By Nalin Ali
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Christmas day in 2023, Berivan Muhammad, 33, waved goodbye to her father who had dropped her off at her workplace in Simav printing house in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria. An hour later, she was killed in a Turkish airstrike on her workplace.
It was goodbye for Zubeir Muhammad and his eldest daughter, whom he always sought to protect from danger and make her happy.
The parents had Berivan in 1990, their firstborn daughter after ten years of marriage. During that time, they consulted doctors in Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishli for infertility issues.
Later, the couple had three boys, leaving Berivan the only girl in the family who was constantly pampered and loved. She grew up to be a conscious young woman and friendly with her family, neighbors, and friends.
She completed her studies at the Technical Institute in the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, but she was unable to obtain her graduation certificate due to the war.
According to her parents and classmates, Berivan stood out for not being demanding. She loved her job and was satisfied that her family was safe.
The daily routine of the family was to come together in the evening after everyone returned from work, while Fridays were dedicated to household chores and family feasts.
The mother recalls an evening when they were all gathered around the heater. “She asked me if I favored boys over girls as most women in our society do. I told her she knew how much dear she was to me,” the mother said.
Berivan’s family members consulted her about everything. She followed up on her mother’s health and nutrition. Her mother would tease her, saying, “I am your mother but you give me advice.” She always had conscious responses.
Job opportunity
Seven years ago, Berivan got a job opportunity as an accountant at Simav printing house, then a few months later became a warehouse officer.
She seemed happy in her job and got along well with her co-workers. They were like a small family, her father said.
The Simav printing house was established in Qamishli after 2011 when the Syrian government’s influence diminished in the area. The government always prohibited publications that opposed its policies in Kurdish, or even in Arabic.
The printing house released dozens of books written by local authors, in addition to local newspapers and magazines.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) relied on the Simav printing house in Qamishli, in addition to the Herekol printing house in Derik (al-Malikiyah), far northeastern Syria, to print school curricula books in Kurdish, Arabic, and Syriac languages.
The printing house operated modern machines for printing and cutting paper, while it relied on workers to manually assemble and package the books.
On Monday morning, Dec. 25, 2023, Berivan woke her father up to drive her to her workplace because she had overslept and did not make it on time to ride the vehicle that was designated to transport the employees of the printing house.
Berivan’s mother overheard the conversation but chose not to get up because she did not want her daughter to notice she was unwell, which would have prompted her to refrain from going to work.
The father said that when they arrived at the print house, Riyad, an employee who also died in the bombing, was there. “I greeted him and we made jokes. He invited me for tea, but I apologized because I was still in my pajamas. I left and both of them waved goodbye to me,” he said.
The employees at Simav printing house worked all week except for Fridays.
Farewell
After about an hour, the sound of Turkish airstrikes echoed through the city. Some of the employees went outside and then returned to their work.
Berivan headed to the assembly department where the girls were gathered. They expressed their fears and asked Berivan to stay with them instead of being alone in her office.
One of the workers recalled that Berivan, who always had a smile on her face, was as tense as everyone else. She left the assembly department and went to a nearby design office close to the main entrance of the building.
At home, Berivan’s family members heard the sound of explosions. Her parents and two of her brothers went up to the rooftop of their house and saw smoke in the direction of the printing house. Her father rushed to the printing house.
“When I entered the building, there were only firefighting and emergency crews. Blood and broken glass were everywhere on the floor. I asked about the employees, but no one answered,” Berivan’s father.
He checked his daughter’s office. Everything was in place, her computer, her coat, and her coffee cup, but Berivan was not there.
Moments later, he received a call from his daughter-in-law saying Berivan had been taken to the hospital.
The nearby hospital was crowded with relatives of the victims and the injured, and entry was forbidden so that paramedics and doctors could do their job.
“We waited like everyone else,” he said.
Moments later the director of the hospital, Muhammad Ali Abdi, who knew the family, told them that Berivan had died as soon as she arrived at the hospital. “There was nothing I could do,” Abdi said.
Misleading claims
The Turkish airstrike on the Simav printing house claimed the lives of six individuals, five of whom were workers at the printing house, and the sixth was a visitor.
Turkey claimed responsibility for targeting the printing house in Qamishli and posted a video footage with comments saying, “Turkey insists it takes utmost care to avoid civilian casualties and harm to cultural heritage.”
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) responded to Turkey’s allegations saying that Turkey exports its internal crises, naming the targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities as a policy of genocide.
Berivan’s father confirms that all the employees at the printing house were civilian workers, including the manager, Farhan Khalaf, saying, “He used to be a French teacher in the past, and we had an old friendship.”
“Berivan did not carry a weapon,” the mother says.
The mother, who used to accompany her daughter in the mornings to protect her from stray dogs in the neighborhood, is now looking sadly at the locked door of her room and repeating, “Berivan has now become a story and a history.”