Brahim Mihemed Brahim's grandmother arrived in northern Syria with the mass deportation during the 1915 Armenian genocide with her little child by the hand. He himself comes from Til Temir and says that history repeats itself with the Turkish invasion of north-eastern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, meeting with US President Donald Trump last Wednesday, described the Armenian genocide bill passed in the US House of Representatives as a falsification of history. Erdoğan has even claimed in Washington that there are special efforts for the "Chaldeans, Yazidis and Christians": "We bring them food, clothing, medicine and so on".

In complete contradiction to this statement, the Turkish state has been attacking the villages around Til Temir with predominantly Christian population for days with the support of jihadist auxiliary troops recruited from organizations such as al-Qaida, ISIS and al-Nusra.

Erdoğan follows in the footsteps of his ancestors

The ancestors of Brahim Mihemed Brahim emigrated from Cilicia (Çukurova region) during the Armenian genocide. Cilicia is an ancient landscape in the southeast of Asia Minor, which corresponds approximately to the eastern part of today's Turkish Mediterranean region. Brahim is now driven from his hometown Til Temir by the Turkish invasion. His story is a summary of the Turkish state's policy against the peoples of the region.

Brahim says that Erdoğan follows the traces of his ancestors. The family lost many members in the Armenian Genocide. Brahim's grandmother met an Arab family in Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) during the deportation towards Deir ez-Zor. "My grandmother's name was Sara. She came to Serêkaniyê with her little son by the hand. They were on the run from the genocide. Here she met an Arabic cavalry who then took care of my grandparents. They both became Muslims, my grandfather was given the name Abdullah," Brahim tells.

Anatolia was a colourful mosaic

The Turkish state is built on the destroyed peoples of the region, says Brahim: "According to my grandparents' stories Anatolia used to be very colourful. It was like a mosaic, they said. But the Turkish state destroyed them all one by one, and it still does today. Today the ISIS says that if you kill a Kurd, you go to paradise. This way of thinking has a long history. At the time of the Ottomans one was promised paradise in the event of murdering an Armenian. First the Armenians were destroyed, then it was the turn of the Kurds. The Arabs were also destroyed by the Ottomans because there was no longer any need for them. Today history repeats itself. Erdoğan destroys all those who do not obey and do not follow him. These could be Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs or Armenians, it makes no difference to him. Whoever does not obey him is wanted to be destroyed."

The whole world is silent

Brahim says the whole world is silent about the invasion of Turkey in Northeast Syria: "The occupation is taking place before the eyes of the world public, many states even think it's good. All EU countries and above all Germany have provided support for this."

Brahim points to a repetition of the Iskenderun scenario. The area around the city of Iskenderun, today the Turkish province of Hatay, belonged to the French mandate of Syria until 1938. "Erdoğan wants to do the same as his ancestors. Like Iskenderun, this area is now intended to to be occupied. Erdoğan is a grandson of Central Asian thieves and continues their way", says Brahim Mihemed Brahim.

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