Muddy tents, deep sorrow… elderly woman’s hope for safe return to Serekaniye

Among dilapidated tents and muddy ground, where the smell of earth mixes with rain, 54-year-old Amina Mohammed sits in front of a small grocery shop opened by her relatives in the Serekaniye camp in the city of al-Hasakah.

The sky is overcast, and raindrops fall on her face, while memories of her city gather in her mind the city from which war and the Turkish occupation displaced her at the end of 2019 along with her dream of returning to it.

The camp appears like a maze of worn-out tents soaked with water. Small rain puddles collect in every corner, and torn blankets are scattered across the ground. Residents try, as much as they can, to shield themselves from the cold and dampness. The sound of children playing in the mud is sometimes mixed with crying, blending innocence with pain. The tents have almost turned into lifeless shelters, each one reflecting the tragedy of a family that has lost its homeland.

We have grown weary of life in these camps

Pointing with her trembling fingers, Amina speaks in a despairing tone, as she lives in the camp with all her family members, saying: “Our situation here is miserable. For seven years, we have been tasting the bitterness of life in these camps between mud, dust, and rainwater that floods us during the winter.”

Her voice then rises as she adds: “We have had enough displacement, exile, and (injustice). We want to return to our homes and our city. We are exhausted by what we are living through here.”

Serekaniye is beautiful in every detail, we want a safe and dignified return

With tears glistening in her eyes, Amina explains: “We cannot return now under these conditions. Our homes have been completely destroyed, our wells have been ruined, and others are farming our land in the village of Umm al-Dibs. As for our house in the Zardasht neighborhood, we have no news about it.”

Despite years of displacement and suffering, Amina has not forgotten her city. She describes it with longing: “It was beautiful and peaceful, and people lived there in safety and security. Now, no one can move around because of the mercenaries. Enough displacement, we must stand together and return in peace, with dignity and stability, without our children being subjected to provocation, arrest, or acts of revenge. Serekaniye was beautiful in every detail, and what we want is to return to the city where we once lived happily.”

The woman in her fifties concluded her remarks to our agency during a field tour by our correspondent monitoring the situation of the displaced, saying: “We want to return to bury our dead in our land. We are exhausted from years of displacement.”

Today, the displaced people of Serekaniye hope for a safe return to their homes following the January 29 agreement this year between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the interim Syrian government, which stipulates the return of displaced people to their cities and villages.

Between the desire to return and fear of the current reality, the displaced continue to stress that Serekaniye still lacks security, stability, and services. Any return at the present stage would remain fraught with risks unless serious guarantees are provided to ensure the protection of residents and the reconstruction of their city.

Thousands of displaced people from Serekaniye still live in difficult conditions in the Jazira region, mainly distributed across three camps: Washokani Camp, Serekaniye Camp in al-Hasakah, and Newroz Camp in Derik. Others are staying in dozens of schools converted into shelters, while hundreds of families continue to live with relatives or in rented homes in Qamishlo and al-Hasakah.

Despite talk of agreements ensuring a safe return for the displaced, the presence of Turkish forces and their affiliated fighters continues, along with the spread of military bases and the administration of the city through security and intelligence structures.

In a statement issued on March 25, the Committee of the Displaced of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) confirmed that the security, military, and administrative situation in the city and its countryside remains unsafe and unstable. This makes any individual or unorganized return highly dangerous and insufficient to meet even the minimum conditions for a safe, voluntary, and dignified return.

ANHA