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Suruç, 14.03.15 – CSRPK’s delegation in Madrid
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Cultural Center in Suruç
The “CSRPK” delegation has arrived at Suruç. Situated on the border with Syria, the population of the city is 99% Kurdish. The city has sprouted up along a main street, with grocery stores, restaurants, knick-knack stores and greengrocers. Small two-storey houses, in the local style, around interior patios, run back from the main street. The street is a busy one, with cars, vans and trucks coming and going all day long; at night it is taken by the Turkish army, who drive up and down in armoured cars, the doors open to check on passers-by. We are in Suruç’s Cultural Centre, a large, three-storey building surrounded by garden. Inside there is a living room, where a kitchen and a series of low tables have been set up. People are eating, chatting, working. There is electricity, water and internet. Here’s where journalists and other visitors are hosted.
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Fayza Abdî, co president of the Legislative Council of Kobanê.
We are welcomed by Fayza Abdî, co president of the Legislative Council of Kobanê, who explains the current refugee situation. Right now there are six refugee camps around Suruç. Only one is controlled by the Turkish army and the UN; the rest are managed by the Kurds themselves. All camps have water and food, while not abundant, is not scarce. At times, these camps have held up to 20000 people, but right now numbers are down to around 10000, as many people are crossing the border back home to Kobanê and other liberated towns. Fayza introduces us to Mustafa -a diplomat in Suruç- who gives us a pass to get us into the camps over the next two days. After salad and kebab, we leave our bags in the common rooms on the second floor and go to Abdî’s home.
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Khalil Abdî, doctor in Kobanê.
In Suruç everything is nearby; what they call city is actually a small town and Abdî’s place is just a few strets a way. We go down a narrow corridor, across a garden and into a carpeted lounge. Along three walls, wide padded cushions serve as confortable seats. We are greeted warmly by Fayza’s father, Dr Khalil Abdî. Coffee, tea and fruit are spread in front of us. Dr Abdî describes the horror of Kobanê. Right now the city has neither electricity nor water. He uses pictures taken that day to illustrate the devastation: there is almost no building left standing and rubble floods the streets, making transit impossible. The Turkish blockade has made food, medicine, fuel and many other basics scarce.
We also meet other refugues from Kobanê. One man, who prefers to remain unnamed, shows us pictures of a bomb placed in his house by ISIS. These are homemade but powerful devices that have taken the lives of tens of people; when they open their front doors, the bomb is detonated. Khalil and the others insist on the need for specialized bomb disposal teams, without whom the reconstruction of Kobanê and the return to daily life will be impossible. Nowadays the only assistance comes from a group of engineers, who, with scarce means at their disposal, risk their lives everyday to deactivate these improvised devices.
They also tell us about the return of the displaced people; according to their figures almost 50000 people forced to leave their homes are now living in the camps and in Kobanê and around. The situation is pitiful for those who have come back, but in the Turkish refugee camps it is no better. The Turkish government refuses to issue them with work permits, and without work there is no money to improve their conditions. The reality of capitalism, here and everywhere else. They also speak of the urgency of setting up a humanitarian corridor, so that the little aid that arrives from international organizations can be put to effective use in the canton. They also confirm that no state has offered any assistance. They find this hard to accept, fighting, as they believe, not only to free their own land from ISIS, but also for humanity as a whole, preventing the terrorist organization from expanding its networks, building up its strength and extending its attacks to other locations around the world.
Current figures from different sources estimate that there are some 5000 French nationals fighting alonside ISIS, 3000 Tunisian and 2000 Syrians, among many others. Accordingly, the inhabitants of Kobanê’ inhabitants cannot understand how the only response of the the anti-ISIS coalition is bomb and destroy their cities and villages, killing combatants and civilians alike. We ask about contrivance between Western governments and ISIS; they concede thatm while there is no evidence, anything is possible among all the chaos.
Despite the horror of the situation, despite the fear of death and the pain of war, the people of Kobanê have not lost their smile, their kindness or their willingness to offer whatever support they can. It is truly impressive to experience their hospitality and comradeship and make friends everywhere we go. We are impatient to continue our travels, to dig into the causes of the war, to immerse ourselves in the lives of the Kurds, and to deepen our understanding of this strong, beautiful, forgotten people.