Saturday Mothers became the symbol for the justice struggle of those families whose children were disappeared, and have continued their struggle for the past 20 years. Fighting disappearances under state custody, Saturday mother Güzel Şahin states that she was arrested multiple times but her resistance never stopped.

The justice struggle of the mothers whose children were disappeared dates back to the 1970s. 14 women from Argentina began this tradition of resistance when they protested the disappearance of their children by the military dictatorship in the square of Plaza de Mayo on Thursday, April 30, 1977. For 30 years, Argentinean mothers met in this square every Thursday despite state pressures and finally managed to get dictator Videla prosecuted. The name of the square also became the name of this group of historic mothers: Plaza de Mayo.

Inspired by the Plaza de Mayo Mothers, mothers in Turkey who lost their children to state violence organized their first protest on Saturday, May 27, 1995. The tradition of resistance began with 30 people who met in front of Galatasaray High School in 1995 and continued until today despite numerous police attacks. Saturday Mothers enter their 21st year of resistance as they carry out the “Fight Against Disappearances Under Custody Week” between May 17 and 31, 2015.

Mother Ocak: I have no more breaths to waste Emine Ocak lost his son Hasan Ocak when he was under custody, and has been relentless in her struggle for justice ever since. Despite her old age, mother Ocak continues to participate in protests and stated that she has no more breaths to waste because she has failed to find her son’s murderers despite her 20 years of struggle. Mother Ocak concluded her remarks by saying that she still has faith that she will find her son’s murderers.

‘Let us all search for the bones'

Relatives of detainees who either were exiled to Europe or died in hunger strikes also support the events that seek justice for those who were disappeared under state custody. Güzel Şahin has been accompanying the mothers throughout their 20 years of struggle and says that she will continue her support until the last bones are unearthed. Reminding that Hasan Ocak at least has a grave of his own whereas majority of the disappeared does not, and calls on everyone to search for buried bones together.

' I was arrested multiple times but my resistance never stopped'

Şahin continued her remarks by stating that political parties that come to power use the blood of the disappeared for their political purposes, and the AKP continues this tradition. However, Şahin emphasized that they were never scared or intimidated, and finished her remarks in the following way:

“If they have police panzers, bullets and teargas, we have our brains and hearts. Four of my children were in prison during the hunger strikes in 2000, two of them participated in the strikes. I was taken under custody multiple times within a period of two months, starving and thirsty. But I never bowed down and will never do!”