After more than 3 decades, Jalo residents still suffer repercussions of Baath policies

A few kilometers west of Dêrik is the village of "Gelo", but it is not the same village in which entire generations were born, because the village is submerged under the waters of Al-Sefan Dam.

The ancient village of Jalo was overlooking the Sefan River that originates in northern Kurdistan and is considered one of the tributaries of the Tigris River.

The story started in 1984 when the Syrian government decided to build a dam in the riverbed near the village. According to the plans, it was assumed that the village was safe for who formed the lake behind the dam, but the matter did not go as planned, after the construction of the dam was completed in 1988 , The dam water overflowed and the village was completely submerged, to keep the people without shelter overnight.

As a result, the Syrian government deported the residents to a nearby area, and built a camp for them after they lost all their possessions.

The government's promises were delayed by more than nine months spent by the displaced people in the tents. Later, the residents were given a land in an area near the old village, as they had been promised to build a school and hospital, open roads and dig well, but they did not fulfill any of these promises.

Failure to fulfill promises, and the difficult living conditions of the people forced them to relocate to live in the cities of Dêrik and Girkê Legê so that only 20 of the 40 families who lived in them remained in the village.

Despite the risk of dams at Al-Safan, the Syrian government did not take any measures to protect the village.

Abdi Haji Khalil, a resident of Jalo village, an eyewitness to what happened in the village, says that the government granted the people at that time small amounts of money that did not make up for their losses in their homes and properties.

"The government forced the people to sign the decision to deport them from their village and not to return to it again or build it again," he added.

The people are continuing their lives in their new village, and they depend in their lives on agriculture and livestock, while they seek, through the autonomous administration institutions, councils and communes, to secure the necessities of life.

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ANHA