Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
INTERVIEWS WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES IN REYHANLI - I<br />
ORSAM<br />
Naif Abdo Zahir abu Ekrem, who lived in<br />
Hama Syria, went through all kinds of difficulties<br />
and came to Turkey.<br />
Naif Abdo Zahir abu Ekrem: I am from Al<br />
Rif district of Hama in Syria.<br />
ORSAM: Could you tell us about the reason<br />
you came to Turkey and the process of your<br />
arrival in the country?<br />
Naif Abdo Zahir abu Ekrem: Two of my 6<br />
children and one of my grandchildren were<br />
killed. Then I brought along my daughters, my<br />
daughter in law and my grandchildren, and<br />
we came to Turkey. We got on a truck, took<br />
some stuff and food, and set off. The distance<br />
between Hama and Turkey border is 130 km.<br />
Hundreds of people in our district were killed<br />
as a result of bomb attacks. So tens of thousands<br />
of people migrated like we did. There<br />
were many negative factors like the lack of oil,<br />
and rough roads. There is no means of transport<br />
on highways. Village roads are used for<br />
transportation. Besides, there are also gangs<br />
and thieves in some areas where Jaish al Hur<br />
is not present. They question those who pass<br />
by the route and take away their extra belongings.<br />
They do not let people go for a long<br />
time. They hold them for hours. Many injured<br />
people are treated primitively on the roads.<br />
Some of them cannot be treated even through<br />
primitive ways. One cannot live in an area of<br />
bombardment. But in the process between<br />
leaving the area and arriving in the border,<br />
you can also be killed. People who are injured<br />
die of either blood lose, or diseases. When<br />
jets detect a crowded group on the road, they<br />
start to drop bombs. Artillery shells are fired<br />
from a distance. Artillery shells stop in 20 kilometers<br />
distance away from the Turkey border<br />
because the area is controlled by Jaish al<br />
Hur. Even though the entire rural area of Idlib<br />
is saved, there are still Assad forces in the city<br />
center. We could not feed children with anything<br />
other than dry bread and cheese on the<br />
road. We had neither time nor place where we<br />
could be safe.<br />
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar<br />
in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December<br />
2012.<br />
An Interview with Numan al Hashim abu<br />
Ibrahim, who came from Aleppo Syria to<br />
Turkey and settled in Hatay<br />
Retired worker Numan al Hashim abu Ibrahim<br />
rent an apartment with those who came<br />
from Syria settled in Reyhanlı like himself,<br />
and he works in daily jobs.<br />
Numan al Hashim abu Ibrahim: I am from<br />
Hamdaniya Neighborhood of Aleppo. I am<br />
53 years old. I am father of 5 children. I am<br />
a retired municipal worker. My elder son has<br />
been serving his military service in Tartus,<br />
Syria. We cannot hear from him for three<br />
months.<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 />
Numan al Hashim abu Ibrahim: Our house<br />
was damaged due to the barrel bombs dropped<br />
on our neighborhood during the civil war. Despite<br />
the fact that many walls were damaged,<br />
we kept on living in the house. The pension of<br />
a retired municipal worker is 20 thousand SYP<br />
(approximately 400 TL). When the economy<br />
collapsed in Syria, all prices increased. While<br />
a bag of bread used to cost 25 SYP (8 loaves of<br />
bread in a bag), now it is 150 SYP. In the given<br />
circumstances, we had to make do with 8<br />
loaves of bread for 2 3 days as an entire family.<br />
We lived half hungry. It was also the same in<br />
ORSAM<br />
Report No: 157, May 2013 61
Change language