4 January 2008 / ARMAĞAN AYDIN , İSTANBUL
Four Roma tents in İstanbul burned to the ground on Wednesday, killing an infant and his uncle.
According to reports, the fire started around 10:00 p.m. at a tent located in the Alibey quarter of Silivri in Istanbul. Starting from a heating stove, the flames quickly spread from one tent to the next, consuming all four of them. Yaşam Güreşen, 10-months-old, and his uncle, Yılmaz Güreşen, 30, lost their lives in the fire.The fire brigades had difficulty extinguishing the fire due to the uneven terrain. The Roma complained to the authorities about not being provided with prefabricated houses. The bodies of Yaşam and Yılmaz were recovered after the fire was extinguished and were sent to the morgue of Silivri State Hospital after an initial investigation of the scene.
Approximately 300 Roma people live in around 60 tents in the region. After flooding from heavy downpours last month, the officials had allowed the Roma living in patched plastic tents to stay in a gymnasium in the area. However, after a short period they returned to their tents.
