Ergun Kurum, who took refuge in the USA due to the persecution in Turkey, died of liver cancer due to the sadness and stress he experienced. Human Rights Defender and HDP Kocaeli Deputy Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu shared Kurum’s death on his social media account, where the voices of the oppressed were heard, with the following statement: “Another State of Emergency victim, a teacher, passed away due to cancer! Ergun Kurum suffered from cancer and passed away today. May Almighty have mercy on him; what a blessing. Yet another innocent was hurt.”
One of the people who knew Ergun Hodja closely, Dr Mahmut Akpinar, who also took refuge in the UK and earns his living by doing delivery, wrote an article after the death of Kurum. Akpinar stated the following in his emotional article:

“Due to the ongoing oppression and troubles, people were forced to leave their homeland and continue business or their regular life in Turkey. The regime either closed the institutions or confiscated them and gave them to their supporters, leaving people unemployed, incapable, and friendless. Many of them endeavour to survive in the regime’s overpowering environment or behaviour, and worse, to live in the same environment with these people who are blinded by grudge and hatred. People who are the epitome of kindness and courtesy try very hard to protect their physical and mental health amid the insults of their relatives, the exclusion in their neighbourhood, along with social pressure.

Those who could go abroad with great difficulty have to deal with very different problems. While trying to fight for their lives and make a living in new countries where they do not know the local language, culture, and traditions, they are also trying to serve by virtue of their character. As you can imagine, it is not easy to get used to a foreign culture and customs after a certain age. For many, learning a language requires struggle. Longing for the homeland and the love of the country always remain alive in the depths, and this sense always stings and makes people sad. When you feel helpless and realise loneliness, it suddenly comes alive, and longing for the homeland occupies your mind.
……
I got to know Ergun Hodja in the 1990s. He was an outstanding educator, as well as a very successful chemistry teacher. He worked as a teacher and administrator in Balikesir, Afyon and many other cities. Kurum was from Duzici, Osmaniye. Duzici is in Cukurova, and Cukurova is a famous large fertile plain in southern Turkey. As far as I know, he was the son of a very, very wealthy family that owned quite a bit of land. We joked among ourselves that he was the “landlord”. He still had lands and properties in Osmaniye, and he took great pleasure in dealing with the land and being in touch with nature. He had always wished to give up everything and devote his life to working with land and agriculture in his hometown. While he was in Turkey, he used to go in the summers and work in his village in order to be involved in nature and soil.

Ergun Hodja was a cordial and sincere brother, as well as a friend of ours. He called his friends “Gardaaas!” (`Gardas` is an expression used mostly in central Anatolia by males, told to very close ones, meaning `brother`), a pleasant smile on his face and a warm breath from the depths of his heart. He used to call his friends by their first names. Kurum was well-dressed and tidy and adored driving luxurious automobiles. Years later, he reconnected me on Twitter in 2017. After many articles I have written, he voiced his ideas about my writings and urged me to write more. I asked him, “Sir, how are you doing?”. The naïve Ergun Hodja stated earnestly with his smart and lofty posture: “Gardas, thank Almighty I’m well. There is an institution here, and I serve as a nightguard.” (A wealthy man in Turkey became a refugee in the USA and working as a night guard!) Ergun Hodja, who is generally quite picky, had no complaints or discontent with his work. He was recently selling books on the internet to earn a livelihood.
“How about your family? How are they doing?” I asked. “I have three daughters, all of whom are computer engineers (or IT specialists or program developers),” he replied. “The eldest has graduated from the university and is employed,” he elaborated. “Mashallah!” I said happily and added: “You guided all of your children to occupations that were appropriate for the new era!”. His reply was: “It was their own decision”.

After that, we made a number of phone calls to each other. We last spoke in the month of Ramadan. He mentioned the purpose of his life, his concerns about Hizmet, worries about thousands of Hizmet followers who are suffering, as well as some other difficulties people encounter, and he’d sigh profoundly.

Last week, I became to know through a WhatsApp group that he had been admitted to the hospital. On Monday, I attempted to call to express my best wishes but could not do so. I also left a message with my “Get well soon” wishes; nevertheless, I think he didn’t see my message. Last night, I discovered that Ergun Hodja’s pure heart had given up on beating in this filthy earth. Individuals’ hardships, sorrows, and cruelties weighed heavily on Ergun’s heart during this Tenkil process. His troubles manifested themselves in the form of cancer. During Ramadan, he fasted and disregarded his weakness. He went to the doctor when his illness persisted after the holiday, but the disease had already spread throughout the body. He spent 8-10 days in the intensive care unit, and then he breathed his last breath on Thursday night. May Allah forgive his sins, if he had any, and shower him with His kindness.

Our surroundings are becoming increasingly vacant, and our friends are departing one by one. We are more aware that we are becoming increasingly isolated and are on our way to the mandatory migration home (the graveyard). Every death serves as a reminder that the world is mortal, that its contents are meaningless, and that life isn’t worth breaking each other’s hearts. Our hearts bleed when the untimely loss of our close friends pierces the truth of death into us like a harpoon. We recognise the value of emigration to the eternal world by living a pure and clear life in this ephemeral world.
Gardaas, have you heard? Ergun Teacher has also left this world!”
Kaynaklar: https://bitenhayatlar.com/ergun-kurum/

Ergun Hoca da göçtü bu dünyadan!

Bir OHAL magduru ogretmen daha kanserden vefat etti!

Ergün Kurum, kansere yakalanmış ve bugün vefat etmiş

Allah rahmet eylesin, ne canlar yanıyor pic.twitter.com/AuHY3jnTvm

— Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu (@gergerliogluof) July 12, 2019