address the problems from the light of this fact and to be insistent on this basis to the fullest.
On these foundations, our people are carrying out an enormous war of defense and resistance in order to not be wiped out of history, in order to not be a disappointment to humanity and in order to break the curse it has been put under.”
Benli, who was arrested and injured after being hit by shrapnel pieces in Nusaybin, said the following about the treatment process:
“The treatment process works differently in prisons. Treatment with medications has been going on for 4 years. I have little chance of having surgery. My right arm is damaged. It will remain in my body as an intruder for a long time. I am very good mentally and spiritually.
All four sides are walls and concrete piles. Of course, we are longing for earth and greenery. If I am not mistaken in mythology, a hero called “Anteus” is mentioned. Anteus has a weakness. The way to defeat Anteus is to take your foot off the ground. Hercules, who describes the personality of the ruling class, manages to defeat Anteus by removing Anteus from the soil he has stepped on.
The kind of person I want to arrive to from here gets his own power from the soil where he stands.
Prisons aim to manage people more easily by removing them from the soil and weakening them. But there is a direction in which these masters are wrong and fail to see. We are the land, and we are a body of soil, and we are the land. Even if we have a dirham of soil, we get enough resistance from it. ”
CALL FOR YOUTH
Stating that nothing has changed in general meaning since he was been put in prison, Benli concluded his letter with these words:
“Young generations have a great responsibility. The most dynamic power of a society is their youth and youth is unclassified.
The youth should not become insecure porters who lose themselves and work for petty gains, under the strict and continuous hierarchical structure and intensifying official tradition in society. As a summary, I express these.
To those breathing the air of the places we were in; I present our love, respect and high level of loyalty to our oppressed and suffering people and friends.”
