Forced displacement of Afrin people.. between pain and hope

 In a story whose tragedy is repeated, the people of Afrin are facing a new forced displacement after they had lost their city in 2018 due to the attacks of the Turkish occupation.

Arif Musto, a Yazidi man in his sixties, sits in one of the corridors of a school in the city of Hasaka, which has been transformed into a shelter for the forcibly displaced from Afrin and Shahba Cantons.

Musto speaks about the crimes of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, saying: "We were displaced again because of the same groups that displaced us from Afrin. This time the pain was doubled; we had started building a new life in Shahba despite the harsh siege and lack of resources. We never thought of emigrating, but we were resisting there to return to our homes. But the recent attacks left us no choice but to be displaced again."

Arif Musto recalls the events he experienced with his family of 10 during the tragedy of forced displacement and says: "The road was fraught with dangers; shelling, shooting, and theft of our belongings. We feared for our children more than anything else. We Yazidis are always targeted, and our history is full of massacres, as happened in Shingal."

Berivan Ebo, a mother of four also went through a similar experience of pain. She talks about the attacks by the Turkish occupation mercenaries that forced her to leave her home in Shahba, saying: "We thought we had overcome the worst that could happen after we were displaced from Afrin. But with every cry of our children and every close bombardment, we realized that our suffering would double."

Berivan expressed what the Yazidis feel, saying: "Displacement for us is not leaving a home. It is losing everything we own, and everything that expresses our identity. The suffering of the Yazidis is double that of other displaced people; because many massacres were committed against us, as happened in Shingal."

Berivan described the second forced displacement journey as "it was like hell; fear, gunfire, and our children screaming every moment."

Despite the suffering, the forcibly displaced maintain their hope of returning. Arif Musto summed up his feelings by saying: “We want to live in peace on our land, we only ask for this injustice to be lifted. We are ready to rebuild our lives from scratch. The ongoing violations against us must stop.”

While Berivan added: “Our children deserve a better life, a future without fear. Our rights to return to our homes safely must be guaranteed.”

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was the only support for these families, as it provided them with shelter in the Cantons of Tabqa, Raqqa, Jazira and Euphrates.

According to initial estimates, these areas have so far received more than 100,000 forcibly displaced people, and the administration is working to provide humanitarian support amidst major challenges.

While the forcibly displaced people are living in harsh conditions, calls are increasing for the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to stop the crimes of the Turkish occupation and expel it from the occupied Syrian territories, as well as to provide urgent assistance to those affected by the attacks of the occupation.

a.k

ANHA