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Syrian refugees in Turkey criticise US air strikes against Isis Syrian refugees in Turkey criticise US air strikes against Isis
(35 minutes later)
From the roof of his little kebab restaurant, Ahmet Usta points to the skyline of Tel Abyad. For almost a year its narrow sand-coloured buildings have been part of the self-styled caliphate of Islamic State. The large black Isis flag can be spotted from his roof. From the rooftop of his little kebab restaurant, Ahmet Usta points to the skyline of Tel Abyad. For almost a year its narrow sand-coloured buildings have been part of the self-styled caliphate of Islamic State (Isis). The large black Isis flag can be spotted from his roof.
The Turkish border town of Akçakale has been living door-to-door with the Syrian civil war for over three years now. Before its neighbours were Isis, there were the anti-Assad rebels of the Free Syrian Army. “At least they are quiet,” he said. “The FSA used to shoot in the air all the time. These guys don’t make a racket all the time.” Residents of the Turkish border town of Akçakale have been living door-to-door with the Syrian civil war for more than three years. Before its neighbours were Isis, there were the rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), who demand the removal of Bashar al-Assad.
He smiled. “These are small mercies. But we are worried about the bombing by the Americans. When has that ever done any good?” “At least they are quiet,” he says. “The FSA used to shoot in the air all the time. These guys don’t make a racket all the time. These are small mercies. But we are worried about the bombing by the Americans. When has that ever done any good?”
Muad, 14, comes to Akçakale train station every day with his two friends to look at his hometown across the border. “I am afraid of Isis, they are bad people and killers,” he said. His friends nod. “We want them out of our town.” His mother and father still live in Tel Abyad while he works in a bakery in Akçakale to support them. Every now and then he slips between the barbed wires to return home to his family. “The Americans should bomb them, and chase them all away.” Muad, 14, comes to Akçakale train station every day with his two friends to look at his hometown across the border. “I am afraid of Isis, they are bad people and killers,” he says. His friends nod. “We want them out of our town.” His mother and father live in Tel Abyad while he works in a bakery in Akçakale to support them. Every now and then he slips between the barbed wires to return to his family. “The Americans should bomb them, and chase them all away.”
Not everyone is so enthusiatic about the US bombing campaign. Abdullatif Ismail, 50, used to work with the Syrian secret police in Raqqa, but said he defected when the government openly started killing people. He came to Turkey one year and nine months ago. His wife and two daughters live with him in a rental flat in Akçakale, he works as a volunteer teacher in a refugee school nearby. His son works in Saudi Arabia, his mother and extended family have stayed in Raqqa. Every day they exchange news using the message service Whatsapp. Not everyone is so enthusiastic about the US campaign. Abdullatif Ismail, 50, used to work with the Syrian secret police in Raqqa, but says he defected when the government openly started killing people. He came to Turkey a year and nine months ago. His wife and two daughters live with him in a rental flat in Akçakale; he works as a volunteer teacher in a refugee school nearby. His son works in Saudi Arabia; his mother and extended family have stayed in Raqqa. Every day they exchange news using the WhatsApp message service .
“I heard about the air strikes in Raqqa”, he said. “Air strikes are not a very precise method. Raqqa is a big city, many people live there who are not Isis.” “I heard about the air strikes in Raqqa,” he says. “Air strikes are not a very precise method. Raqqa is a big city, many people live there who are not Isis.”
Mustafa Basik, head teacher at a school for refugees in Akçakale, also condemned the air strikes. “With these bombings, more people will flee, and more people will have to find refuge in Turkey. We want to help them, but we are reaching our limits. Turkey has been left alone with this problem.” Mustafa Basik, headteacher at a school for refugees in Akçakale, also condemned the strikes. “With these bombings, more people will flee, and more people will have to find refuge in Turkey. We want to help them, but we are reaching our limits. Turkey has been left alone with this problem.”
The camp school has a capacity for 2,000 students: 1,600 students from kindergarten up to high school are already taking classes under Basik’s watch, 500 of them came in the last week alone. “Those children were all fleeing the Isis advance. We expect many more to come now with the Americans’ bombing,” he said. The camp school has a capacity for 2,000 students: 1,600 students from kindergarten up to high school are taking classes under Basik’s watch, 500 of them arrived in the past week. “Those children were all fleeing the Isis advance. We expect many more to come now with the Americans’ bombing,” he says.
Ismail said his relatives reported several civilian casualties and that people around the bombing sites have fled into the countryside of Raqqa. “But sooner or later they will come to Turkey if this goes on.” Ismail says his relatives have been reporting several civilian casualties and that people around the bombing sites have fled into the Raqqa countryside. “But sooner or later they will come to Turkey if this goes on.”
At the border gate in Akçakale, only a small trickle of Syrians was waiting to cross into Isis territory. One man, 26, who declined to give his name, was returning to Deir el-Zour after having failed to find work in Turkey. Pointing to a tattoo on his arm, he said: “These are forbidden under Isis. They get mad when they see these.” He, too, had heard of the air strikes in Raqqa. “It’s good that they bomb them, we want them gone. Life with them is very bad, they kill people, they have no tolerance.” At the border gate in Akçakale, only a trickle of Syrians was waiting to cross into Isis territory. One man, 26, who declined to give his name, was returning to Deir el-Zour after failing to find work in Turkey. Pointing to a tattoo on his arm, he says: “These are forbidden under Isis. They get mad when they see these.”
One coffee seller from Raqqa, 38, who also declined to give his name, was angry. “I fled the brutality of Isis. I came to Turkey because of them. That the Americans are bombing them now is like a bad joke. He, too, had heard of the air strikes in Raqqa. “It’s good that they bomb them, we want them gone. Life with them is very bad, they kill people, they have no tolerance.”
“So have they thought of helping us now? What are they playing at? Where have they been for the past three years while our people were dying?” And angrily he adds: “And these Arab countries helping them do it? They are all dogs.” One coffee seller from Raqqa, 38, who also declined to give his name, is angry. “I fled the brutality of Isis. I came to Turkey because of them. That the Americans are bombing them now is like a bad joke. So have they thought of helping us now? What are they playing at? Where have they been for the past three years while our people were dying? And these Arab countries helping them do it? They are all dogs.”
At the border in Mürsitpinar, just across from the besieged Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, refugees were cautiously in favour of the air strikes. At the border, in Mürsitpinar, near the besieged Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, refugees are cautiously in favour of the air strikes. “The bombing might slow down the Isis advance”, says Ahmed, 27, an IT engineer from Kobani. “But it will not stop them. They are all around our city right now, and they keep coming.”
“The bombing might slow down the Isis advance”, said Ahmed, 27, an IT engineer from Kobani. “But it will not stop them. They are all around our city right now, and they keep coming.” He fled the Isis onslaught a week ago, but will return to Syria without work to support him in Turkey. “I don’t want to go back, but I don’t have a choice. If someone wants to help us, they should do it fast.” He fled the Isis onslaught a week ago, but will return to Syria without work to support him in Turkey. “I don’t want to go back, but I don’t have a choice,” he says. “If someone wants to help us, they should do it fast.”
As he spoke a man wearing a bullet on a leather band around his neck slipped past. He had been fighting with the People’s Defence Corps (PYD), the armed wing of the Democratic Union party (PYD), the Syrian Kurdish affiliate of the better-known Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), for over a year. “Sure, they should bomb them”, he said, hurrying to the border. “But we will not rely on them. We will keep fighting.” As he speaks, a man wearing a bullet on a leather band around his neck walks past. He has been fighting with the People’s Defence Corps, the armed wing of the Democratic Union party, the PKK Syrian Kurdish affiliate of the better-known Kurdistan Workers’ party, for more than a year. “Sure, they should bomb them,” he says, hurrying to the border. “But we will not rely on them. We will keep fighting.”