Kurds in Afrin fear to speak their mother tongue

The city of Afrin in northern and eastern Syria, which Turkey attacked with paramilitary groups on 20 January 2018 and has occupied since March 2018, is being Arabised. Kamber Taş, a resident of the Kazikli neighborhood on the border of Afrin, told Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) that the town is being Arabicised and that people can’t speak Kurdish on the streets.

Changing names to Turkish or Arabic

According to MA, the Kurds who were forced to leave the town after the Turkish offensive have been replaced by Arabs from the families of paramilitary groups. While Afrin’s natural environment has been destroyed, its olives have been monopolized by Turkish companies. Crimes such as rape, kidnapping, ransom and murder have increased significantly, while all areas of the town have been sealed off with barbed wire and military bases. In addition, almost all the names of neighborhoods, villages, streets and institutional buildings have been changed to either Arabic or Turkish names.

Free Syrian Army is a source of fear

Kamber Taş told MA that many of his relatives still live in Afrin. Taş said that he has been unable to visit his relatives because of the bans, saying that in the past there were no bans and high walls. Taş noted that he can now only talk to his relatives by phone, stressing that there is great pressure on the Kurds living in Afrin. Taş’s relatives told him that they are forced to speak Arabic as they can’t speak Kurdish in public. Speaking to MA, Taş continued: “They are afraid that Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants will harm them if they don’t grow beards or if they speak Kurdish. Everyone already knows about the oppression and persecution that people are going through. They have occupied people’s homes and cut down their olive trees. There is a lot of oppression.”

Reacting to the establishment of borders in Kurdish towns, Taş underlined that Turks have no right to be in Afrin. Noting that the demographic structure of Afrin has been changed, Taş concluded: “Afrin is a Kurdish city. They have settled Arabs in the area, but they cannot make it an Arab city. We do not accept the oppression in Afrin.”