Çil Axa residents reject continued Arabization policies on their regions

There is an ongoing debate among the regions of Rojava on the Arabic names imposed on Kurdish cities and villages during the time of the Ba’ath Party, especially after the name “Ain Al Arab” was written in one of the entry boards in the city of Kobani and another board with the name “al-Jawadiyah” was installed in the post office of Çil Axa city without mentioning the name of the city in Kurdish.

Residents of the city believe that maintaining these names represents a continuation of the Arabization policies associated with the "Arab Belt" project, which sought to alter the demographic and cultural character of Kurdish regions and erase their historical identity.

In this context, Adnan Ahmad said that the Kurdish people reject the continuation of the Arabization policy that has been imposed on them for decades, emphasizing that the interim government should reverse its use of the names imposed by the Ba'ath regime on Kurdish cities and villages.

He added that the names of Kurdish cities from Afrin and Kobani to Qamishlo, Tirbespiyê, Tel- Tamr, Hasakah, Çil Axa, Girkê Legê, and Derik are not merely geographical names, but carry the history, culture, and identity of a people who have lived in these regions for hundreds of years. He considered any attempt to change them an infringement on the uniqueness of the region and the presence of the Kurdish people there.

Adnan stressed that preserving the historical names of cities and villages is an integral part of preserving Kurdish identity, calling for an end to the policies rooted in the Ba'ath regime’s practices against Kurdish regions.

For his part, Zahr al-Din Haji said that the names of Kurdish cities and villages predate the modern Syrian state, explaining that the Arabic names assigned to them were the result of the Arabization policies pursued by the Ba'ath Party as part of the Arab Belt project.

He added that those policies aimed to erase the identity of the indigenous population and force them to migrate, and that continuing to use these names after the fall of the regime is unacceptable to the people of the region.

He pointed out that the region’s residents support respect for all Syrian communities and the country’s cultural diversity, but that this does not mean abandoning the historical names of their regions. He noted that the people of the area made great sacrifices over the past years to put an end to exclusionary policies and cannot accept their reproduction in new forms.

Zahr al-Din called for preserving the names of Kurdish cities and villages, emphasizing that building a new Syria must be based on recognizing the cultural and national identity of all its components, free from policies of marginalization and exclusion.

For her part, Nisrin Abdul Aziz Hamdo said that the continued use of the names imposed under the Arab Belt project means the continuation of the legacy of the Ba'ath regime’s policies against Kurdish regions, affirming her rejection of any attempts that undermine the identity of the Kurdish people or the distinctiveness of their regions.

She added that respecting the uniqueness of Kurdish regions is not limited to language and culture, but also includes preserving the historical names of cities and villages, considering this an essential part of the cultural rights that must be protected.

Nisrin affirmed that any Syrian government or new constitution should be founded on respect for the historical and cultural heritage of all the country’s communities and should avoid policies based on exclusion or imposing one identity at the expense of another. She concluded by stressing that the people of the region will continue to defend the names of their cities and villages as an integral part of their history, identity, and existence.

ANHA