Meryem El Ibrahim, co-chair of the Social Affairs and Work Board of Northern and Eastern Syria, spoke to the ANF on the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the liberation of Raqqa from ISIS mercenaries.

El Ibrahim said that Raqqa is a city rich in social and cultural terms, and added that ISIS has descended on this richness and tried to commit a cultural and peoples genocide it is trying to create in the region from here, and for this reason, it had chosen Raqqa as its capital. "Before the Syrian crisis, the Ba’ath regime system was dominant in all cities of Syria. Within this system, people had to live without reacting to anything. Although it was tried to be portrayed from the outside as if there were not many problems, people were completely left without will within the system that was created."

El Ibrahim added: "Raqqa was also a city of Syria and was subjected to the same system. For this reason, silence always prevailed in Raqqa. With the beginning of the Syrian conflict, FSA groups first entered the city of Raqqa. The number of these groups was very high. Each of them had their own approach. Each of them was trying to impose their own system on society. This situation created great pressure on society. People experienced great difficulties because of these groups. The presence of FSA groups in Raqqa actually made the people see that they did not have any solution. The people did not want these groups to remain in Raqqa. Because society that was freed from the Ba’ath system, this time the mercenary groups started to commit theft, plunder, extortion, torture and massacres. After a while, ISIS entered Raqqa. In the early stages, FSA groups and ISIS gangs acted together.

But then, contradictions began to emerge among them. ISIS disbanded most of the FSA groups. Some of them went to Europe and other countries. Some of them joined ISIS. In fact, everyone knew the brutality that ISIS implemented in Raqqa. Society as a whole was condemned to darkness. Women’s experiences were much worse in this darkness. Women had no right or chance to live."

El Ibrahim continued: "Life in Raqqa continued in a vortex of hell, with endless pain and torture. People being beheaded in squares had become an ordinary and daily routine. Raqqa children were prevented from going to school. Children could only go to mosques and were educated with a hate mentality. ISIS saw Raqqa as a capital for itself. Because Raqqa was a city rich in history and culture. It was also a mosaic of peoples. It was a city where people from every nation, religion and culture lived. For this reason, ISIS tried to carry out a cultural and people genocide. Circassians, Armenians, Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians lived together here. They wanted to destroy this cultural mosaic. Another thing that ISIS was trying to develop, especially in Raqqa, was to deepen the Kurdish-Arab conflict. At that time, ISIS wanted all Kurds to leave Raqqa, and they were openly voicing their decision to destroy the Kurds. In addition, Raqqa had always resisted many policies of the Turkish state and had never bowed down. The destruction of this potential that existed in Raqqa was in the interests not only of ISIS but also of the Turkish state and some international powers. If a society is to be destroyed, the values ​​of that society are first attacked. The society of Raqqa was attached to its own traditions, culture and values. For this reason, ISIS attacked the values ​​of society in Raqqa at first."

‘Only the children of Northern and Eastern Syria stood up against the darkness of ISIS’

El Ibrahim said: "No one other than the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) consisting of the children of the people of Northern and Eastern Syria could remove ISIS from these lands. While international powers stood watching what was happening, some regional states such as the Turkish state directly provided all kinds of support to ISIS in order to further deepen this savagery. The Damascus government also only watched what was happening. However, since the beginning of the revolution, they have been the only ones who waged a relentless struggle against ISIS and its supporters. They gradually liberated the lands of Northern and Eastern Syria, and with the Raqqa operation, ISIS lost its most strategic location."

El Ibrahim added: "At that time, the Turkish state occupied Afrin to break the resistance in Northern and Eastern Syria and to give ISIS a breather, and has continued its attacks on the region to this day. However, despite all these attacks, the Autonomous Administration achieved great things. The Autonomous Administration not only met the needs of the people in the region, but also enabled all the people to come together once again, establish a life together, and establish their own democratic system. It protected the values ​​and culture of society that were intended to be destroyed. It played an important role in the region politically, socially, and militarily. ISIS' sleeper cells were spreading considerably in Raqqa. Security measures were increased to prevent this. Social values ​​were protected. Schools were reopened to students, and education continued. Children began to live their childhoods again."

El Ibrahim said: "The people began to build their lives within their own democratic system. Women began to take part in every aspect of life. Based on my experiences, I can clearly state that the Autonomous Administration was a door of salvation for all women. Today, women are included in all institutions within the co-presidential system. As a woman, today, I can come out and express my views about society and everything. Women played a leading role in the liberation movements. They also became competent militarily. Today, they play a major role in protecting the gains of the revolution. Women have established their own institutions and original organizations."