ÊLIH – Gulbahar Kaya, the Êlih (Batman) representative of the Şiyar Be! (Wake Up!) Platform, warned of a growing drug crisis in Kurdish cities and called for urgent collective action. She described drug use as a form of “societal warfare” and emphasized the need for awareness and resistance before an entire generation is lost.

 

The Şiyar Be! Platform was launched on April 26 in Amed (Diyarbakır) to combat rising drug use and sex work in Kurdistan, where drug addiction is reportedly affecting children as young as nine. The platform expanded to Êlih with the opening of its local office on August 2. 

 

MAPPING THE CRISIS

 

 

Gulbahat Kaya stated that the Êlih office will form working commissions and collaborate with legal experts to conduct field analysis and map areas where drug use is most prevalent. 

 

“Before another generation is lost to addiction, we aim to awaken society and build awareness. This platforms serve a collective awakening, consciousness-raising and courageous action,” she said. 

 

‘THE CITY IS TURNING INTO A CRIME SCENE’

 

Criticizing law enforcement for neglecting the drug crisis, Gulbahar Kaya said: “Security forces act swiftly on political incidents, yet they ignore drug-related activity. We know of neighbourhoods where drug dealers operate freely, even during police patrols.”

 

Gulbahar Kaya expressed concern that the crisis is especially severe in Kurdish provinces and questioned who the drugs are being sold to: “The users are our children. Adolescents in a crucial stage of identity development are finding it far too easy to access drugs. This is creating a major societal breakdown.”

 

‘A NEW WAR STRATEGY’

 

Kaya described the current drug epidemic as a modern form of warfare: “Êlih has endured many forms of special warfare throughout its political history. In the 1990s, we lost an entire generation to unsolved murders. Now, in the 2020s, a new form of war is unfolding. It doesn’t kill with bullets but by encouraging self-destruction.”

 

She called this process a deliberate method of “social decay,” where youth are numbed and turned into passive consumers, stripped of their ability to think or create.

 

‘WE NEED AN AWAKENING’

 

Describing the drug epidemic as a public crisis and a targeted decay strategy, Gulbahar Kaya said: “This is a deliberate erosion of society. We must speak out, raise hope, and resist.”

 

She emphasized that drug addiction is not a source of shame but a serious issue that requires urgent resolution: “This is not something to be ashamed of, it’s a problem we must solve. Families must also be alert and involved. Their silence feeds this systematic crisis.”

 

Gulbahar Kaya concluded by calling on civil society and families to unite in this struggle, highlighting the platform’s mission to build solidarity and foster community-based solutions.

 

MA / Ozan Bayindir