SORGUL ŞÊXO

Hesekê – Turkish attacks on NE Syria have continued since 2018 while all countries keep silent against these attacks. The people living in attacked cities such as Afrin, Girê Spî, and Serêkaniye are trying to maintain their lives amid war, poverty, death, pain, and tears. Til El-Leben köyü is located on the M4 road, 18 kilometers west of the Hesekê’s Til Temir district. This village has been under Turkish bombardment since October 2019 and civilians have been targeted in the bombardment. Several days ago, Turkey shelled Til El-Leben village and its neighboring Gozeli village. The bombardment caused financial damages and killed many animals in the villages. As NuJINHA team, we went to Til El-Leben to learn the situation in the village. We spoke to a female villager named Husa Ehmed.

“One day in the desert, one day at home”

Husa talked about the days before Turkish bombardment on their village with longing, “What is valuable for us is to live in peace and without fear. Do you know how people live under bombardment? We don’t know when we will be shelled, and when we should leave our house due to the bombardment. That's why we live every moment in fear. I live one day in the desert, and one day at home. During the bombardment, we sleep in fields.”

“We didn’t leave our village”

Husa and other elders help children and old people when their village is shelled by Turkey. They also take their animals out of the village. “We have faced such attacks since our grandmothers and grandfathers lived in this village. Turkish soldiers are very close to here; we can see them from the village. Despite that, we didn’t leave our village. They have bombed our village to force us to leave our village. The Turkish state has been bombing not only civilians but also animals, villages, and deserts,” Husa told NuJINHA.

“I lost 30 of my sheep and goats in the bombardment”

Husa’s house has been targeted twice in two years. “We milked our animals in our yard after returning from the plateau. We took the milk and entered our house. A mortar was fired into our yard in three-second. I lost 30 of my sheep and goats in this bombardment. When I saw the killed sheep and goats in the yard, I went crazy. I felt like 30 of my children had been killed in the yard. Some of my sheep and goats were injured.”

“We will not leave our lands”

Husa drew attention to Turkey's statements saying “We do not target civilians” and she said, “These mortars are fired from where? What the Turkish state says is a lie. There are documents proving that they are lying. We have footage and photographs taken during the bombardment. I demand the Turkish state be tried for its crimes against civilians and animals. I demand justice. We will not leave our village even if we have to create life out of death. We will not leave the lands of our grandmothers and grandfathers.”