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ORSAM<br />
CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES<br />
in the district. I do not need the salary given<br />
by the government, but I had to escape from<br />
the torture and massacre in Syria like others<br />
did, as nobody was left in the district despite<br />
the fact that I preferred staying to do my job.<br />
What else could I have done?<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 25 November<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Vahed Lutfi al Habbaz<br />
abu Mustafa, who settled in Reyhanlı district<br />
of Hatay<br />
When the conflicts broke out, carpenter Vahed<br />
Lutfi al Habbaz abu Mustafa firstly sent<br />
his family to Turkey; then he also came here<br />
as it became quite difficult to live in Syria.<br />
Vahed Lutfi al Habbaz abu Mustafa: I come<br />
from Keferuruk village of Idlib in Syria. I am<br />
43 years old, and father of 5 children. I am a<br />
carpenter and a joiner. I have an atelier with<br />
all kinds of machines and lumbers on 2 decares<br />
of land on Idlib Aleppo route. I make<br />
doors, windows, office furnitures to order for<br />
offices, houses, state institutions and organizations.<br />
I have 5 employees in my atelier.<br />
ORSAM: Could you tell us about your life<br />
before the civil war in Syria, what you went<br />
through during the civil war and the reasons<br />
why you came to Turkey?<br />
Vahed Lutfi al Habbaz abu Mustafa: Right<br />
after the outbreak of civil war, our village was<br />
bombarded. Cluster bombs were dropped, a<br />
great number of children and women were<br />
killed. People started to emigrate from the<br />
neighboring villages and districts. This situation<br />
led to a downturn of trade. As we could<br />
not sell anything, we could not manufacture<br />
either. Jaish al Hur seized the control of our<br />
area. When our houses were destroyed as a<br />
result of the bombardments, they built shelters.<br />
We began to stay in those shelters along<br />
with my family. My brother was killed during<br />
the conflicts. First of all I sent my family to<br />
Turkey. Then I carried on staying in Syria on<br />
my own. During the day, we stayed in woodlands,<br />
out of the village. During nights, on the<br />
other hand, we stayed anywhere we saw light.<br />
However, we had to sit by candle light. Winter<br />
almost came. There was no firewood in our<br />
neighborhood. Fuel, on the other hand, was<br />
very expensive. If the bombardment continued,<br />
more people would have to immigrate<br />
throughout winter.<br />
We cannot even perform our prayer together<br />
with the crowd the way it used to be. Because<br />
wherever there is a crowd, that place is bombarded.<br />
Pro Assad reporters are all around.<br />
We call them “Shabiha”. When a whistleblower<br />
is detected, whether he is from the public<br />
or Jaish al Hur, he is immediately executed.<br />
There are only very old and poor people left<br />
in our village and in the neighboring villages.<br />
Everybody immigrates. I could not stay on my<br />
own any longer and I came to my family in<br />
Turkey<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 25 November<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Asım Nebi abu Musto,<br />
who came from Syria to Turkey and settled<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay<br />
Minibus operator Asım Nebi abu Musto<br />
could not do his job due to the immigration,<br />
and came to Turkey. He is not planning to<br />
turn back to his country until things settle<br />
down in Syria.<br />
42<br />
ORSAM<br />
Report No: 157, May 2013
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