Gülsüm damages statue, sent into hiding
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 13, 2009 00:00
MALATYA-A cow in the village of Kadiruşağı in the eastern province of Malatya has been sent to a neighboring village because its owner feared she would be punished for the animal knocking down a statue in the local schoolyard.
The accident caused the local education department to launch a formal inquiry into the matter, frightening the cow’s owner, Gül Kılınç, who said she had sold the animal, named Gülsüm, to a friend in the neighboring village of İnekpınarı to wait out the inquiry.
"Just like every day, I took her outside to graze, but she just ran away from me. I ran after her, but when I reached her, the students said she had knocked down the statue," Kılınç said. "We were very upset about what happened and later learned that an inquiry was launched. Officials came and took our testimony. Almost every member of the village was questioned. It was the animal’s fault, but some of the villagers said I would be punished. So we decided to get rid of the cow that caused this inquiry."
After all the trouble Gülsüm had caused, Kılınç said, she could not keep the animal: "She was responsible."
Gülsüm happy in exile
Gülsüm’s new owner, Ömer Ateş, admitted that when he first heard what had happened, he thought it was funny, but when he realized his friends were worried, he agreed to buy the cow. "It was natural for them to fear the inquiry," he said. "Gülsüm was normally a very irritable creature, but she is enjoying her exile in İnekpınarı. She is now my favorite animal."
The regional education director, Seyit Reşitoğlu, told the Anatolia news agency that the department had launched the inquiry after the school’s teacher notified them of the accident. "We sent an inspector to the village. We are trying to find out if there was intent and how the incident came about," he said. "As yet, all information received from the villagers indicates a cow was responsible."
The inspector notified the department that the statue was made out of plaster and had been quite fragile, Reşitoğlu said, adding, "After the inquiry, a more durable statue will be built."
While the Anatolia news agency did not identify which figure the statue depicted, all schools in Turkey have a statue of the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in their yards
"Just like every day, I took her outside to graze, but she just ran away from me. I ran after her, but when I reached her, the students said she had knocked down the statue," Kılınç said. "We were very upset about what happened and later learned that an inquiry was launched. Officials came and took our testimony. Almost every member of the village was questioned. It was the animal’s fault, but some of the villagers said I would be punished. So we decided to get rid of the cow that caused this inquiry."
After all the trouble Gülsüm had caused, Kılınç said, she could not keep the animal: "She was responsible."
Gülsüm happy in exile
Gülsüm’s new owner, Ömer Ateş, admitted that when he first heard what had happened, he thought it was funny, but when he realized his friends were worried, he agreed to buy the cow. "It was natural for them to fear the inquiry," he said. "Gülsüm was normally a very irritable creature, but she is enjoying her exile in İnekpınarı. She is now my favorite animal."
The regional education director, Seyit Reşitoğlu, told the Anatolia news agency that the department had launched the inquiry after the school’s teacher notified them of the accident. "We sent an inspector to the village. We are trying to find out if there was intent and how the incident came about," he said. "As yet, all information received from the villagers indicates a cow was responsible."
The inspector notified the department that the statue was made out of plaster and had been quite fragile, Reşitoğlu said, adding, "After the inquiry, a more durable statue will be built."
While the Anatolia news agency did not identify which figure the statue depicted, all schools in Turkey have a statue of the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in their yards