RAPERÎN BEKÎR

Shahba- On January 20,2018, the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions began to attack Afrin Canton with the approval and support of international forces. The people of Afrin resisted the attacks for 58 days; however, Afrin was occupied by the Turkish state and Turkish backed-factions on March 18, 2018, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, displacing thousands.

After Kurdish forces withdrew from Afrin to prevent more civilians from being killed, some people of Afrin were forcibly displaced from their own hometown to Shahba. Describing their resistance against the difficult living conditions in the camps in Shahba as “the second phase of their resistance,” the displaced women of Afrin say they will keep resisting with the hope that they will return to their homeland one day.

‘We keep resisting’

Salwa Şeyho, one of the displaced women of Afrin living in Shahba, told NuJINHA that their lives in Afrin were very good. “We had many olive and fruit trees in Afrin. Our lands were our source of income. However, we were displaced from our homeland by the Turkish state.” Salwa Şeyho believes that the Turkish state attacks the Kurdish people in order to take revenge on them. “But we will take our homeland back from the factions. The people of Afrin resisted the warplanes and heavy weapons of the Turkish state for exactly 58 days. Today, we resist in Shahba.”

‘Being displaced is like death’

Pointing to the crimes being committed by the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions in Afrin, she said, “Martyrs' cemeteries in Afrin were destroyed by Turkish warplanes. This shows how they are brutal. Being displaced is like death. We will never forget the brutal attacks of the Turkish state in Afrin.”

‘We have been waging the second phase of our resistance in Shahba’

While talking about when they left Afrin, Salwa Şeyho said, “We had to leave our lands, homes and memories. I still remember the screams of a mother whose child died in her arms. We did know whether the cause of her child’s death was hunger or cold. She was experiencing the grief of losing her child while experiencing the pain of leaving her homeland. Despite everything, we will keep resisting. We have been waging the second phase of our resistance in Shahba. Although we resist the difficult living conditions in the camps, the international community keeps remaining silent against the Turkish attacks.”

In an interview with NuJINHA Zeynep Xelil emphasized that their resistance against the Turkish state in Afrin continued in Shahba. “We keep resisting in Shahba in order to return Afrin despite the ongoing Turkish attacks on Shahba. While resisting the Turkish attacks, we are also subjected to the siege imposed on Shahba by the Syrian government.” After being displaced from Afrin to Shahba, Zeynep Xelil began to work for assemblies, communes and organizations supporting women.

 “We have been resisting in Shahba for six years with the hope that we will return to Afrin. Afrin is our homeland and we will return to our homeland. The people of Afrin, especially women, will resist and stand by our forces until Afrin is liberated from the Turkish forces and Turkish-backed factions.”

‘We will endure all difficult living conditions to return’

We will endure all difficult living conditions in the camps to return Afrin, Susan Owusu said. “We will continue to resist until Afrin is liberated and the war ends.”