Lelun Afrin
“I fear that the idea of returning to our land again, becomes just a dream that comes true with a will after death, because of the Afrin region situation after more than five years, and we are still displaced. I do not ignore the idea that my will becomes the following: that my body be transported after my death to bury where I was born, as were many other people of the Afrin region.”
This is how “Layla” described the story of her relative, the victim, “Malak Ibo,” who is 63 years old. She was one of the victims who was being threatened by the leader of the “Suqour Al-Shamal” faction, called “Asmar,” who lived in her house. She then suffered a stroke that led to loss her life. Layla continues:
“Today, as soon as you look into an elderly immigrant’s eyes from Afrin, you will find an area of sadness and disappointment in his eyes, anticipating and eager to return to his land. There are many who were enslaved by death while unaware of the burning of their hearts, before they achieved a dignified return. Among them were whose last will and wish was to transport and bury his body in his homeland, Afrin, where he was forcibly displaced.
Mrs. Malak Ibo, who did not receive a visit to her home until after death snatched her away. She was one of the returnees to the area, who decided to return alone, out of fear for her young men that something bad might happen to them. She was known in advance of the nature of the events taking place in the areas and villages, including cases of arrests and torture of young men.
Her seven children are distributed in Aleppo, Afrin and Turkey, but none of them wants to disclose the details of what happened to their mother fearing of the safety of their remaining relatives in the village. I do not blame them because their mother was a victim of torture, threats, and fear.
In the beginning, Mrs. Malak was residing in the Shahba region, until she decided to return to Afrin last year, with the intention of returning to her village; “Ali Jaro” in the Bulbul district, to live in her house to relieve herself of the harshness of distance and displacement. Immediately upon she arrived her village, she demanded her house from one of the leaders of the armed faction residing in her house. But he rejected and threatened her after she repeated her demand to recover her home and property. On one occasion, she was even insulted and threatened by his members while she was among the olive trees that belonged to her. Several days later, she was beaten by masked gunmen.
Day after day, Malak’s psychological state deteriorated as a result of the torture, fear and threats she was subjected to by the faction leader whenever she went to him in order to persuade him to hand over her house, but to no avail. As a result, her health condition deteriorated, and she looked at her house, which was illegally inhabited by strangers.
After she was transferred to the hospital, she recommended to those around her before her death that her body be transported to her home to be deposited in the rooms of her house and then buried. Accordingly, her will was taken into consideration by the village notables and family elders with great insistence, despite the opposition of the faction, so they carried her coffin and moved it around the house, and her will was fulfilled, then she was buried in the village cemetery.”
Layla concluded her testimony by saying:
“I think it is a disgraceful thing for a human’s right to become a will to be fulfilled after his death, like the story of Mrs. Malak. Yesterday she was the victim, and we are not immune from this happening again with us and with the rest of the region’s people, as a human’s right to his home and land has become a price paid for his life and well-being!”.