Full text - orsam

INTERVIEWS WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES IN REYHANLI - I
ORSAM
tain their lives through products brought
from Turkey. The Regular Army still keeps
the control of the center of Idlib. Only the
neighboring villages and towns of Idlib are
controlled by Jaish al Hur. We cannot even go
to our province, our city. There is no possibility
to buy our needs. There is no security of
life and property. They put us in prison the
moment they catch us. Thousands of people
like me are escapees.
Winter has arrived, and people still live there
without any heating stove, and they do not
have almost anything to eat. We lived in an
order where suppression is at maximum
level, and that’s why people migrate. People
will continue to migrate as long as the system
does not change.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay on 6 December
2012.
An Interview with Suheyl Mahmoud abu
Riyad, who came from Syria to Turkey and
settled in Reyhanlı district of Hatay
Suheyl Mahmoud abu Riyad, who is an employee
in a hotel, lost his brother during a
bombardment. And he brought along his
family and came to Turkey.
Suheyl Mahmoud abu Riyad: I am from
Masharka neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. I
used to work in a three star hotel in the Bab el
Farac neighborhood of Aleppo. I am 30 years
old. I am married and father of 2 children. I
graduated from high school in Aleppo. After
military service, I found a job and started to
work in a hotel. We are a poor family, my father
and my brothers work in wholesale market
hall. Some family members, on the other
hand, repair shoes and work in similar jobs.
As the hotel is located in the center of Aleppo
and I have been working here for a long
time, I talk to people from various nations.
I speak Turkish and English at a basic level.
But I know Arabic language and literature
very well, and besides I am good at preparing
appetizers and have an expertise in hotel and
tourism sector.
ORSAM: Could you tell us about your life
before the civil war in Syria, what you went
through during the civil war and the reasons
why you came to Turkey?
Suheyl Mahmoud abu Riyad: I had a peaceful
life, and a house of mine; but my family
had hard times when the civil war broke out,
and our neighborhood was bombed. One of
my brothers was killed, and I had to look after
my 3 half orphan nephews and my brother’s
wife.
I was determined not to leave Aleppo no
matter what happens. As the bombardments
became more frequent, and more and more
people were killed, I had to leave my country
as there was no trade income anymore, and
I changed my mind and decided to come to
Turkey. I brought my family, my widow brother’s
wife and my half orphan nephews and we
all came to Turkey. As my father and all my
other brothers had come to Turkey months
ago, they had already settled in the tent city
in Kilis. But I rent an apartment in Reyhanlı
as I could not get used to the idea of staying
in tent city.
I drove to Turkey in my old model Skoda car. I
carry Syrians, loads etc. sometimes within the
city and sometimes from the city to villages.
I gave my telephone number to all Syrians,
and they call me when there is a need to carry
things, and thus I make my living in Turkey.
I cannot go back to Syria until things settle
down in Syria. I hope we have the freedom
you have here, because what matters is to live
in freedom.
ORSAM
Report No: 157, May 2013 57