Kaddur Hashim Abu Ibrahim supported and provided financial assistance for Jaish al-Hur, and thus he was blacklisted. He came to Turkey along with his wife as he was sought as a fugitive.
Kaddur Hashim Abu Ibrahim: I am from Akrebat village, Idlib province. I am engaged in livestock farming. I am 55 years old and father of 5 children. My two children have college degrees, and it is thanks to my shepherding and stockbreeding. However, I could not provide them with a good job. Those who graduated from the same school and department were assigned to high positions as they were from Baath Party, but my sons are only a regular civil servant. They are still in Syria and I do not reveal their identities to prevent any possible damage to them. My other son, on the other hand, is engaged in trade in Idlib. My two daughters are married, and one of them migrated to Turkey with her husband months ago, while my other daughter is still in Idlib.
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?
Kaddur Hashim Abu Ibrahim: Like all people who are oppressed, we took sides with the opposition group as well. Our house was destroyed, my animals all perished, I was despised and assaulted; but I have never changed my view. Also my children live like a refugee as if they are not a Syrian citizen. While they work as a civil servant under those who are less educated than themselves, others work in top positions. There is no equality, no justice. Therefore we are filled with hate, and we oppose.
The families I know who suffered like me joined the Jaish al-Hur for this reason. Therefore, those who have means started to fight. I provided Jaish al-Hur with financial support, I opened up my house to a couple of people for a while, and I broke my bread with them. The Regular Army knows that I help those people, so I was blacklisted by the army. And also my relatives. Including my family and people around me, all of us lost our properties and everything.
I brought my wife along with me and we came to Turkey. But my children, my grandchildren are still in Syria. I have a pickup truck, I buy food products and blankets and bring them to Syria. And I sell those in rural areas.
Those in Syria live in poverty and misery as factories do not work anymore. The production came to a halt due to the constant blackout and the lack of oil. However, they maintain their lives through products brought from Turkey. The Regular Army still keeps the control of the center of Idlib. Only the neighboring villages and towns of Idlib are controlled by Jaish al-Hur. We cannot even go to our province, our city. There is no environment to buy our needs. There is no security of life and property. They put us in prison the moment they catch us. Thousands of people like me are escapees.
Winter has arrived, and people still live there without any heating stove, and they do not have almost anything to eat. We live in an order where suppression is at maximum level, and that's why people migrate. People will continue to migrate as long as system does not change.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay on 6 December 2012.
