Romani Baby Died Following Destruction of Family Home in Turkey

19 June 2007

In November 2006, Zeynep Acbuken, the 5-month-old child of Sultan Eser, an 18-year-old Romani woman from Istanbul, died following the destruction of the family's home. According to a statement by Ms Eser made public on 1 December by the Accessible Life Association, her family was forced to live in a tent after local authorities demolished their home in Istanbul. Ms Eser stated that the baby had developed difficulties breathing and coughed all the time. She took the baby to the local medical clinic where the doctors gave her some medication. However, Ms Eser awoke one morning to find that her baby was not breathing, and she was unable to find anyone to take her to a hospital. When she returned to her tent, Ms Eser stated that she watched her baby die. According to Ms Eser, municipal authorities had been going to her tent everyday since the baby's death, trying to take the family's tent away.

(Accessible Life Association)