RAİF TÜRK;

HE WAS ONE; Teacher,

Journalist,

Miner,

Father,

Minister,

And it was Raif Abi…

A Huge Loss… Especially for an elder like me, whose main profession is not journalism, it is very difficult to write about it! I bow respectfully before the Memory of the Saint… Forgive Raif Abi; It is impossible for me to write on your beautiful pen! But I would like to share what poured out of my heart:

Teacher Raif Turk:

I am very lucky that I am the son of a father who understands the importance of school and education very well. Upon the news that a school will be built in our village in 1948, my father donated land from his vineyard for the school campus. I grew up experiencing this pride and after graduating from the Teachers’ School, I worked as a teacher at the Dicle Primary Teachers’ School for a short time. My teaching was short-lived, but that fire in me never went out.” said in an interview with Journalist Fuat Bulut

Shortly before Raif Türk’s death, Raif Türk Primary School, which was founded a year ago and bears his name, was put into service. The Primary School built in Bağlar, the disadvantaged central district of Diyarbakır with a capacity of approximately one thousand students, has 32 classrooms and nine workshops, a carpet pitch, two basketball and volleyball courts, and two playgrounds for children.

In his speech addressing the guests and students at the opening of the school, which cost 35 million liras, Teacher Raif said: “Nothing that I have done in my life and that most of my friends praise as success has given me such a great enthusiasm as bringing this school to our children. Because our children and all the children of our country are our children and also our future. The love of teaching, which I tasted in my early youth at Dicle Primary Teachers School and which I have never forgotten, makes me say this with such courage and my heart overflows. Our children and all the children of our country are our children and also our future. My wish is to raise many conscious, productive and peaceful individuals in this school and in all our schools. Of course, such a generation will be the work of our young teachers and educational administrators who support them. Today, Dimin A.Ş., which I am the founder of and chaired by my son Aziz Erman. management also gave me a taste of this joy that we live together today. I thank them for their peace.”

It was as if he was in a hurry… He opened the school less than a year after the foundation was laid.

Journalist Raif Turk:

Raif Türk was a principled journalist with a strong pen. He pursued his career as a journalist with pleasure and devotion for years, and when he missed the Izmir Law School, which he wanted to enter by making a single choice, with few points, he studied business administration at the college he entered with pre-registration. If we do not count the short-term breaks from the profession, he pursued news for 20 years, served as administrators in this field, and was even among those brought from Diyarbakır to Mamak Prison after the military coup of March 12, 1971. Once the stones were in place, he was among the first to be released.

Miner Raif Türk:

He had a peaceful character. He was patient… When he switched from journalism to mining with his calm, determined identity, he took a huge risk. He describes those days as follows:

“I was working at Anadolu Agency at that time. I was the regional manager in Diyarbakır. I was assigned to Bursa against my will. I didn’t want to go and after a while I lost contact with the agency. I had a night secretary status in another newspaper, I found that I couldn’t do it. I was asked to take a position as the dormitory news director, so I asked permission to return to Diyarbakır to finish the work I had to do and return to Istanbul, to the newspaper. However, I did not go to the newspaper and went into business. They brought me stones from the Handle that I was not familiar with. I took it to MTA, they said it contains asbestos and carcinogens. I was the first journalist to write that asbestos causes cancer. So I couldn’t do such a thing. I first met chrome, then marble. Stones were coming from the geography where I was born and the surrounding villages. I took some colored stones I brought from the field to MTA, they said it is very good marble. I liked the color and appeal. I was interested in this. I saw large reserves. I went, I came, I worked hard. I made offers to those who had money. But no one stood close. Even if they didn’t say it to my face, there were people who pity me. “Do you deal with the stone? They uttered words such as “Who has prospered the stone”.

Raif Türk, who has achieved a first in the history of Turkey by removing marble with a dozer and transporting it on mule back, has started to export marble to 70 countries with DİMER, which he established 30 years ago. Today: Within the Dimer Group: DIBAZ operates on basalt, DİMER on marble. DIMIN is a company mostly related to metallics. DİYE is operating in the furniture and construction industry. The youngest company is DİFER energy.

“Even though I am not very good at the commercial part of the job, there is no need for humility, I am not bad at entrepreneurship,” Raif President would say. “We have always had principles that we value very much. The first is the word. If we made a promise, that promise was more valuable than the deed. The second is reliability; We have never let anyone who trusts us on the road. Our relationships have always been based on trust, provided they do not compromise our professionalism. Our third principle was respect for labor. We have prepared an environment for the engineer and the master to work together. Masters were trained, became chiefs, and even became managers. In this sense, DİMER is an education center,” he would say with a smile…

Father Raif Turk:

Raif Türk has two brilliant children: Dear Civan and Erman. Raif Türk was a good husband and a good father. In fact, they were the brothers and fathers of Diyarbakır and all Dimer Group employees… He is a calm, compassionate, helpful, patient and instructive family elder. Just like his name… He touched a lot of life, he was very interested, he taught many students, but he would do these on a quiet ground suitable for his personality.

President Raif Turk:

Raif Türk was a good NGO member. Many NGOs on a regional scale also took on active and high-level positions. He prioritized the interests of the business world he represented. Lastly, he served as the Chairman of the Board of TUMMER. He was given the title of “Honorary President” by Tümmer. Although not with us, Raif Türk; He is our Honorary President.

Raif Abi had health problems… First he struggled with liver failure. He got over that problem when his heart started to stutter. And we lost Raif Türk after heart valve surgery in a private hospital in Ankara...

And we bid farewell to Raif Brother from Raif Türk Primary School, which he opened with excitement and happiness…

First of all, I offer my condolences to his wife, Mr. Yıldız Türk, his sons Civan and Erman, the entire Turkish family, Dimer Group employees, Raif Türk’s friends and our industry, and wish patience.

Forgive me if I have spoken a dwarf… Sleep in the light, my Raif President…

Your Brother is Fresh

While the layout of our magazine is being made; With the recommendation of Mr. Hanifi Şimşekler, Chairman of Tümmer’s Board of Directors, the name Raif TÜRK with the decision taken by the Fair Advisory Board; “Fair İzmir” in Gaziemir will be kept alive. Thanks to those who signed this meaningful decision for their naive and loyal stance… Our wish; Always remembering those who contributed to the sector and protecting their memories and transferring them to future generations.