Diyarbakir is the largest city in Southeast Turkey with a population consisting primarily of Kurdish speaking inhabitants. The Turkish government's ongoing struggle with minorities, has been bringing political instability to the region in recent history. As Diyarbakir remains unsettled, neither the government nor private enterprises invest in the region. This reluctance is usually blamed on poor infrastructure, tough climatic conditions or political unrest -- leaving the region economically and intellectually underdeveloped. In Diyarbakir most children do not attend primary school due to economic conditions.

My interest in the area started after meeting Aycan, a twelve year-old girl from Diyarbakir, through a website that supports low-income students from all around Turkey. As I began exchanging mail with Aycan I learned details about her daily life and the living conditions of her family. To extend my research, I contacted the principal of her school to collect information about her schoolmates' economic conditions, as well as the challenges the school and education system in this area face.

With this exhibition, we are hoping to capture the everyday realities of being a student in contemporary Diyarbakir and raise awareness of how these children and their future are being affected by the political controversies in the region.

Arzu Ozkal