She lives alone since her five children killed by ISIS landmine
Yara Mihemed lost her five children in the explosion of ISIS landmines. She has been living in Newroz camp since she had to leave her home in Serekaniyê after the city was occupied by the Turkish state.
EBÎR MUHEMED
Dêrik- The war in Syria has left deep wounds and scars in the hearts of thousands of people living in the region. Over 500,000 people have been killed, and six million displaced since the war in Syria started 13 years ago, according to a report released by international organizations and the UN.
Newroz camp is a formal internally displaced person (IDP) camp located in the countryside of Derik, northeastern Syria. The camp hosts 5,151 displaced people from Afrin, Serêkanîyê (Ras al-Ayn) and Girê Spî (Tell Abyad) and Til Temir. Most of the people living in the camp fled from ISIS attacks and the regions occupied by the Turkish state.
She lives alone in a tent
Yara Mihemed is originally from Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood but now lives alone in the camp. “My husband had a stroke and died. I had five children and raised them alone. I am from Aleppo but we had to leave our city due to the attacks of the Syrian state.”
‘Daesh killed my five children’
Yara Mihemed told us that her children had been killed by ISIS. “After we left Aleppo, we settled in Manbij. There was no Daesh at that time in the city. I lived there with my children for 10 years. One day, Daesh began to attack the city and we had to leave Manbij. We took shelter in a house. One day, my children opened the door and a landmine exploded. Daesh had planted landmines in front of the house and my children were killed in the explosion.”
‘The Turkish state occupied Serekaniyê’
After the killing of her children, Yara Mihemed left Manbij. “I went to Serekaniyê and began to live there. However, the Turkish state occupied Serekaniyê and I had to leave my home there. Then, I came to Newroz camp and I have lived alone in the camp since then.”
‘I want to return to Serekaniyê’
I always remember my children and still do not believe that they were killed, Yara Mihemed said. “I have not visited their graves for 10 years. I do not have their photographs; they were all burned during attacks. All I want is to live in peace. I want to return to Serekaniyê.”