The Story of the Martyr Mother Raife Yılmaz’s Preserved House

Shahid mother Raife Yılmaz, who lives in Diyarbakır, turned one room of her house into a museum by filling it with the belongings of her son, martyr specialist sergeant Mehmet Kürşat Yılmaz.

Mother’s Day Passes in Emptiness

Yılmaz expressed the pain of her son’s absence by saying, “There should be no Mother’s Day for martyr mothers, because we are in emptiness.” Yılmaz, describing her son’s last Mother’s Day celebration, shared her feelings amidst tears.

Martyr mother Raife Yılmaz recalled that before his death, her son said to her, “Mother, Happy Mother’s Day,” and expressed that her son filled her mouth with the word “mother.”

Yılmaz said, “I go crazy when I think of it. The pain of losing a child is like nothing else. Not to a mother, not to a father, not to a sibling. Neither holidays nor Mother’s Day should be for martyr mothers. Because we are in emptiness. His absence is completely evident.”

His Belongings Turned Into a Museum

Yılmaz stated that she wanted to turn the room into a martyr museum after her son became a martyr, and exhibited her son’s personal belongings and memories in the room.

• Galatasaray jerseys
• Acquittal certificates
• Photo with Fethi Sekin
• Soil taken from his grave
• Qur’an
• Yasin

Yılmaz said that she carefully preserved the last T-shirt her martyr son wore to not forget his scent and advised mothers to raise their daughters as patriots.

Yılmaz said, “I have only one wish. Mothers should raise their daughters as patriots. Our mother raised us that way. She said, ‘A son is the property of the state. No one should speak ill of this state, we have nowhere else to go. It is better to not exist without a state than to live.'”