SORGUL ŞÊXO

Hasakah- Displaced people have to leave their home, neighborhood, hometown, neighbors, relatives, loved ones, and most importantly, their memories behind. After leaving their lives behind, they feel alone while struggling against poverty, fear, and diseases. They always dream of returning to their hometown, their old life. They survive because they still have hope. Although they face many difficulties, they struggle to build a new life.

She lives in a church

Rexda Şêx Salih is one of the displaced people. She had to leave her home in the Erîşa village of Tell Tamer with her family about two years and six months ago due to the attacks of Turkey on their village. She now lives in the hall of a small church in Tell Nasri village with her husband and two daughters and four sons. The church was destroyed by ISIS in April 2015. In October 2019, several displaced families rebuilt the church to live in. The families divided the church hall into two, and now two displaced families live in the hall. The village is a Syriac village and the Syriac people living in the village welcomed the displaced people in their village. Thus, they have proved how people are in solidarity with each other. As a NuJINHA team, we visited Rexda Şêx Salih to learn her story.

“We had to leave our village”

Rexda Şêx Salih remembered her good days in her village and said, “Life was very good in our village. We had everything in our village, we didn’t need anything. We had 58 beehives. My husband and I worked as beekeepers for 12 years. We sold honey and sometimes gave honey to our neighbors without asking for money.  However, our lives changed completely after the attacks of the invading Turkish state started. In the beginning, we didn’t want to leave our village but we had to leave it when the attacks intensified. After leaving our village, we stayed in the village of Esfuri for two months, and then we began to live in the hall of this church. This hall is a shelter for us in winter.”

She continues to work as a beekeeper

After settling in the church, Rexda Şêx Salih and her husband decided to work as beekeepers to earn a living for their family. “My husband brought a beehive. We used to have 58 beehives in our village but the members of the armed factions stole them. I also planted mint and garlic because we have water here.”

"There is no safe place in the occupied regions”

Rexda Şêx Salih and her family don’t try to return to their village because they know what they will face there. “We are waiting for the liberation of our village. I haven’t tried to return to the village because the road to the village is not safe. If the road was safe and the Turkey-backed factions left the village, we would return to our village. However, the presence of invaders and factions prevents us from returning. Many villagers went to the village to check their homes but they were attacked. There is no safe place in the occupied regions,” she told us.

“We will keep struggling”

Stating that she misses her village too much, Rexda Şêx Salih said, “When I learn that the Turkish invaders and their factions are defeated, I will directly return to my village. Life goes on, and we will keep struggling.”