Raziye Şimşek: Identity Struggle

Raziye Şimşek, a 58-year-old resident of Sivas, has never been able to discover her true identity since the day she was born. In order to shed light on the incident that could be the subject of movies with her story, the grave of Şimşek’s biological father was opened and a DNA sample was taken.

The Drama of Raziye Şimşek

Raziye Şimşek, who lives in the city center of Sivas, deeply affects those who hear her dramatic life story after losing her mother at the age of 1. Şimşek was handed over to an orphanage by her father after her mother’s death when she was 1 year old. Allegedly, the orphanage director at that time handed Şimşek over to a family without registering her officially. This family then registered Şimşek as their own child with fake records. Şimşek was later rejected and disowned by the adoptive family after she got married.

Şimşek, who has been fighting for a solution to this situation for about 3 years, said, “My mother passed away when I was one year old. Since no one was taking care of me, they leave me at the door of the orphanage. The director of the orphanage at that time hands me over to the family raising me without officially registering me at the orphanage. They then put me under their name with fake records. When I got married at the age of 18, they disowned me. I constantly struggle with the difficulties of this situation. My sisters and all other family members accept me, but due to the lack of older family members, Judge Bey decided on a DNA test. I have been struggling a lot for 2.5 years. I experience both financial and spiritual difficulties. I constantly go back and forth to courts. I keep reliving the things I have experienced over and over again,” she said.

Şimşek, who stated that she has two different identity numbers, said, “The past does not leave me alone so I can be at ease. I have been living this life since 1965. Currently, I have two different Turkish ID numbers. One belongs to them and the other is the Turkish ID card number I am currently using. When I go to government institutions, there is a problem. When I go to hospitals and such, I did not have much trouble because I had check-ups under my husband’s name, but I am still uncomfortable with this situation. I always feel uneasy. Hopefully, this will be the final court, I am very tired both financially and spiritually because of this issue. I am 58 years old, it had been 25 years since I had forgotten. But for the past 2.5 years, I have been reliving this situation at the courthouse, the past does not leave me alone,” she said.