Turkish fighter jets attacked the Surede village in Qandil on December 22, 2018. Villagers who lost their homes in the attack spoke to the ANF and said: “The Turkish state is targeting civilians. They want us to move away, but we won’t abandon our village.”

“CIVILIANS LIVE HERE”

Villager Mam Xidir, whose home was completely destroyed in the Turkish jets’ bombing, was born and raised in the Surede village. He is 90 years old, and said he has lived in the same house for 90 years until he lost everything in the bombing: “I lost everything. My house, my garden, all my fruit trees, all gone in the bombing. The Turkish state says they hit the guerrilla but this is where civilians live. There are no guerrillas living here. With these bombings, the Turkish state aims to force people to move away.

“THEY TORE DOWN 90 YEARS OF WORK”

Everything I accumulated in 90 years was in this house, all my memories. They were all destroyed in the bombing. The TV I had in my room, my rugs, my identity. All gone. All the money I saved, gone. Look around me, you can see that I lost everything. This house had been burned down by the Baath 5 times before, now this is the 6th time it burns down. But this last one really destroyed everything at the root. It’s only me left. I am the only thing left. I was visiting a neighbor that night when my home was bombed. I have lived here for 90 years. I am an old man. I’m not Turkey’s target in these attacks. Not really. Kurds in all four parts are attacked every day. Kurds should come together and unite in the face of these attacks. But they must know that the attack against us today will come back to them much bigger tomorrow. People don’t control my life, Allah does. The Turkish state wants to empty out Kurdistan with these attacks. They think we will move away after the attacks. We won’t, we will stay on our own lands until the end of our lives.”

“OUR LIVES ARE IN DANGER”

Hamin Kak Mihemed, one of the villagers who was wounded in the attack, said: “They want to tear us away from this life, but we don’t want to leave this land. I couldn’t recognize the street to my own home after the bombing due to the damage. My children are afraid because of the attacks. Our lives are in danger. We want to live here, but these attacks have to end. I was born and raised here. I don’t want to leave these lands.”

‘“WE ARE QUIET PEOPLE”

Another villager named Ibrahim Mehmet Emin Rasul’s home was damaged in the bombing. Rasul said he was at home when the bombing happened: “The house shook, our windows were shattered. We are quiet people, we mind our own business. We haven’t harmed anyone yet. They  want us to move away, but if we go to cities then we wouldn’t be able to make a living?”