BERÇEM CÛDÎ

Kobanê – On October 9, 2019, the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions carried out attacks on Girê Spî (Tell Abyad), a town in the Euphrates Region, and Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ayn), a city in the Cizir Region, to invade them by using chemical weapons, warplanes and drones. The attacks displaced many in these cities.

Hundreds were forcibly displaced from Girê Spî, where Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen and Armenian people lived together, due to the attacks. The displaced people had to settle in the camps located in Til Semin and Ayn Issa. 20 schools in the occupied areas are closed while 25 schools are sometimes open due to the ongoing attacks. In Ayn Issa and its villages, only 97 schools are open. 2,000 children cannot go to school due to the ongoing attacks of the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions on the region.

 ‘2,000 children are deprived of education’

In an interview with NuJINHA, Mizgîn Ehmed from the Women's Office of the School Administration in Girê Spî (Tell Abyad) said, “The 2023-2024 academic year has already started. Before the start of the academic year, we monitored the situation of schools and students and documented every detail. According to our data, 2,000 children are deprived of education in the region. The Turkish state invaded cities in 2019. The attacks on Serêkanîyê and Girê Spî affected all facets of life, including education. More than 200 schools in Girê Spî and Silûk and nearly 100 schools in rural areas became unable to provide education because of the occupation attacks of the Turkish state. Due to the attacks, the number of students attending school decreased from 19,000 to 8,000.”

 ’20 schools are close’

Giving information about the schools in the occupied areas, she said, “Today, 20 schools are closed. There are more than 25 schools; however, they are sometimes open due to the ongoing Turkish attacks. Children and their families are at risk and our duty is to protect them. We also face difficulties in providing teaching and learning materials due to the attacks.”

‘Our children have no right to safe life’

Xaliya Ebûd, primary school teacher, said that people of Girê Spî were forcibly displaced from their homeland. “We are aware that children suffer from trauma due to the ongoing attacks. These attacks are a war crime because international conventions are violated. Every individual, especially children, have the right to safe life; however, our children have no right to safe life due to the ongoing Turkish attacks.”