“Mehmet Ruhi Su… I was born in 1912 in Van. I never knew neither my father nor my mother. My father died in the First World War. A year later, my mother had her name inscribed in the book of life… As you can see, I am one of the children left behind by the war. Since the war has left thousands of children like me behind and the state had no power to take care of all of these children; They gave me up for adoption to a poor family in Adana. I'm five years old or not. Since the foster family already bearly took care of themselves with difficulty and did not have the competence to be parents; They asked me to call them as uncle and aunt instead of parents, so I did.

 

I started living as a shepherd in the house where I was adopted. I was responsible for the goats and chickens in the house. I was walking and grazing a few goats; I was running errands, picking fruit from the trees, and singing Turkish folk songs. It was during these times that I learned to love people, animals and trees. When Adana was occupied by the British and the French; I mean, I was six years old when everyone started to withdraw to the Taurus Mountains for fear of death and rape. In those years, called “run run" years, I joined the migration with them. While we were taking a break in the Taurus Mountains, my aunt gave me a jug and asked me to bring water. When I brought the water, I saw that they had just left me there. I was left alone at the top of the mountain with a jug of water in my hand... When I was six years old... I realized that they left me there to my fate and they did it on purpose, when I found them months later…

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