IndyMedia UK, 30 August 2008
Call to action to raise awareness of and support for the Roma people of Sulukule district in Istanbul, Turkey, which is currently being demolished to make way for gentrification.
As I write this, bulldozers raze the partially evacuated district of Sulukule, the home of the Roma community since the Byzantine period, and the first sedentary Roma settlement in the world in the 15th Century. The houses, the streets, the entire district of Sulukule are parts of an extraordinary monument that represents an age and an ancient people: a precious and priceless World Heritage Site.
The demolition work will continue in the days ahead. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality plans to construct 620 new houses, a hotel and a culture and entertainment center in the Sulukule neighborhood. Read More »
The Struggle for the City 