Elderly people of Aleppo fear another displacement if Turkey invades northern Syria

ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Afrin IDPs, especially the elderly in camps in the northern countryside of Aleppo Governorate, fear another displacement if Turkey implements its recent threats and invades the region.

During times of displacement, old persons have urgent rights and needs. They can be at risk due to lack of chronic diseases which can make fleeing from one place to another a very hard and difficult journey. 

Today, the 75-year-old Fatima Barko fears another displacement if Turkey, along with Turkish-backed armed opposition factions known as SNA, launches a new military operation against north Syria.

Barko was uprooted from her village of Jalama in Jindires district in Afrin countryside, after SNA factions, backed by Turkey, seized Afrin in March of 2018 following “Olive Branch” military operation.

In her tent in Sardam camp in the northern countryside of Aleppo, Barko wonders “What do you [Turkey] want from us? I reject these threats, I reject them, and I reject them.”

IDPs’ fears are increasing as Turkey continues threatening the area, in June 27, in a speech after charring a government meeting, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats to launch a new military operation in northern Syria.

“We will start a new operation in Syria as soon as the armed forces complete their readiness and preparations,” Erdogan added.

On June 1, Erdogan renewed his threats of launching a military operation on northern Syria, and specified his targets in the two Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat, which include many IDPs.

Barko blamed human rights organizations for not doing their duties to preserve their rights and called on them to take their full responsibilities, “I demand that world and the human rights organization guarantee our rights.”

Neither the Turkish threats nor the targeting against areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) have stopped since Turkey started its military operations in Syria.

The Turkish forces with the Syrian National Army (SNA) have launched four major military operations in northern Syria since the start of the Syrian conflict, taking control of areas along the border in what it says is a bid to “protect its national security” and its frontier.

With the start of the Turkish recent threats, Afrin IDPs started to recall displacement memories; as many of them had suffered of before.

What is our fault?

Barko sadly recalls her suffering when she left Afrin and walked for the last time through al-Ahlam Mountain road, where they left everything behind.

“We left everything behind and could only save ourselves, that day still hurts me,” she said.

Because of her old age, Barko cannot walk properly “I am old. How will I be able to flee?”

“I cannot leave my tent to bring some drinking water from the nearby tanks, I do not have the ability to flee again,” she added.

The Turkish military operation on Afrin led to the displacement of approximately 300.000 of the original inhabitants, where part of them settled in the camps of al-Awda, Afrin, Barkhodan, Sardam, and Shahba in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Another part was distributed among 42 villages and towns in Shahba region (Aleppo northern countryside); some moved towards cities in northeastern Syria, while others immigrated abroad.

According to the management of the five camps, the elderly of Afrin IDPs, whose numbers in the camps are estimated at 612, suffer from very difficult living and health conditions, especially since most of them live lonely, while others passed away grieving for their situation after displacement.

What a safe zone Turkey is talking about!?  

At the same camp, the 67-year-old Fatima Sheikho is sitting lonely in front of her tent, worried about the Turkish threats.

The elderly women who hails from Bulbul district in Afrin countryside said, “I have become homeless, I live lonely in this tent, I do not have anyone here.”  

“What is my fault? I am an old woman. What do you [Erdogan] want from us? Why are you targeting this defenseless people,” she said.

Sheikho has not yet forgotten the day Turkish warplanes flew over Afrin, “We did not know what was happening at the time, but now especially after the recent Turkish threats and their targeting of villages, when I sit in front of my tent my eyes always hung to the sky for fear of repeating the same tragedy of Afrin.”

On May 25, Turkey’s National Security Council said that Turkey’s “existing and future military operations along its southern borders were necessary for the country’s security.” In the meeting, Erdogan delivered a speech to the MPs of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and said, “Turkish military would continue to rid its neighbor of terrorists” refers to the SDF.

At first, the 62-year-old Ja’far Suleiman refused to leave Afrin, even when the bombing started, he simply continued with his daily routine.  

Eventually, his grandson persuaded him to flee with them after what they heard and saw of grave violations committed by the SNA factions’ members against the elderly who refused to leave their villages.

Suleiman said that the elderly were the first who were subjected to humiliation and torture by the SNA members when they first entered the area.

“What safe area is Erdogan talking about, and we hear about what is happening in Afrin, including killing, rape and arrest, since the beginning of the Turkish occupation of our areas?” he asked.

Suleiman, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, also expressed his fears of repeating the experience of displacement again, since he has only a tent left in Sardam camp.

“I left my property, homes and everything behind. They want to forcibly displace us from here too,” he said.

The old man calls on the international community to prevent Turkey from carrying out its military operation, “The guarantor countries like France, Britain, Russia, the US and the UN must see the suffering of this people.”

The villages of Shahba region are witnessing a Turkish military escalation, as they are bombed almost daily.

Reporting by Faya Milad