Turkey is in the midst of constructing its fourth biggest dam, which will generate 4,200 gigawatts of electricity annually. However, to build this dam, the government would need to flood 199 settlements in the region, including man-made caves and hundreds of historical and religious sites.

The city of Hasankeyf, which is affected by the dam project, is fighting to halt the project. Since the city has been part of many different cultures in its long history, campaigners are calling on the government to protect their cultural heritage. In a bid to boost tourism, the campaigners have sought to apply for UNESCO status but an application must be made by the culture ministry and they have refused to do so thus far.

Moreover, the project displaces residents who have been staying in the area. While the government has built a new city to relocate some of the households, some do not meet the government requirements to be relocated while others are losing the way of life that they have known. For instance, a shepherd, who is currently living in the caves, was not allowed to take his animals to the new village and has to sell his goats. 

Read the full article on The Guardian: ‘They are barbaric’: Turkey prepares to flood 12,000-year-old city to build dam

Analysis:

What is the cost of development? How is a country to decide on the allocation of resources and what to preserve in planning a way forward for its citizens? The spokesperson at the ministry of energy and natural resources who was contacted was dismissive about the Hasankeyf campaign: why ask about Hasankeyf when there were so many projects? Yet, it is undeniable that the increased energy production comes at the high social cost of resettlement, as well as the loss of precious cultural heritage.

What is the value of cultural heritage? For a long time, the city has been unable to acquire the UNESCO status as there seems to be a hierarchy of cultural attractiveness where a site deserves more protection if it were certified to be a UNESCO site or it brought in the tourist dollars. In the chase for economic progress, how much of our cultural heritage can we afford to jettison before we forget the stories that make us who we are?

Questions for further personal evaluation: 

  1. Should the government give any weight to those who are forced to give up their ways of life in the process of relocation? Why or why not?
  2. What do you think is Singapore’s cultural heritage? How do you think we can protect this?


Useful vocabulary: 

  1. ‘mire’: to hamper or hold back; to stick fast in
  2. ‘grassroots’: the most basic level of an activity or organisation