“We felt like we lived in a country under occupation,” says Fadıl Kasım al Cibril-Abu Nahsen who is a broker in wholesale market hall.
Fadıl Kasım al Cibril-Abu Nahsen: I live in Kellese neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria. I am 37 years old, and a father of 2 children. I make my living by acting as a broker in wholesale market hall.
ORSAM: Could you tell us about your life before the civil war in Syria, what you went through during the civil war and the reasons why you came to Turkey?
Fadıl Kasım al Cibril-Abu Nahsen: When the civil war broke out, my two brothers were both enlisted in the army by force. As families and soldiers could no more hear from each other, after that I could not hear from my brothers either.
When Aleppo and the neighborhood was bombed; the wholesale market hall was one of the first places attacked due to the fact that it is located in center of the city. When the roads of the neighboring villages were blocked, we couldn't work anymore. No vegetable or fruit arrived in central Aleppo. However, as there was no bombardment in areas where the army seized the control, in suburbs and highways, people could set up shops in those places.
As the areas where Jaish al-Hur (Free Syrian Army) seizes the control were constantly bombed, none of the shopping centers work. Because the local people do not leave their homes and go to those areas, as they do not feel secure. In the areas where the army seizes the control, on the other hand, people go shopping in fear. Besides, the people and tradesmen can live in those areas in exchange for a certain price.
I feel like I do not live in my country, but rather in a country under occupation. Neither our children could go to school, nor our wives could go outside. We were stuck. We could barely find water, and electricity was completely cut. The bottled gas we bought was both very expensive and also went on the black market. We could buy it only at high prices when we hardly found it. However, even if we bought gas, we had neither vegetable and fruit nor food to cook. We strived to get by only with tea and food for breakfast.
In addition to such a life, we were also exhausted by fear, and thus we decided to immigrate. I packed my stuff, loaded it on my truck, and I drove through rural roads and finally arrived in Idlib with a heavy heart. Central Idlib is also under the control of Assad forces. In suburban villages, on the other hand, the Free Syrian Army seizes the control. I arrived in the border after many questions and great difficulties. I could come to Turkey after staying overnight in the border.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 25 November 2012
