This film was shot from 2007 to 2012
No rubbish in our village!
We'll walk all the way to Ankara if we have lo!
After midnight... - Whenever it rains, our streams stink of shit!
We're at the end of our tether!
This has been going on for years now!
Promises were made:
there would be no smell and no effluent would escape,
the rubbish would come in compressed packages
that had already been sprayed with odour inhibitors.
None of that happened, of course. You can see yourself what the situation is today.
Our coast has been destroyed.
Okay, the roads are better now,
but the coast has been completely destroyed.
The view of the sea is ruined.
You have to come up to our village now to see it.
In Istanbul you couldn't get a place like this for five billion liras.
They've turned the whole village into a rubbish dump!
POLLUTING PARADISE
OFFICE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND FORESTRY, TRABZON
In Trabzon Province and the entire eastern Black Sea area, household rubbish,
which was collected by the towns and municipalities,
was dumped in streams and rivers and even in the sea.
This was common practice for years.
In the 1990s, local authorities in the eastern Black Sea area
looked for a location that could serve as a landfill site,
and they hit on the idea
of dumping the entire region's rubbish in one place.
The bureaucrats identified six potential locations for this landfill site.
One of these places was Çambumu.
Of course, this location is not situated on the coast,
the landfill site is seven kilometres inland,
however it is right in the middle of a residential area.
And it's where they decided to build a rubbish dump.
In Trabzon rubbish is tipped in any old place.
We agree that a solution to this problem must be found,
but you cannot rectify one mistake by making a second one.
We suggested that all municipalities in Rize and Trabzon should look for a place
that can be used for 20 or even 50 years,
that we try to come up with a sensible concept.
But the bureaucrats at the time thought they knew better,
so they made a unilateral decision.
They started by clearing the forest.
They felled many trees to build a road to the dump. I photographed it all.
The local people protested against what was happening
and tried to prevent the trees being cut down.
Even then they were opposed to the dump.
In 1985, on the site of the present rubbish dump,
there was a copper mine.
It was a huge opencast operation,
it wasn't an underground mine with tunnels.
Over the years, a huge hollow was formed where they extracted the copper ore.
Then the mining company announced that the deposits were exhausted
and that there was nothing left to mine.
So they abandoned the site in this state and it lay idle.
Mr Mayor, if they dump rubbish here,
which we hope to prevent from happening,
the rain will turn it into a lake,
the water will overflow and wash the rubbish down to the village.
That's a danger.
Imagine it's full of water and then a landslide occurs...
If the drains can't hold it...
They won't 'withstand heavy rain!
How are these narrow pipes supposed to cope?
Difficult. - We always have problems when there's heavy rain.
Imagine what will happen if vehicles constantly drive over this.
Sooner or later, it will tear or buckle under the pressure.
There are bound to be stones under here, too.
As mayor I have to issue an operating permit for a rubbish dump
if requested to do so.
I checked the regulations and said:
“According to laws a, b, c
you must rectify deficits x, y, z in order to obtain an operating permit.
If you do that, you'll get your permit. If you don't, I won't issue it."
I wanted them to rectify the deficits,
but instead they prosecuted me.
I'll bring up these points after you've given your testimony.
I'm basing my plea on the report...
that the Environmental Research Institute compiled for us.
According to the report, the location is unsuitable for dumping.
And it's also clear from the statutory regulations
that the location is unsuitable.
For this reason we have asked the plaintiff
to fulfill their legal obligations.
They can't accuse us of trying to prohibit the dump.
Mr Mayor, is it true that you're being prosecuted?
SÜRMENE DISTRICT COURT
The government has begun legal proceedings against the mayor
and now he must answer these charges.
The aim of these proceedings is, of course, to remove him from office.
They want to intimidate him into giving up this fight
and to deprive those who carry on with it of his support.
This is how they see it: This guy is opposing us.
He's opposing the state
because he rejects the government's environmental policies,
and for this reason he must be punished.
The result of the court case was that I was forced to issue the permit.
In other words, they obtained their permit via the court.
But at the end of the proceedings I was cleared of all charges.
The judge cleared the mayor because I put a spell on him! - Really?
What did you think of the judge? - He was okay...
The heads of our government have led us a merry dance
But they didn't reckon with us
Çamburnu is a lovely place
and we come from there, we come from there
Those dishonourable men have buried us under a mountain of rubbish
Our heads of government sat around the table and decided
Those empty-headed numbskulls sat around the table and decided
They didn't give a damn about our lovely clean water
Çamburnu is a lovely place and we come from there...
My honoured guests!
Çamburnu Town Council and the Çambumu Cultural Society
have jointly organized this 13th Çambumu Festival,
and we'd like to extend a warm welcome to all of you!
To make the opening speech,
I would now like to ask our dear mayor to come up on stage.
My dear friends, I bid you all welcome!
I hold you all in the greatest respect!
And now our beloved Şevval Sam is going to sing for us!
I bid her welcome, too! A big round of applause, please!
Come closer to the stage, I can't come down there!
Come on, some on!
You Black Sea women...
come closer!
I don't want to sing to people who're standing so far away.
I'm going to let the whole world know that I love you
Why are you frowning, as if I'd killed your father?
I'll roll out a carpet at your gate
In all this time have you never noticed that I love you?
Goodbye, Çamburnu! Have a fantastic day!
We decided to take legal action
because the dump has not been built in accordance with statutory regulations.
Their report was flawed because the site is too close to residential areas,
and too close to the water table, to arable land and settlement zones.
In Europe it's possible to take out an injunction against a disputed scheme
so that it can be stopped until the court has made a ruling.
But in Turkey local courts do not have the power
to stop local authority schemes.
So you're the plaintiff and your case takes five or six years
and in the meantime the scheme continues, as is the case in Çamburnu.
So even if you win your case,
the court's verdict is of no use to you whatsoever.
I'm project manager at the Çambumu refuse disposal site.
I'm an environmental engineer.
Rubbish from 88 townships
is taken by refuse truck to two collection points,
which are located in Trabzon and Of,
and from there it's brought by truck to our dump.
Our dump came into operation in September 2007.
You're filming the most beautiful rubbish dump in Turkey!
They were picking tea when the first rubbish arrived.
They thought there was a dead body in the field.
We didn't know they'd dumped the first load of rubbish.
There was an awful stench. We thought someone had died.
They thought someone had been killed...
There was an awful stench.
We didn't know whether or not to take a look and risk treading on the body!
We found out later that the stench came from the rubbish.
It wasn't supposed to smell.
It stank from the moment the first truckload arrived.
For a while they sprayed perfume. Perfume! Can you imagine it?
They actually sprayed perfume into the air!
The stench was overpowering.
Just ask anyone. It even reached as far as the beach.
Even the fishermen out at sea
and anglers could smell it
and wondered where it was coming from.
The rubbish contains liquids.
When it decomposes more liquids are produced
and these are channeled into our purification tank.
The purified water is then released into the stream
in accordance with water pollution regulations.
The rubbish came on the 17th. Since then there's been a problem.
Because of the diggers the pipes have burst.
There's an awful stench!
What are the people who live by the stream supposed to do?
They have to cover their mouths.
How are they supposed to breathe? It's unsanitary, there are flies everywhere.
The place is crawling with flies.
They dump all the animal manure in there.
God should tum off the oven of the person responsible.
We were told there would be no smell! The stench is so bad we can't eat!
We've stopped praying for our souls, we're praying for salvation from the dump!
Don't leave, children. - We're not leaving.
You lied to us! No way is this a modem disposal plant!
All you do is spray perfume!
It's a disgrace! We've had to put up with this for a month now!
Let me ask you something:
What difference does it make if you're in here or outside?
You'll get me into trouble.
If it makes no difference, we'll stay here.
Don't you recognize me? I come from here just like you!
I was born here, but what am I supposed to do'?
They said there'd be no stink but we sit down to dinner with it!
The stinking water runs past my house!
You've got a leak here and it's polluting our stream!
You're right, but you can say all that outside.
Call the Governor or the gendarmes...
The gendarmes are coming. - I'll give them hell!
Why aren't we allowed to be here?
What about our rights, who looks after them'?
Can't we discuss this outside'?
We're not terrorists, why shouldn't we cover our faces?
Show them your fem!
He wants to know why we covered our faces! Did you think we were terrorists?
Didn't you recognize me, soldier?
I didn't issue the permit! Why didn't you protest earlier?
We don't want to argue with you.
How could you let this happen'?
Governor! We're worried about the drinking water!
No one will die from the smell,
but people's health is at stake...
Not now.
Let's see if they let us through.
The one with the green tie is the Governor.
Which one? - The green tie!
I'm going to take a closer look. Anyone who wants to can come along!
Thank you, we've seen enough.
I want to see it from close up.
They broke their promises!
We've already discussed everything with the mayor. - But not with us!
I live in the village, I'm suffering as a result of the stench!
We've prepared something for you. They said there wouldn't be any smell.
There won't be any more smell. - You're lying to us.
Don't try to deceive us again!
Make a promise now!
I'm going to take a look round first.
Don't just get in your car! - That's enough, grandma!
He's just out hunting for votes!
Get the technician down here!
I want him to explain this to me!
Dumping will have to be stopped for the time being,
until the leak has been found.
Even if they find it, this will continue for another two months.
Our conclusion is that a one-off tear in the membrane occurred,
allowing effluent to mix with the groundwater.
The rubbish was removed from the affected spot,
the geo-membrane was repaired and returned to its original condition
and operations returned to normal.
I spent my childhood here. I was born here.
There weren't many restrictions, we had a lot of freedom.
The games we played as children and our relationship to our surroundings
were more creative back then.
It was different to growing up in the city.
City kids aren't very creative. Some of them don't even know how to play,
they're incapable of it.
We didn't grow up indoors.
We grew up in the country and were always outside.
We didn't spend all our time on the computer. We were surrounded by nature.
Why are we looking at the environment today?
It's World Environment Day today,
and our contribution has been to collect the rubbish we found lying around here.
We've cleaned up around here, but there's a big rubbish dump on the hill.
It doesn't matter how much rubbish we collect here, the dump's so big
you could never clean it up.
Is the rubbish getting into our drinking water? We're afraid to drink the water.
Çamburnu isn't a rubbish bin!
Is the water coming from that tank?
Due to the heavy rainfall...
the tank doesn't have sufficient capacity to take all the effluent.
What now'? - The excess water...
What's happened has happened. There's nothing you can do about it.
What's up with the water'?
For God's sake, put it right! - How'?
You can't let filthy water like that run into the sea!
Where else? If it overflows it has to go into the sea!
Without being purified first?
If it rains during the night how are we supposed to purify it?
How can you purify so much water?
But the village will be contaminated!
Sewage gets pumped into the sea. It's the same thing.
So you're not purifying it? - Ya, we are.
But the water's pitch black! - That's just groundwater.
From below the dump? - That's right!
So it is effluent? - It's 90% rainwater!
Black rainwater? - It turns black when it mixes with effluent.
When they mix...
One drop of effluent is sufficient to discolour a litre of rainwater.
But it's disgraceful!
How are you supposed to eat fish from the sea?
Do you think you can still eat fish from the sea if there's a dump nearby?
Effluent will run into the sea for years.
It'll sort itself out eventually. - It'll be okay.
So. - 70.
90. - 700!
700 doesn't exist!
You lot let our homeland go to the dogs!
It's people who think like you who've shat on our homeland!
We saved the country. - You call this deliverance?
Erdoğan just builds mosques.
I don't want to spoil my good mood, so I won't argue with you.
Otherwise I'd give you my opinion in no uncertain terms.
You blather on about Erdoğan?
Erdoğan has sold the country down the river!
Someone who didn't have a clue would believe everything you're saying.
You've ruined our homeland. Retards like you vote for him!
You ruined our homeland for 80 years!
You thieves stole this country! You terrorists divided it!
Some of you people ought to have their heads chopped off!
Hold on a second. The current man at the top has stolen the most!
The worst thieving took place when the CHP were in power!
Life here has become hard.
Day in and day out I try to get rid of dog and bird shit.
I can't let the cow graze because there's shit everywhere.
If you came here in the mornings you'd be amazed:
Thousands of crows and other birds land here.
What kind of birds?
Ugly birds that make strange sounds.
How many dogs are there here? - 500 to be sure!
So many dogs. The council should do something about it!
They didn't do anything about the wild boar. There are wild boar everywhere.
Dogs, wild boar, rubbish,
they're all polluting our paradise!
Our mother has worked in the tea fields since she was a little gill.
She's grown tea all her life.
She's looked after the fields and gardens, grown tea.
I've only been involved with the tea since she became a little infirm.
Just the last two years. Before that I didn't have anything to do with it.
Tea growers usually harvest three times a year.
If you harvest early enough...
weather permitting, you can fit in a fourth harvest in September.
In our area, women do the work but elsewhere men do too.
They help to carry the tea, for example.
But the men in our village value their right to be lazy,
so they wouldn't even consider getting involved.
They don't care whether the tea dries out or gets collected.
That's why women are at the forefront of this kind of work.
We've earned our living from tea since 1950.
This book is issued by the state.
It's a record of the tea I've supplied and how much it's worth.
How much tea do I have? 8000 m'. How much do I get for 8000 m' of tea?
Ten billion. The slate should give me the ten billion and I'll move,
rent a place.
I've no choice but to leave my home. Staying here is out of the question.
How can we harvest the tea? The birds come and shit on it.
What are we supposed to do with tea that's covered in shit?
If I took this to the factory, they wouldn't touch it.
What would I do with it? You can't drink it.
Animals don't eat it. You can only drink tea.
The rubbish dump poses no threat to the tea whatsoever,
because the organic waste that's dumped there makes the soil fertile.
The effluent that's produced there is put through a kind of...
it's put through a filtration system
and disposed of without causing any harm to the natural surroundings.
Consequently, there's no threat to tea production
and we continue to buy tea from this area, as we have done in the past.
5 JUNE: WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
I'm Hikmet Tarakçı, supervising engineer for TRABRIKAB.
I'm the supervising engineer of the dump.
It's 2009 now and we've been operating for almost two years.
There are currently 240,000 tonnes of rubbish in the dump.
The dirty water is treated and then discharged into the stream.
At the moment it's toxic. Putting it in the stream is forbidden.
It would also be inhumane.
What are those pipes?
They're outlets for gas that's generated inside the rubbish.
Methane. - Methane?
It's released through the pipes in order to prevent the rubbish from exploding.
Won't the gases emitted here pollute the air?
No. The filtered gas comes out as carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide does not have a harmful effect on the air.
This is methane.
Methane also has no harmful effects on the environment.
When the dump closes, we'll use the methane to generate electricity.
The carbon dioxide level has already increased.
We know this is the case. What happens if we pump even more into the atmosphere?
He isn't listening.
I asked a question!
There's a natural carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere.
If too much carbon dioxide escapes from the dump,
won't that have a harmful effect on the atmosphere?
The earth will sort it out!
This week we're holding the last ever Çamburnu Festival.
I won't take up your time with long speeches.
But there's one thing I would like to mention.
As you all know, the population of Çambumu
has fallen below 2000.
As a result, our local council will be disbanded.
We're all very sad about this.
But, thank God, our council is still in existence at the moment.
We have to do something to increase our population.
I've no doubt you can manage it!
Local people are afraid to make investments here.
That's why the rubbish dump is a hindrance to development.
The number of people living here is decreasing.
People don't want to move here because the place stinks so badly.
Some people have already moved away. People who wanted to move here haven'!
And are awaiting the outcome of the matter.
We went to school here for eight years. Azize is two years older than me.
So I went to school with her here for six years.
We're cousins: my uncle's son. - My uncle's daughter.
Now I'm at college in Istanbul and come here for three months in the summer.
I'm studying economics and industrial relations in Ankara.
It's the old people who stay.
The young people move to the big cities, where it's easier to find a job.
They don't want to live in small towns.
I planted every one of these trees with my own hands.
They're like my own children to me.
This land used to belong to my grandfather.
When the mining company put this plot up for sale, I bought it.
They came onto my land and removed things unlawfully.
I put in a complaint with the gendarmerie.
They called the public prosecutor. He asked me to appear in person.
So I went there and submitted my grievance to him.
The public prosecutor said...
“We'll see to it," and sent me away.
28 days later the workers were still here.
They then sawed off my railings and used them for their electricity substation.
I tried to stop them but the workers just said:
"We're acting on the builder's orders and there's nothing you can do about it."
So I went back to the public prosecutor.
Our public prosecutor has got quite a temper on him.
He gesticulated at me and said:
“You've only filed a complaint because you're opposed to the rubbish dump!“
He talked down to me like I was a little kid.
According to section 24 of regulation 20812,
which covers the disposal of solid refuse
and which came into effect in March 1991 via publication in the government gazette:
“Rubbish dumps shall be built no closer than 1000 metres to residential areas."
The regulation states that dumps should be no closer than 1000 metres,
but it contains the following qualification:
A distance of 1 km is set out, but in the case of hills, hillsides,
sloping ground and other natural features, shorter distances are permissible.
These distances aren't set at 500 m or 300 m,
but because shorter distances are allowed, there's room for maneuver,
and this was used in Çamburnu.
Houses 50 or 100 metres away from the dump need not be classed as a residential area,
and this flexibility in the regulations
gave rise to the idea of building a rubbish dump there.
It was ascertained that the minimum of 1 km
stipulated by the regulation could be ignored.
The effluent from the rubbish must either be purified
or discharged into the sea via a deep-sea disposal system.
The purification tank has sufficient capacity for all the effluent
during the summer months.
But heavy rainfall at other times means it has to be discharged into the sea.
This eventuality is also covered by the regulation.
There are deep-sea disposal systems like this in Trabzon, Yomra and Arakli.
Report the truth: Write that it happened due to flooding.
You can see the rain and the sludge.
You'll write a report that will please me.
Right?
That's the way it goes. It's overflowed.
So the rain's to blame? - How do you think the sludge got here?
The rain. - The rain.
What else?
Can't you take preventative measures?
How can you prevent God's will'?
But this is a rainy region, isn't it?
True, but there's a dump here.
But you should have allowed for the rainfall.
That's impossible, you've seen how heavy the rain is.
I know what it's like here. Did no one research it prior to construction?
How long's it been here? - Since 2007. - You see?
For quite some time. Why didn't you mention the rain?
Shouldn't the surveyor have done that? Did no one tell you it rained here?
Stop filming me!
What about the people, engineer?
You're ignoring the rain, you're not filming it.
That's why it overflowed. You're ignoring the truth. - We should blame the rain?
Did you film the rain? - Ya.
You didn't! You're not filming what's really going on!
You just film the sludge afterwards! - That's not a valid argument!
You can't blame the rain! The rubbish shouldn't be able to escape from the dump!
We're doing what we can.
You should do more!
Maybe it's not in your power, but your company should solve the problem.
This won't do!
It's sinking in the rubbish! The truck will contaminate the roads!
It'll spread bacteria!
There's a huge lake of water!
The trucks are sinking in it and it's overflowing.
One day we'll turn into rubbish, too! - We already have!
We can see how many tankers are coming in here!
Not even 500 could take away all that water!
Ten tankers aren't enough!
Stop lying, Allah is watching! - No one's lying!
You're dumping it in the streams!
I've seen it with my own eyes!
I'm 66 years old, my children are your age!
We're pumping and pumping and pumping...
We're people, too! Why would we dump it in the streams?
We're taking care of you! - Is this how it should be?
The last rainfall...
I'm not talking about the rain! Where's the water going?
We'll push the rubbish back.
When? The next time it rains?
According to the law...
Then we'll have to take you to court
to get it stopped! - We're working on it!
You're breaking the law!
You have to close the dump!
I'm going to call Tayyip Erdoğan now, I've got his number!
I'm going to call him, I swear!
I'm not responsible! - But you're in charge!
I didn't cause the rain! - Who is responsible here?
God caused the rain, we're believers!
Who's responsible? - The Governor of Trabzon.
Forget the Governor, who's responsible here?
The company. - Who's in charge of the company?
The bosses are here. - Then fetch them here!
Why are you still taking in rubbish?
Let's block the road to the dump!
That won't get us anywhere!
Please remove your vehicles. We're from the environment office.
That's not possible right now. - We're not letting vehicles past.
I'm just trying to do my duty.
Your duty'? - You've already failed to do that.
It's already overflowed.
Who are you? - I'm from the environment office.
Where were you when two million litres of water collected here'?
We were here. - You were here?
And where are the two million litres now'? Did those two tankers take them away?
They only hold 20 tonnes.
An eco-crime is being committed, and you say you're from the environment office.
Dump the rubbish in front of your house and see how you like it.
We...
Do we have to break the law in order to be heard? Do we have to set fire to a truck?
Do we have to tear up the road? Tell us what we have to do!
They've been dumping effluent in the stream for two days.
We know what the dump's capacity is,
we know how many tankers are needed to take away the effluent.
Hardly any tankers have been in or out of here.
We've filmed everything. You're from the environment office?
We're testing the effluent levels...
What levels? We were told that only sorted and dried rubbish would be brought here!
We've been fed this crap for years!
You're playing with our health!
There were 1000 reported cases of poisoning in Sürmene last week.
The effluent is contaminating our drinking water!
What do you actually do all day?
The water in Sürmene has nothing to do...
It's the same water, sir!
If that's true...
What do you mean? The effluent's already been dumped in the streams!
The environment office shows up when everything's over!
Everything's already been... - We came before...
You should have been here when it was happening!
We were here, pal. - Doing what, pal'?
You can't expect us to drink it away!
But we have to! It runs into the sea, we drink the groundwater,
we water our gardens with it...
No one expected such heavy rainfall...
You don't have to reinvent the wheel! It has rained here before, you know'?
It rains here! It rained here yesterday, it'll rain here tomorrow...
To build a house we have to obey regulations! But this is a catastrophe!
Let's not yell at each other... - I won't yell anymore, but you make us yell.
You're incapable of fulfilling your obligations.
We are the people! We ask questions and you have to answer!
I don't get this at all. Let's start again...
The geo-membrane is supposed to stop effluent seepage into the soil, right?
Isn't it leaking now?
As far as we can tell... - It's not leaking at the moment?
When I asked your colleagues before where the effluent had gone to,
I don't know how many litres, you can work that out,
they said it had seeped into the ground.
They said the effluent had mixed with the groundwater.
Where will the water seep to if more and more comes from above?
Yes, well...
How much does a bucket hold?
You say it's seeped into the ground? - Of course it has!
If it hasn't seeped into the ground, it's dissolved into thin air!
Yesterday there were a million cubic litres of effluent here.
For two days it overflowed and ran down the hill.
I'm trying to explain that our people...
it has overflowed occasionally due to torrential rain,
but the effluent has never got into the groundwater.
Water that's collected on the surface of the site has overflowed
because the site couldn't take any more.
Hello, Trabzon!
We're going to build a wall over there.
When we've put that up, nothing more can go wrong.
It will prevent refuse or water from overflowing.
And we won't have any problems with landslides.
We're thinking ahead in order to make use of the site.
We want to prevent overflowing
and adapt the dump to the shape of the hill when it's full.
They want to erect a wall to prevent the rubbish from overflowing again.
Or maybe they want to build it to make more extensive use of the site.
They won't say, of course.
All they're saying is that the dump will be closed in three years at the latest,
but I don't believe that.
They'll use the site for as long as possible and then look for alternatives.
Building a wall will extend the site's operational life...
by two to three years.
But that's just a provisional measure
and no one is capable of finding a long-term solution.
The main thing is saving the day. And with that attitude they just carry on.
On 3 November at 7:55 a.m. I received a telephone call:
“The effluent has exploded!"
But how can effluent explode?
After ringing around for ages I found out that the effluent tank had collapsed!
I came here and saw the catastrophe!
How could this happen?
Tremors caused by the construction of the big wall
have obviously caused the tank to collapse.
Welcome, Governor!
Hello, Mayor!
Not a pretty sight for you.
Oh, but it is!
At least...
It's pretty in so far as...
If the rubbish weren't here, it would be down on the beach.
But it shouldn't be here either!
It has to go somewhere. What else can we do'?
My wife says the rubbish stinks, but I can't smell anything.
Maybe God is rewarding me
for having been a good person.
That's probably why I can't smell it, God won't let me.
“He's fulfilled his obligations!"
He saves me from the stench.
Cansu!
Open the door!
Welcome!
I'm starving.
Where's the cat?
Here, take this.
You can take the leaf off.
That's right. - It's done.
How about an onion?
We'll have to chop one.
Not on the table! - Ya! - Want to chop up the table'?
The table can take it.
My father used to eat them with the bones, too!
Real men from the Black Sea...
eat the bones...
as well.
My love for my village has not diminished one little bit.
I still love it just as much as ever.
I had the chance to go and live in Istanbul.
My wife sometimes says we should move to Istanbul.
Our eldest daughter lives there, our grandchildren...
But I always say no, I would never leave our village.
I love my village.
All my memories of my childhood and my youth are here.
We love the Black Sea.
We love our village and don't want it to die or become a lifeless place.
Actually, we're a little angry with the people who move away and never return.
You mustn't forget your roots, no one should forget their roots.
Those before us put their work into this soil
and created a foundation for us,
and we should be aware that this is a precious thing.
It's a shame to see the homes of those who moved away falling into disrepair.
That's why we want our village to survive.
I no longer see this place as somewhere I could spend the rest of my life.
I've lost that feeling.
At one time I might have had a comfortable life here with my own house,
but I can't imagine it anymore.
I'd like to just sit here and breathe clean air, but there's no clean air left.
That's why this is no longer a place I'd consider raising children in.
If you think about the future, it's no longer possible.
Azize and I used to walk up to our grandfather's house.
On the way, we'd eat fruit, smell the pure fragrances, it was wonderful.
If we want to go out for a walk now, the rubbish dump is always on our minds.
Instead of breathing in that stench
you'd rather stay at home and spend your time on the computer.
So we've become more withdrawn.
We've become emotionally distant towards this place.
She's gone. - Your sister's gone.
Most of the court hearings are over.
And we've lost all of them.
From a legal perspective, our fight's over because we've exhausted all legal avenues.
But our fight against the negative consequences will continue.
If we're confronted with negative consequences,
we'll contact those responsible and summon them to a meeting.
We'll complain, keep a photographic record of events,
and contact their political superiors.
So in that respect, we haven't given up.
For my father, Mustafa Enver, whose parents came from Çamburnu
If I'd been younger, I'd have burnt that dump to the ground.
But no one will follow me now.
I'd have burnt it to the ground.
No one would have been able to set foot in it.