Environmental artist's house burns down in suspected arson attack

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A fire broke out on Saturday (October 23) at the house of artist Gökçe Erhan, who makes paintings drawing attention to environmental problems in Turkey's northern Black Sea region.

Firefighters put off the fire, but the two-floor house in Gökçesu neighborhood in Çamburnu district of Trabzon completely burned down. Erhan's paintings were also destroyed.

Erhan was going to attend a demonstration against fish farms, which she says damages the sea's ecosystem.

The gendarmerie is investigating the fire on the suspicion of arson as Erhan said she had heard a noise outside before the fire, daily Evrensel reported.

"While I was trying to complete the text of the speech I'll give on the demonstration night, I heard some noises outside," she said. "After a while, a crunch and a light smoke. I went outside and saw that the fire was rising in the back of the house."

She immediately called the fire department but her house burned down until the fire was put off, said Erhan.

"Then I realized what was written on [my clothes]: Pull yourself together. I smiled when I thought of it," she added.

The artist attended the demonstration and gave a speech, saying that the planned fish farms in Çamburnu area would create visual pollution and disrupt the food chain of the fish in the natural environment.

"Since the small fish caught in the seas will be used as bait in the farms, the small sea fish will be extinct and the anchovy culture will be threatened. We are absolutely against this project. No one can put a cage in Çamburnu," s​​he remarked.

"I can raise my house back, but when we lose the sea, it's irreversible," the artist stressed. (TP/VK)