ŞIRNEX - Mehmet, who has been hosting the Dengê Botan program on Stêrk TV for the past 16 years, after previously presenting it on Dicle, Jiyan and Gün TV, said the program has served as an archive and collective memory of Kurdistan, with 1,250 episodes to date.

 

The Dengê Botan program, which airs every Monday on Stêrk TV, has been a voice for Kurdistan for the past 16 years. The program showcases the natural beauty, history and culture of the Botan region, first airing on Dicle TV in 2010. It ran for 270 weeks on Dicle TV, followed by 100 weeks on Jiyan TV and 55 weeks on Gün TV. For the past seven years, the program has been airing on Stêrk TV, bringing the stories of villages and people from across Kurdistan to viewers.

 

Mehmet Başkurt, 48, who has hosted the program for 1,250 weeks, showcasing the beauty of Kurdistan through special broadcasts, spoke about how the program came about and the changes Kurdistan has undergone over the years.

 

‘IT WAS A LONGING…’

 

Speaking about how the Dengê Botan program came into being, Başkurt said: “When I was seven years old, my father was arrested. In 1985, my mother and I would travel to Amed Prison to visit him. At the time, it was forbidden to speak Kurdish with prisoners. I was slapped by soldiers because I called my father, ‘Bavo’, which means father in Kurdish. That incident had a profound impact on me. It sparked in me a desire to tell the story of Kurdistan in Kurdish. It became a longing for me. In 2010, a crew from the newly launched Dicle TV came to Cizîr and visited our home. They told me they were going to film a dengbêj program and asked me to host it. At that moment, I remembered what had happened to me in 1985 and felt that this could be an opportunity to put an end to that longing. I accepted, invited the late dengbêj Salihê Şirnexî as my guest, and we filmed the first episode. At the time, the program was called ‘Dengê Herema Botan.’”

 

‘WE TRAVELED EVERY CORNER OF BOTAN’

 

Recalling the difficulties and limited resources they faced during the program’s early years, Başkurt said: “We had no resources. back then, we had to buy tapes, but we didn’t even have enough money for them. It was difficult even to find enough fuel to travel outside the district to film to program. I was also struggling financially. We managed to film the first episode despite all these difficulties. After it aired, I began to gain recognition. From there, we began traveling across Kurdistan. I have seen a lot over the past 16 years. We traveled through the highlands of Kurdistan, visited villages that had been burned down. With limited resources, we prepared programs wherever we went, with the help of the local people. During the self-administration period in Cizre, we went to the basements that had been burned during the curfews and documented what happened there. I spent two years and five months in prison as a result. Despite all the difficulties, I continued to program after my release.”

 

‘MOTHERS EASE THEIR LONGING THROUGH THE PROGRAM’

 

Reflecting on the impact the program has had on the community, Başkurt said: “I never imagined that it would last this long or become so well-loved. When we filmed the first episode, I had no idea what it would grow into. It has now been on the air for 16 years, with most of the episodes filmed in Botan. Botan is an important region for Kurdistan. We have also filmed programs not only across Kurdistan, but wherever Kurds live. The program that affected me the most was one we filmed in Adana. I was deeply moved by an interview we did with a mother from Qamişlo who was working in an orange grove there. She had been living in Adana for 14 years. When she spoke about how much she missed Qamişlo, we both cried. Thousands of villages across Kurdistan burned down in the 1990s, and tens of thousands of people from Gabar, Cudî, Besta and Qileban were forced to leave their homes. When I film programs in these villages, people who were displaced get a chance to see their home villages again. I meet many mothers living in Turkey’s metropolitan cities who tell me about the villages they came from. Through the program, mothers are able to ease their longing, even if only a little.”

 

‘DENGÊ BOTAN IS A COLLECTIVE MEMORY’

 

Highlighting the changes and transformations in Kurdistan in recent years, Başkurt continued: “When we first started filming the program, social media was not as widespread as it is today. We would film a program, and it would take three months before it was ready to air. Now, live broadcasts can be made directly from a phone. This takes away from some things. Back then, the limited resources were more valuable because they required more effort. People valued these things more. Over the years, we have also witnessed the ecological destruction of Kurdistan. Dengê Botan is also an archive and a collective memory. This memory contains not only pain and tears, but also the struggle and the beauty of Kurdistan. By preserving this memory, we will pass it on to future generations. We will continue bringing the stories of Kurdistan and Botan, both past and present, to the screen.”

 

MA / Emrullah Acar