Nevvaf Muhsin Al Seyyid, who is a senior at Faculty of Law, migrated to Turkey with his family due to harder living conditions and lack of life safety.
Nevvaf Muhsin Al Seyyid: I am from Kellese Neighborhood of Aleppo in Syria. I am single. I am a senior student in Faculty of Law at University of Aleppo.
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?
Nevvaf Muhsin Al Seyyid: I am a member of an anti-regime group at University. Most of my friends were killed. As I thought that my family was in danger, I brought along my parents, my two sisters and my nephew, and we came to Turkey. My father opened a stall in Hatay and he sells wraps. And I work as a porter. Otherwise I work in coal-packaging job. As long as the regime goes on like this, it is not possible for me to go back to Syria. In fact, I am even afraid of some Syrians in Turkey. Following the outbreak of the civil war, I took part in many demonstrations. Some of my friends are lost, and even their families do not know where they are. When Aleppo was attacked by jets and cluster bombs, I witnessed many people were buried in the wreckage. There was no hospital to carry the injured people, nor any medical intervention to treat them. The people treated the injured through primitive methods. During the day it was not possible to do anything with bodies, we could bury them only at night. While being persecuted by our own army and our citizens, Aleppo turned into an invaded city. On the one hand destroyed houses, fires, scent of gas and gunpowder; and on the other hand gangs of thieves robbing destroyed houses and shops. Some days we longed for a hot plate of food and even for bread. It was not possible for us to change our clothes. There was no water to clean ourselves. Neither any washing machine, detergent, nor soap. We stank. Under these circumstances, it was not possible to stay at home in Aleppo. The only option was to migrate to Turkey.
* This interview was made by Feyyat Özyazar in Reyhanlı district of Hatay, on 27 December 2012
