The grief that came with the death of a young music teacher who was killed in a PKK terrorist attack in 2017 in southeastern Turkey remains fresh.
Şenay Aybüke Yalçın, 22, succumbed to her wounds after a brazen attack targeting the car of the Kozluk region mayor in the Batman province on June 9, 2017. She was traveling in a minibus that was part of the convoy.
On the fifth anniversary of her killing, Yalçın was remembered by millions of Turkish citizens on social media with messages. A ceremony was also held near her grave to commemorate the teacher targeted by the terrorists.
Father Sadık Yalçın told Anadolu Agency (AA) about his grief.
There is a great fight against terrorism in Turkey, Yalçın said, adding: "The eradication of the traitors would of course please us as a nation.
"Our soldiers, security forces, the political authority, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and other institutions have devoted themselves to clearing (the country) of them (the terrorists) as much as possible."
He also stressed that the state and the nation have always cared about the passing of her daughter and owned her memory.
The perpetrator of the attack was eliminated in March 2018 by Turkish security forces.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
The longing for the young teacher increases day by day, with the school named after her and her photos adorn the walls.
Speaking to the AA, Mehmet Nezir Sevim, the director of national education at Batman's Kozluk district, said they have been in grief since her killing.
"Teacher Aybüke was a colleague with her beautiful personality and professional qualifications.
"Every year, on the anniversary of her martyrdom, her memory is kept alive," Sevim said, adding that the name of the teacher is kept alive not only in Kozluk and Batman, but also in different parts of Turkey.
Nazmi Altuner, the principal of Martyr Şenay Aybüke Yalçın Anatolian High School, said: "She was the first music teacher in our school, we did not have a music class. She brought many musical instruments to the school with her own means.”
"She developed the students' interest in music. Students loved music thanks to her.
"We have not forgotten Aybüke, we will not forget her, and we will not allow her to be forgotten,” Altuner added.
Dilan Oğurlu, a 10th-grade student, said she is proud to be a student at the school where teacher Aybüke worked.
