Thousands of displaced people had to migrate to Shehba, Shera and Sherawa due to Turkey's attacks against the northern and eastern Syrian city of Afrin on January 20, 2018, together with paramilitary forces. Migration continued after Afrin came under the control of paramilitary forces. Those who migrated to Shehba, Shera and Sherawa were frequently targeted by Turkey's air strikes here as well. The Damascus government, on the other hand, has imposed an embargo on the region for years, not allowing the passage of basic life items such as medicine, food and fuel. Kongra Star Coordination member Elif Mihemed spoke to Mezopotamya Agency (MA) about the problems people in the region are experiencing due to the Turkish attacks and the Damascus embargo.

RESISTANCE AGAINST ATTACKS

Stating that the people in Shehba are facing a "massacre", Mihemed said: "Despite all the difficulties, they did not leave their place and they struggled to return to Afrin. Through these attacks, Turkey wants the people to be rendered weak, demoralized and hopeless. The people of Afrin resisted for days against 72 warplanes. The people are facing all the difficulties of returning to Afrin by passing through the camps in Shehba, Sherewa and Shera. The youth and women lead the struggle for survival in the camps. The ongoing life is wanted to be disbanded by Turkey, which wants to keep the 'Ottoman dreams' alive. People say that they cannot live here without a country and without their freedom. The peoples here, women, young and old alike, have paid heavy prices. They continue to pay this price. Women are making their voices heard in the streets with the slogan 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' [Woman, Life, Freedom] against the annihilation in Shehba. The voice of the people of Shehba will reach the world, we will end the dirty policies of the AKP-MHP and remove them from our occupied lands. We will break the embargo and attacks with the ideas and thoughts of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan."

WINTER SEASON INCREASED CHALLENGES

Recalling the fact that they have been facing an embargo for about 5 years in Shehba, where they settled after displacement from Afrin, Mihemed said: "This embargo has intensified for the past two months. 30 thousand people in the camps are living under difficult conditions under this embargo. The embargo has been affecting more people with the onset of cold weather. There has been a shortage of food and medicine in particular. Communes and assemblies have been established in 5 camps in order to minimize the problems. There is a lack of support from organizations advocating human, child and women's rights in order to overcome the problems people here have experienced.

GAS AND FUEL EMBARGO

Stating that attempts are being made to break the will of the people through the embargo against the camps, Mihemed said: "The gas, diesel and medicine embargo brings pressure to bear on the elderly and the ill. Due to this interruption and embargo, children cannot receive education in the schools established in the camps for a month. We are faced with a brutal embargo inside. There are great difficulties in terms of gas, diesel and medicine. We will not give up our resistance despite the cold and winter. Those who defend the rights of women, ecology, children and human rights should oppose these massacres and deaths."