QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Some 20km distance to the west of Afrin city in northwest Syria in a religiously and culturally diverse area whose existence dates to pre-Greek times, locates the town of Jindires, known in antiquity as Jindaros, overlooking the northern bank of Afrin River.
History
Jindires’ tale of the disastrous earthquake hit south Turkey and north Syria on Feb. 6 summarizes how little attention – if any – is paid to the plight of a people stricken by poverty and displacement among many others.
In antiquity, Jindires was a landmark diocese whose bishop’s reign extended over a number of villages huddled at Mount Lailoun (Simeon) in the northwest of Aleppo Governorate. At some point, Jindaros competed with the autocephalous Patriarchate of Antioch further west, religiously speaking.
The presence in east Jindires of the Dederiyeh Cave highly likely uninhabited by primitive Neanderthals, is an undeniable evidence that substantiates the city’s deep rootedness and its Kurdish origin.
Located on the strategically important hill close to the Belen Pass that divides Nur Mountains – the ancient Amanus – Jindires among many other have always been a pathway and a battleground between competing regional and global powers.
After 2011 war and Turkish occupation
More recently, and within the context of the Syrian crisis, the town fell in the summer of 2012 to the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the all- female Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).
According to the 2004 census carried out by the Syrian government, Jindires had 13.661 population. However, that number rose steadily to reach 20.000 in the years following the establishment of the Autonomous Administration in Afrin region. Many newcomers fleeing fierce battles between the Syrian government forces and the opposition factions arrived in Jindires which differed remarkably from all Afrin towns and villages in homing an Arab minority prior to the Syrian crisis. Cynically, they will be used as a Trojan Horse later.
Following a rapid though limited period of flourishing up to early 2018, the town’s epoch was curtailed in March 2018 when Afrin wholly fell to Turkish forces and opposition factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA) causing mass displacement. It was the so-called “Olive Branch” military operation which ended with the Turkish occupation of the area.
Feb. 6 earthquake
However, a new chapter – a gloomy one – was to be written in Jindires when at predawn on Feb. 6, a disastrous earthquake whose epicenter was in south Turkey reduced much of the city to rubble. Shocking images emerged from the town signify the scale of damage caused and the extent of assistance and help needed to return the town back to life. Life was brought to a halt in Jinderis.
Harim, Salqin and Azmarin in Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria, among many other major Syrian cities were hard hit by the quake. While hundreds of people lost their lives immediately owing to the horrendous destruction, many more remained for long days under the rubble in temperatures below zero levels. The mass damage and colossal destruction has relegated some parts of the townto a point of no recognition. Death and injury tolls could have been lower had assistance arrived on time, if any.
Accusation are made against rescue teams operating in Jindires of ignoring Kurdish survivors being rescued. Conflicting although sustainable reports signify Kurds have been deprived of humanitarian aid and material assistance. Previous experiences felt by the once predominate Kurdish population in Afrin in the aftermath of the “Olive Branch” operation in 2018 lend credence to widely circulated hypothesis.
In Jindires, more than 756 fatalities have been recorded of whom 530 are Kurds. 2.300 people have been reported injured. More than 3.000 buildings have been either wholly destroyed or partially damaged. The vast majority of the victims were buried in mass graves. Few numbers whose identities were verified were “lucky” enough to be buried by their relatives in their birthplaces.
International aid absence
No foreign aid has arrived in the disaster area except for a convoy of aid sent by the Erbil-based Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) and another sent by Saudi Arabia. Countless reports and eyewitness accounts suggest much of the aid sent by Saudis and the BCF have been seized by Muhammad al-Jassem Abu Amsha, a notorious factional leader in Afrin.
“Discrimination against Kurds”
In a WhatsApp call, Ibrahim Sheikho, Head of Human Rights Organization – Afrin, told North Press “Kurds are racially discriminated against in rescuing survivors, retrieving bodies from the rubble and distribution of aid sent by BCF and Saudis.” Breaching acts are committed not only by factional groups of SNA alone, rather by Arab settlers, Sheikho noted.
Money transfers sent by Afrin and Kurdish expatriates are decimated by factional groups who take the lion’s share of any aid or finances sent. Looting by factional groups of the Syrian opposition and newcomers is widely reported in Jindires.
Sheikho warned of demographic change that could be introduced by Qatari NGOs in Jindires covered up by humanitarian ends. Qatari NGOs among many others have a history of building settlements in the Kurdish region.
Following repeated aftershocks, locals in Jindires left the city to nearby villages seeking refugee with relatives. Reports say these are fearful to return home. According to a Kurdish author who spoke on condition of anonymity, a new wave of demographic change could be engineered in the city. As numerous houses have been collapsed in the quake, factional leaders could seize empty ones.
Kurdish quake-affected areas disregarded
Additionally, people who remain in nearby villages voice concerns over new waves of larcenies. The author who lives in Afrin said “Many many people still trapped under the rubble.” Kurdish residential areas hit by the quake were disregarded by rescue teams, he asserted.
Besides material assistance and humanitarian aid which remain short, people (notably women and children) are in dire need of psychological support. Children have reported suffering from involuntary urination. Many families have been survived by either a single boy or a girl. Some have lost their sponsors. Those need help in the psychological sense of the word to cope with the current and sudden reality introduced on the ground.
Deaf ears
The quake in Syria has shown the ugliest face of the Syrian crisis ever since, and that it is politics not the international law that drives the United Nations-run agencies. The town is depressed and helpless.
Hours after the quake, European countries stepped up rescue efforts to assist the population affected. France, for instance, employed surgeons, doctors, nurses, midwives, radiologists, biologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, health auxiliaries, and, anesthetists, etc. Further south, beneath Turkey’s border, on a soil where France has always claimed historical and cultural rights, the plight of deserted Syrians goes unheard. SOS’ appeals made by the bereaved and the homeless still fall on deaf ears. Once again, politics on Syrian soil has attained a crushing victory over humanity. What a failure.