Bashir Nazmi Al Hamdo, who worked as a carrier, says that his life in Syria is over.
ORSAM: First of all, could you tell us about yourself?
Bashir Nazmi Al Hamdo: I am from Murattıl al Numan town of Idlib, Syria. I am 48 years old, and a father of two children. I work as a carrier from Syria to Jordan. I make my living as a truck owner and driver for years.
ORSAM: What did you go through during the civil war in Syria, and how did you come to Turkey?
Bashir Nazmi Al Hamdo: Our town was suddenly besieged and started to be bombed. 17 people among my neighbors and friends were killed and I do not know how many people were wounded. There was no criminal, terrorist or traitor among us. Our only fault was the fact that we were not Sunni, and we were attacked for nothing. My house was partially destroyed. My family and I escaped unharmed, but my neighbors were not as luck as we were. This bombardment took place on 30 December. The distance between our town and the border is approximately 60 kilometers. I suffered a lot until I arrived in the border. I had some savings, and we loaded our belongings to pickup truck, and my son took the pickup truck while I took the car and we set off to come to Turkey. There were some search and barricades on the way to Turkey. When we arrived in the border region, some groups started to search us. They unloaded our foodstuff from the car, and they took some of our stuff. We rented an apartment when we arrived in Turkey, but we did have anything left. I had 120 thousand SYP left in my pocket. I bought a couple of furniture and now I have money only for a month. My son and I work as carrier dolmush drivers, me in my car and my son in pickup truck. Wehen necessary, we carry things to the border region and sometimes to Syria.
Some relatives of every Syrian in Turkey are left behind in Syria. As they have no income or anything left to eat back in Syria, we deliver what they need through the aid of some philanthropists or in return for money for their life. There are thousands of people who want to migrate but cannot. They cannot migrate due to transportation problem and poverty. Life in Syria is over.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay on 15 January 2013.
