Lack of identity card causes much strife for Turkish elderly woman

Hacı Bişkin/ DUVAR

An 80-year-old woman living in the southern province of Hatay is seeking to get an identity card as her only wish before she dies.

Türkiye Biricik, who lives with her son and daughter-in-law, has never once in her life held an identity card issued by the state, causing multiple misfortunes in her life.

Biricik was born in Hatay's Bükülmez village 80 years ago. Her father named her Türkiye, Turkey in Turkish, after being influenced by the political atmosphere that resulted from Turkey's annexation of the Hatay province from Syria in 1939.

Her father died in the military when she was two years old and her mother abandoned the home, leaving her to be looked after by her uncles, who did not want her to get a piece of the inheritance.

Her uncles married her off to a man much older when she turned 18 as his second wife, but the one condition that the uncles imposed on her husband was that he would not obtain an identity card for his wife, thereby making it impossible for her to get a part of her father's inheritance. Her husband died after turning 100 years old.

Biricik brought nine children into the world and her husband managed to get them official identification documents, though Biricik never got one, because that would entitle her to a segment of the large fields of olive trees that belonged to her father.

Biricik's daughter-in-law Sakine has done everything she can in order to get an ID card for her mother in law, applying to all of the relevant authorities, however due to bureaucratic obstacles she has not made any progress. Due to her lifelong lack of an ID card, Biricik has never been able to vote or benefit from state healthcare services. The only thing that Biricik--who doesn't exist in the eyes of the state-- wants is an ID.

Despite falling ill several days ago, Biricik could not go to the hospital. Her daughter-in-law has called on authorities to remedy the situation.

“For years my husband and I have been looking after my mother-in-law. When she was younger she didn't have as much of a need for an ID. But now she has Parkinson's disease. We need to take her to the hospital. Some of our Syrian neighbors get ID's and are able to go to the hospital. Once a policeman made us wait for hours because she doesn't have an ID,” Sakine Biricik said.

“It is as if my mother-in-law has lived in death for her entire life. Up until this time the furthest she has traveled is to the center of Hatay. She hasn't seen any other place. Her other children are doing well, but they live in Northern Cyprus. For this reason, we are dealing with all of her problems. Our only request is that my mother-in-law be given an ID,” she added.