‘Action should be taken against policies aiming at demographic change’
Şehînaz Omar and Zekiye Mihemed, two displaced women of Afrin living in the Berxwedan camp in Shahba, call on human rights organizations to take action against Turkish policies aiming at changing the demographic structure in Afrin.
HESNA MIHEMED
Shahba- The Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions have been carrying out policies aiming at changing the demographic structure of Afrin since they began to occupy Afrin Canton on March 18, 2018. They have settled families and members of factions, who are not from Afrin.
The Turkish state has built more than 42 buildings in Afrin with the support of 48 associations from Kuwait, Qatar and Palestine since March 2018, according to a report of the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization.
‘They changed the names of villages and streets’
In an interview with NuJINHA, Şehînaz Omar and Zekiye Mihemed, two displaced women of Afrin living in the Berxwedan camp in Shahba, reacted to the occupation policies of the Turkish state. “The occupying Turkish state has carried out policies aiming at killing civilians and changing the demographic structure in Afrin,” said Şehînaz Omar. “The names of Afrin’s historical villages and streets are being changed and replaced with Turkish names. Nature and the mountains of Afrin are burned and destroyed.”
‘People are forced to learn Turkish’
Afrin was known for its nature but it has now been turned into a desert, Şehînaz Omar emphasized, adding, “It is obvious that the Turkish state has been carrying out a policy to destroy the history of Afrin. Afrin is a part of Syria; however, the Kurds and Syrians are forced to learn Turkish because the Turkish state wants to erase their identity. I call on all international organizations to unite and fulfill their responsibilities against this situation.”
Zekiye Mihemed also thinks that the Turkish state aims to destroy the identity and existence of people from different nations in Afrin. “Since Shahba is a small area, we live in the camp. This camp was built for the displaced people of Afrin until they return to their homeland. The Turkish state has built buildings and camps in Afrin and settled foreign families there in order to increase the Arab and Turkish population. It aims to change the demographic structure in Afrin.”
Women in Afrin are forced to wear black and long clothes to destroy their culture, Zekiye Mihemed said. “Century-old fruit trees in Afrin are also cut down and burned by Erdoğan and his factions.”