The Başaran Family, Habaş and Worker Safety

His son, Mehmet Rüştü Başaran, his son, the boss's son, says, “Dad, we’ll expand the business, and get into steelmaking.”

His father, Hamdi Başaran, says to Mehmet Rüştü Başaran, “Come on, what do we know about steel?”

And he says, “Think big, Dad. We’ll learn.”

His father objects. Then he gets sick there.

When the boss, Hamdi Başaran, falls ill, we were in Istanbul too. I remember, we were kids, and my mother and I went to pay our respects to the boss’s wife.

The boss’s wife lived in a waterside mansion in Istanbul.

I'd never entered a waterside mansion. It was a very beautiful mansion, too.

It was huge. I was amazed, thinking, “How do people live here?”

Other workers’ relatives had also come to pay their respects at the mansion.

She received the workers as a group. I think her name was Hacı Güllü, Hacı Güllü Başaran.

I remember him saying this to my mother.

I was very scared, on the other hand. My first time in a place like that.

“Pray that Hamdi Başaran doesn't die. If my son takes over the job, you're done for,” he said.

I remember that. Hamdi Başaran died, but not of that illness.

His son, Mehmet Rüştü Başaran, persuaded his father with his ambition and had that steel mill built.

Just a few weeks before its opening, Father Hamdi Başaran climbed onto a crane to see his works from above and died after falling from the crane into a lime pit.

His son immediately took over the business and do you know what the first thing his son did was?

He fired my father.

My father, who wanted a strong union in the workplace, who cared about workplace safety, who cared about the workers' lives, saying, “We need to renew our company, make it younger.”...

He was also old enough to retire, but he wanted to keep working.

He thanked him. He said the company needed fresh blood.

They needed young people. Experience? They probably didn't need experience.

Why did they need young people? Because to the boss, they were just numbers.

It was clear that was the case, and he set a very ambitious target.

Well, the one who celebrated his appointment that day with wine, whiskey, and cocktails, Mehmet Rüştü Başaran, later became a member of MÜSİAD.

And during AK Party rule, he became a regular at the AKP provincial headquarters.

Let me show you once more. And he expanded the business.

But behind the scenes, he also sold steel to Israel.

“MÜSİAD member Habash sells steel to Israel,” the news report said.

Because he had only one sacred thing. Just one sacred thing.

And that was mo— You're making all the money in the world.

Come on, take some precautions! Is it that hard?

The sixth worker has died at this factory this year.

If these barricades stood in front of the bosses, if these cops took the bosses by the arm for once…

Do we really have to go through this pain?