IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation
0
Donate
Follow
EN
TRY
Close
  • Who are we
  • What we do
  • What can you do
  • Login
They seek refuge in Turkey by fleeing from attacks in Homs
Syrian war-victim Abu Khalid, a Homs resident, speaks about the current situation in the city.
Syria 01.01.2014

The attacks continuing for three years mostly targeting innocent civilians in Syria. Regions as Homs, Damascus, East Ghouta, Hama has been surrounded by the regime soldiers. While transport of basic needs to these regions is not allowed, people living in these regions are not allowed to go any other regions, either.

Abu Khalid was working as a carwash worker in organized industrial site in Al Kusur neighborhood of Homs before the incidents. Abu Khalid moved to Al Mayta upon the revolution and participated in humanitarian aid activities with his family for one and a half year there.

Khalid, saying that points of entrance and exit are closed, soldiers of the regime don't allow the transfer of the dry foods to people. Delivery of fruits and vegetables is even forbidden. If aids as canned foods reach to people, they are able to eat something. If any food doesn't reach to them, it is now nearly impossible to find anything to eat.

Khalid said that ¨A bread was costing 20 Syrian Liras before the war, now it is costing 130-150 Syrian Liras. Not only bread, but all materials have become 5 or 6 times more expensive. Regime is doing this on purpose, it doesn't allow anything to reach to us, sometimes we transfer the aids by giving bribe to the soldiers.

Asserting that ¨Some people are trying to plant in their own gardens but this also very risky because Asad's soldiers are both seizing the harvest and arresting the garden owner saying that ¨Are you supporting the terrorists and are you going to help to them with these!¨ Khalid mentioned that they accuse them of being terrorists and but regime soldiers themselves try to exterminate them.
Khalid said that ¨Our women are being raped, our babies are being killed, our boys who are 18 are being inducted by force, then they call us ¨terrorists.¨ For Allah's sake, look! Who is killing thousands of children with war planes?¨

¨We can't get accustomed to hunger¨

Mentioning that people in Homs have got accustomed to bombs anymore, Khalid displayed the situation in the region saying ¨We have got accustomed to bomb sounds, we have got accustomed to killings by the attacks but we cannot get accustomed to hunger.¨
Can meats of cats, dogs and donkeys be eaten? People eat them rather than dying of hunger there. What is impossible for a person in hunger? The winter has come. As long as siege of the Asad's army continue, deaths of hunger will continue.

¨Deaths will increase due to winter¨

The last winter was heavy in Homs as it was in many regions of Syria. Fuel shortage in the region is increasing day by day.

People uprooted trees in the parks and used them as fuel last winter, and it is not hard to foresee that this winter will be harder.

Telling about last winter he experienced in Homs, Khalid said ¨Last winter was heavy, we didn't have fuel for heating. Some other people were coming to some houses from where the attacks increased. There were no blankets, we didn't have winter clothes. On this respect, deaths directly or indirectly due to cold weather will increase this winter.¨

¨Hospitals became centers of investigation¨

Hospitals were closed in Homs which is surrounded by regime soldiers. Even simple medical examinations cannot be done. Abu Khalid mentioned the problems related to hospitals.

Expressing that a majority of hospitals in the region were closed, Khalid said ¨People cannot go to hospitals, this is a crime for whatever reason it might be. Sometimes they just accept women in hospitals, they frighten and interrogate them there.¨

¨Women suffer miscarriages¨

As there are no hospitals open and no medicines, there emerge many other problems. The most important one is that as pregnant women cannot get examined, cannot use needed medicines and cannot eat well, they suffer miscarriages.

Abu Khalid's wife from Homs is just one of them. His wife suffered a miscarriage because of malnourishment and absence of needed medicines when she is just 5 months pregnant.

Khalid tells about those days as ¨My wife was 5 months pregnant and I had a 3 year-old girl. I wanted to have a son, it didn't happen, she suffered a miscarriage. Months later she got pregnant again. So this is the single reason for me to flee from Homs.¨

It is very difficult to pass neighboring countries from the regions under siege. Passageways in these regions are in the hands of regime powers and they don't let people exit.

Even though Abu Khalid was arrested a few times before, but got through to get out from prisons somehow, it was not easy for him to arrive to Turkey with his family.

He said that ¨My wife was living in the region which is under the control of regime's forces. I was receiving news of her via middlemen. When I learned that she is pregnant, I made a plan to flee from Syria.¨

Abu Khalid said that his wife was living in the region under the control of regime forces, and that made things more difficult. Khalid brought his wife to the region which is under the control of opponents by giving bribe to the regime soldiers. They escaped from there without taking anything with them and he walked for hours carrying his daughter on his shoulder.

Saying that troops of Bashar Assad had removed roadside signs in same places as they don't want anyone to leave the region, Khalid said that ¨Opponents accompanied us until we got out of Homs. They also didn't tell us where we are because of security reasons. They brought us to Idlib. Then after 7 hours of walking, we arrived the border and entered to Turkey.¨

Related news
View all
IHH’s Support to Thousands in Three Cities of Sudan
IHH’s Support to Thousands in Three Cities of Sudan
The conflicts between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that broke in April 15, 2023 has resulted in 25.6 million people, including 14 million children, in need of humanitarian aid. So far 9.9 million people have been forced to migrate to locations in and outside the country. Since the start of the conflict, the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts and has recently provided food, hot meals, and hygiene supplies to thousands of people Sudan.
13.09.2024
Support to 520 families affected by the flood in Yemen
Support to 520 families affected by the flood in Yemen
Following the flood in Yemen, IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation provided shelter and food packages to 520 families.
12.09.2024
IHH Continues Emergency Aid Efforts in Bangladesh
IHH Continues Emergency Aid Efforts in Bangladesh
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation continues its emergency aid efforts in Bangladesh following the floods that have affected 5.6 million people. So far, we have provided hot meals to 18,000 people and distributed food packages and dry goods to 500 families. Additionally, our set up mobile clinic is providing health services to 200 people daily.
03.09.2024