Owner of a touristic restaurant, Jamal Nasser al Sarhani says that “in such an environment where everybody fights for his/her own life, there was no more helping each other or humanitarian emotions and people started to hide even a piece of dry bread”.
ORSAM: Could you tell us about yourself in brief?
Jamal Nasser al Sarhani abu Kamil: I lived in Masharka neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. I am 52 years old. I owned a touristic restaurant.
ORSAM: Could you tell us about your life in Syria before the civil war, your experiences during the civil war and what brought you to Turkey?
Jamal Nasser al Sarhani abu Kamil: I had a large restaurant in the neighborhood of Citadel of Aleppo, and it was known as the most luxurious restaurant and narghile café of the neighborhood. I served in this sector with my 6 employees for years. Before outbreak of the civil war, it was a popular place where the jet-set of Aleppo came. It was popular with all kinds of Arab and Middle East dishes, kebab and a variety of appetizers. Like other areas in the region, this neighborhood was also bombed following outbreak of the civil war, highways were blocked, electricity and water was cut, so I had to leave my restaurant.
The people had no chance to hang out with other people anymore, and besides they did not have time or could not afford to go to a restaurant or narghile café either. Many rich people migrated, and only poor and low-income people did not leave the region. The infrastructure of Aleppo was completely destroyed due to bombardments, nobody came from neighboring provinces to Aleppo, there was no such thing as a trade life anymore, no vegetable, fruit, or even dry food could be brought to Aleppo. In such an environment, nobody came to the restaurant and people could not even live in their homes anymore.
I witnessed some bombardments, houses were destroyed, stores were damaged and plundered. In such an environment where everybody fights for his/her own life, there was no more helping each other or humanitarian emotions and people started to hide even a piece of dry bread. Those who had flour, rice or any other food product at home did not give them to anyone else. On cold days, hundreds of families lived a prison life in ruins without heater, under blankets.
I had to migrate to get rid of such an environment, and I am still in Turkey. I have no job here, but I will work if I can find a job.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay on 15 January 2013.
