Nine-year-old Nurefşan Teke was a small child who had suffered from persecution in Turkey. He had to leave the country with his mother to reunite with his father, who had been abroad for 5 years. However, the Meriç River did not allow him to cross this road, which he set out with the hope of meeting his father. Nurefşan Teke lost his life when the boat they were on capsized.

Nurefşan’s mother told about the line between life and death: I called out her to hug me
Mother Neslihan Teke, who lost her 9-year-old daughter Nurefşan in Meriç, told what happened in the water: “I held my daughter for a while, but there was a current, it was hard to stand. It was cold and I called out to my child to breathe, don’t let go, hug me. Everyone has been dragged to one side.”

Nine-year-old Nurefşan Teke died when the boat they were on capsized while trying to cross the Meriç River from Edirne to Greece. After the tragic event, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli Deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu described the meeting he had with Nurefşan’s mother, Neslihan Teke.
Neslihan Teke describes the loss of her 9-year-old daughter Nurefşan’s hands and disappearing in the water, “I was face to face with death. I was about to die. My daughter is gone, what’s the point of my living now? A voice was calling out to me to let go of that branch as well. On the other hand, I was struggling that if I quit, it would mean suicide.” she quoted the words.
Gergerlioğlu gave information about the meeting Nurefşan Teke had with her mother in the 110th episode of ÖFG TV, which belongs to him. Gergerlioğlu started the program with the words below, “During the State of Emergency, many Turkish citizens, men, women, children, babies, who tried to go to Greece as political refugees and tried to go to Europe, unfortunately lost their lives in the Maritsa and Aegean waters. They were trying to escape from the oppressive environment in Turkey.”.
“SEEING HIS FATHER THAT SHE MISSED IS THE ONLY THING SHE ASKS FOR”
Gergerlioğlu continued his words as follows: “Nurefşan Teke and his mother Neslihan Teke lost their lives in the waters of Meriç as a result of the sinking of the boat while passing from Meriç to the Greek side. A 9-year-old girl, innocent and sinless, whose only concern is her father, who misses her father, unfortunately, loses her life under the cruelty of humanity.”
THE MOTHER’S PASSPORT HAS BEEN CONFISCATED, BECAUSE SHE IS THE “WIFE OF THE SUSPECT”
“I talked to Nurefşan’s parents. Nurefşan’s father is an entrepreneur who had to go abroad for political reasons and tries to earn a living there, trying to earn a living in African countries. Since he studied at Egypt Al-Azhar University, he is fluent in Arabic, fluent in English, and is trying to earn a living by trading abroad. He cannot return to Turkey because of a lawsuit filed against him. 3 years ago, his wife Neslihan Teke and Nurefşan Teke went to the father. After staying there for a while, they return to Turkey. Their passports are taken when they enter Turkey. Reason? There is no crime in Ms. Neslihan. Rationale: Being the suspect’s spouse.”
NUREFSAN SAID “LET’S GO TO MY FATHER” TWICE
Gergerlioğlu noted that Nurefşan wanted to go twice because she missed her father and continued as follows: “They are waiting in Turkey in desperation. 2.5 months ago, because Nurefşan misses his father so much, he said, ‘Mom, let’s go to my father. He says, ‘Let’s find a solution somehow’ and they are trying to get out of Meriç! She is caught by the soldiers before she can reach water, and because of this attempt, the mother is released with the condition of the ban for going abroad and judicial control in court, together with her daughter. Then, of course, the family returns with desperation. Stating that she misses her father very much, Nurefşan insists, “Mom, let’s try again, maybe we can cross this time”. He comes to the near of Meriç with 4 people and gets on a boat. The mother is very nervous because she guesses that the boat may sink, she understands. Her daughter insists, “Mom, we’ll pass, nothing will happen,” she says. The other 2 people are also experiencing the same anxiety. There are 1-2 other people waiting on the shore and they are waiting for their turn. Finally, 4 people get on the boat, they open. When someone from the shore cries, “Daddy, you’re going to sink, be careful”, one of the boats jumps into the water in a panic. When he jumps into the water, the balance of the boat is disturbed and Nurefşan and her mother fall into the water.”
“IT WAS COLD, BREATHE, DO NOT LET YOURSELF GO, HOLD ME, I SHOUTED”
According to Gergerlioğlu, mother Neslihan Teke described the night Nurefşan drowned as follows: “I knew how to swim when we fell into the water, I held my daughter for a while, but there was a current and it was very difficult to stand. It was midnight, around 3:00 am, it was cold, and I called out to my child to breathe, don’t let go, hug me. At that time, everyone was dragged to one side. There was a matter of life and death.”
MOTHER STAYED IN THE COLD WATER FOR 3.5 HOURS, CONSIDERING SUICIDE
Neslihan Teke explained that she was stuck in the middle of the river for 3.5 hours in cold water, holding on to a piece of branch when her daughter slipped from her hand, and said, “I was face to face with death. I was about to die. My daughter is gone, what’s the point of my living now? A voice was calling out to me to let go of that branch as well. On the other hand, I was fighting because if I let go, it would mean suicide.” Teke noted that she was saved thanks to the branch she was holding on to, and that she had great difficulties in her life before he reached Meriç either.
SHE RETURNED FROM EDİRNE TO ISTANBUL WITH HER DAUGHTER’S BODY
Gergerlioğlu described his meeting with Neslihan Teke as follows: “After getting out of the water, they are walking along the shore in a miserable state. They see the gendarmes and then come back to the same area and find her daughter’s body. At that time, of course, it is also very heart-wrenching moments to tell what he went through. Maybe she is not dead, maybe she is alive, she tried to search for it in the water by praying and came across her corpse, and then she returned with her daughter’s body in her arms for hours from Edirne to Istanbul. She told all this with great sadness, it was truly heartbreaking moments for me. All this because the passport was not given to her cruelly, unlawfully, friends. The cruelty, unlawfully, trampled on the presumption of innocence, and said, “Your husband is abroad. They said, ‘We will not give you a passport. What does that mean? What book is it in? Which Constitution has it?
“WHY WAS NESLIHAN TEKE’S PASSPORT TAKEN, WHY WAS IT BANNED ABROAD?”
Referring to the statement of the Edirne Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the incident, Gergerlioğlu said, “The statement of Edirne Public Prosecutor’s Office said that Neslihan Teke was not wanted or apprehended, but one point was missing. There was no mention of this unlawful punishment given to Neslihan Teke because of her relatives. Why was Neslihan Teke’s passport taken? Why was there a ban on foreign travel? What happened that this person was given such a punishment? All this was not talked about, and the mother was quite reactive to it,” he said.

SOURCES
https://kronos34.news/tr/yine-meric-9-yasindaki-nurefsan-bogularak-hayatini-kaybetti/
http://www.samanyoluhaber.com/nurefsanin-annesi-can-pazarini-anlatti-bana-saril-diye-seslendim-haberi/1365307

https://boldmedya.com/2021/03/05/meric-9-yasindaki-nurefsana-da-mezar-oldu/