The first park to be opened for the displaced people of Afrin northern Aleppo
Northern Aleppo – North-Press Agency
Dejla Khalil
The Municipality of Tal Sosin in the northern countryside of Aleppo has opened on Monday a park for the displaced people of the region of Afrin in “Sardam” IDP center.
The park was named “Martyr Samira” (a member of the Internal Security Forces who lost her life during the battles against the Turkish army in Afrin), the municipality allocated a size of about 500 m², it was planted with trees and plants with laying sidewalks and benches, as well as a water fountain in the middle of the park.
Muhammad Qaziqli, the co-chair of the services committee at Sardam Camp told North-Press: “The work in the park started about three months ago”, pointing out that the lack of enough equipment delayed the completion of the project.
The number of displaced people from the Kurdish region of Afrin who reside in Sardam Camp is about 3.500, who were displaced from the region after the Turkish military assault and its backed armed opposition groups on the region on March 18 last year, mostly to northern Aleppo countryside, where five camps were allocated for them.
Gule Hussein, an IDP in Sardam camp, expressed her happiness with the opening of the park saying “Our children will play in the park in front of our eyes,” while hoping to go back to her city of Afrin and visit its parks.
Residents of the camp suffer the severe heat waves in the tents in the absence of ceilings which protects them from the heat of the sun.
For her part, Houria Muhammad Mustafa, an IDP in Sardam camp, said that they turned the northern countryside of Aleppo into a life pulsing with hope through planting trees and opening a park, noting that the park will be a safe place for children to play in.
In his turn, Abdo Hamo Khallo, an IDP in Sardam camp said: “This park feels as we are sitting under the shade of an olive tree in Afrin,” hoping to return to his city soon.
WHile Elfat Ali Barko, an IDP in Sardam camp said: “Any park, even if it’s more beautiful than the parks of my city Afrin, still it cannot replace them,” adding that the opening of the park brings happiness mood.
It’s noteworthy that Turkey, with its backed Islamist opposition groups, launched a military assault on the region of Afrin on January 20 last year, after nearly two months of fierce battles with People’s Protection Units (YPG, YPJ), where all kinds of heavy military weapons and air forces were used by the invading Turkish army, large numbers of the region’s civilians were displaced by the Turkish assault, numbers of IDPs were estimated of about 350,000.