Diyarbakır never loses hope

It has been some time since I was last in Diyarbakır. The city has developed and changed in a surprising manner. New malls, new neighborhoods, new houses and new cafes… 

The Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED), which has nearly 40,000-member companies, was our host in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, which they chose as the location for their 39th council meeting. 

Our first stop was a restaurant called Big Chef's. This chain has many restaurants in the country and abroad; its venue at Diyarbakır's A Plus Bazaar had a certain New York feel. 

Diyarbakır's Sur district was a scene of intense clashes that occurred two years ago, with six neighborhoods totally destroyed, and 23,000 people had to leave it as it became an unfamiliar place. 

Our host at Big Chef's was the Diyarbakır Industrialists and Businesspeople Association head Burç Baysal. In his opening speech of the council, he said the people of Diyarbakır lost their assets in the past two years; they had to endure difficult living conditions but they did not lose hope; they did not quit. Baysal also said Diyarbakır had to look ahead and talk business. 

Why was Diyarbakır chosen as the venue of the 39th council, which was participated by more than 300 businesspeople? 

TÜRKONFED head Tarkan Kadooğlu, who was born in the southeastern province of Şırnak's Cizre district and knows the problems of the region very well, said, "Normalization of the region will only come true by giving a chance to political channels. Contribution to Diyarbakır's economic and social life will change the climate in the region." 

"Economic development launched in the region, starting from Diyarbakır, can also be the locomotive of our country's development...