In a move that peaked between 1992 and 1996, over 3000 villages were forcibly evacuated by the Turkish Government, allegedly in the name of national security. Villagers were given a choice: become village guards and fight your own people, or leave. Many homes were razed without a penny of compensation. ‘Forcible evacuations are the worst tragedy suffered by this region. The people have no qualifications to use in the city. They can’t survive’ states human rights lawyer Cihan Aydin. In a cramped Istanbul bedsit the Cicek family live out the consequences of this policy. And now Ankara fears a new Kurdish state in Iraq could once again stir up the Kurdish threat. Maybe if Turkey treated their own Kurds better, there would be no need.

Produced by ABC Australia