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VOC correspondent: Syrian’s call for normality

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As the Muslim Judicial Council’s journey to Syria comes to a close, VOC’s correspondent, Yaseen Kippie provides the latest on the delegations interaction with Syrian civilians, who continue to call for an end to six-year war. The delegation is travelling to the Turkish-Syrian border to deliver humanitarian aid with the Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. The delegation this week arrived in Turkey where they were informed about the current issues faced by Syrian civilians, both within Syria and within Turkey. After which they ventured to Syria, where they handed aid to refugees and interacted with those continuing to build their lives under what has been described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe to face this generation.

Kippie explains that the delegation has met with countless numbers of refugees across the border, where he witnessed the evidence of the work of the IHH, which has provide homes for refugees and fed over 60 000 people.

On Thursday, the delegation ventured to Reyhanli, an area where in 2011 only five individuals ran IHH’s humanitarian operations, but today the figure has increased to 700 IHH workers within the area, with a total of approximately 10 000 IHH workers throughout Syria.

“Whenever they try and go in there is some resistance. One of the borders has to be closed with ISIS controlling those areas.”

The delegation also visited orphanages and hospitals, where they met refugees from various parts of Syria.

Kippie says the refugees relayed stories about both Bashar al-Asad’s regime and ISIS that continues to wage brutality on the lives of besieged civilians.

“We spoke to a Syrian man who runs an orphanage, called Halima Sa’diyah, he came a week ago. He said it was so difficult for him because there is a group who has links to ISIS and has taken seventy of their best youth and killed them right in front of them. All their families are in turkey, and he is still going after four weeks to tell them that their children have been killed.”

With regards to the political situation, Kippie describes the climate as one in which no one is trusted, for fear of being spied on by either forces from the Asad regime or ISIS.

“You don’t know if your neighbour is a spy, for Asad may have taken a child or wife hostage, so [men] have to work for him…I also met a man whose 15 year old son was killed right in front of him.”

 

More important than food and care, Kippie notes that people have referenced the degradation of the “spirit of Islam”, where today numerous factions have developed, all claiming to propagate the ‘true’ Islam.

“Whenever he sees the army, ISIS is the number one group that is not fighting the Syrian Army, but is aligning with them,” Kippie recalls a civilian’s story.

VOC 91.3fm

 


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