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ORSAM<br />
CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES<br />
needs of the area. The major problem is the<br />
devaluation of SYP, and the rising cash flow<br />
problem of the people. While the price of a<br />
shirt ranged between 300 to 500 SYP before,<br />
it is currently 1000 SYP. While the price of a<br />
coat ranged between 750 to 1000 SYP in the<br />
past, now it is 3000 SYP. Wood burning stove<br />
is demanded most. Because fuel is currently<br />
on the black market in Syria. The people try<br />
to get warm by burning chocks, sacks etc.<br />
I set up a business in Turkey where I came as a<br />
refugee, and started to earn my living. In fact,<br />
I also provided job opportunities to Syrians<br />
who came here to struggle for their lives like<br />
me.<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Mahmoud Idris al Selim<br />
abu Ibrahim, who came from Idlib province<br />
of Syria and came to Turkey to settle<br />
in Hatay<br />
Mahmoud Idris al Salim, who is a farmer, lost<br />
his son during the conflicts. He decided to<br />
migrate for safety of his life, economic problems,<br />
and also due to the pressure caused by<br />
the war.<br />
Mahmoud Idris al Selim abu Ibrahim: I am<br />
from Kefellesin Village of Idlib, Syria. I am 62<br />
years old. I have 2 wives, and I am father of 11<br />
children. The ages of my children range between<br />
15 to 28. I have 8 sons. My 5 children<br />
are married. I have 12 grandchildren. We have<br />
lands in our village. We grow olive, grape, fig.<br />
Our sole source of income is agriculture and<br />
stockbreeding.<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 />
Mahmoud Idris al Selim abu Ibrahim:<br />
When the civil war broke out, my 26 year old<br />
son joined Jaish al Hur. During the conflicts,<br />
my son was martyred. He has two sons. After<br />
his death, the whole family started to feel<br />
more uneasy about the situation. Our olive<br />
groves, orchard were damaged. We could not<br />
harvest our crops. We were damaged to a<br />
large extent in economic terms. There was no<br />
meadow left to graze our animals. Blackout,<br />
food shortage etc. We could not find anything<br />
to eat. I wanted to sell my field and my livestock.<br />
However, there was no one left to buy<br />
them as everybody migrated, lands could not<br />
be cultivated, and due to the lack of meadow<br />
to graze livestock. I sold my livestock at low<br />
prices to butchers. We decided to migrate for<br />
safety of our lives, economic problems, and<br />
also due to the pressure caused by the war.<br />
We arrived in Reyhanlı and rent a house. As<br />
the whole family, we settled in this four room<br />
house with garden. We took a pick up truck<br />
while coming here. We both meet our own<br />
needs and also transport to the border or<br />
city center through this pick up truck. During<br />
the olive season, we worked in the fields<br />
in Reyhanlı. We planted onion, and pruned<br />
trees. Women in our family bake bread and<br />
sell them to the Syrians in the neighborhood.<br />
We are in contact with those come from and<br />
go to Syria. We hear that our furniture and<br />
goods at our home we left behind are all plundered.<br />
We were damaged in both financial<br />
and emotional terms. What I worry about<br />
most is the fact that my grandchildren cannot<br />
carry on their education.<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Naif Abdo Zahir abu<br />
Ekrem, who came from Syria to Reyhanlı<br />
district of Hatay<br />
60<br />
ORSAM<br />
Report No: 157, May 2013
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