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ORSAM<br />
CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES<br />
proximately 150 meters away from where I<br />
stood. Many people were killed, and many<br />
others were injured. There were no medical<br />
center to treat the injured people. The people<br />
around tried to help but most of the injured<br />
people died afterwards as nobody could treat<br />
them in a proper way. And the majority of<br />
those who survived became permanently disabled.<br />
ORSAM: Do you want to go back to Syria?<br />
Abdo Mustafa el Cebeli abu Halid: For the<br />
time being agricultural lands cannot be planted.<br />
There is no raw material. No seed, no fertilizer,<br />
no pesticide. Even if the war is over,<br />
famine and misery will continue for a long period<br />
of time. Therefore, I am not planing to go<br />
back to Syria until everything is settled down.<br />
This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 15 September<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Mahmoud Naif Igadi<br />
abu Raghib, a Syrian who fled to Turkey<br />
and stays in tent city<br />
Mahmoud Naif Igadi abu Raghib, who remained<br />
in between the army and the opposition,<br />
fled to Turkey as the pressure and violence<br />
increased and basic needs could not be<br />
met.<br />
Mahmoud Naif: I live in Hamdaniya neighborhood<br />
of Aleppo in Syria. I and 47 years<br />
old, and have three children. I sell spice and<br />
winter food. My son and I run the shop together.<br />
We have a large shop. You can find all<br />
kind of spice and winter food. We sell retail,<br />
as well as wholesale.<br />
ORSAM: Could you tell us what you experienced<br />
in Syria, and the reasons you came to<br />
Turkey?<br />
Mahmoud Naif: The area we lived in was full<br />
of Assad forces. They started to use a building<br />
near us as their headquarter. A couple streets<br />
away was seized by the opposition forces.<br />
My shop remained in the area controlled by<br />
the Assad forces, while my house remained<br />
in the area controlled by the opposition. As<br />
the acts of violence increased, the opposition<br />
forces started to stop me from going to the<br />
area controlled by the Assad forces. On the<br />
other hand, the Assad forces gave me a rough<br />
time while returning back home. All in all, I<br />
remained in between the army and the opposition.<br />
There were manhandling, bribery,<br />
extortion, and even whistle blowing and espionage.<br />
The pro Assad supporters threatened<br />
me to take my son away from me, if I did<br />
not spy for them. I stalled them. But as they<br />
understood I would not meet their demands,<br />
firstly they destroyed my shop. They took everything.<br />
Then they took my son away from<br />
me. I couldn’t find him. He is still lost. I had no<br />
income, job, earning anymore. The conflicts<br />
still continued, and our neighborhood was hit<br />
by aircrafts and tanks. Electricity water was<br />
cut off, and we could not find anything to eat.<br />
First of all we came to to Idlib from Aleppo<br />
along with my family. After we stayed there<br />
for a while, we came to Turkey. My health deteriorated<br />
because of the violence I was exposed<br />
to. My treatment still continues. I lost<br />
my properties, possessions, but most importantly<br />
I lost my son. There was no meaning to<br />
stay in Syria anymore.<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 15 September<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Mustafa Ziyad al Nasiri,<br />
a Syrian who came from Syria to Reyhanlı<br />
district of Hatay<br />
22<br />
ORSAM<br />
Report No: 157, May 2013
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