SORGUL ŞÊXO

Hasakah- The Ecology Department of the People’s Municipality in Til Temir, a town in Jazira Canton of North and East Syria, works hard despite limited resources. The Ecology Department is one of the most important departments of the municipality, Meha Mihemed, Co-chair of the Ecology Department. “The municipality starts cleaning the town every day at 6 a.m. All trash is collected on the streets and in the neighborhood in the morning. Pesticides are sprayed over neighborhoods to minimize mosquito population when necessary.”

Trees against water crisis

The Ecology Department planted more than a thousand trees that grow without water in 2024. “We planted over a thousand trees on the town's main roads, parks, intersections, squares and martyrs' cemetery. We planted palm trees and trees that do not need much water. This year, temperatures are above normal compared to previous years. Since we suffer from a water crisis, we have to plant trees that do not need water and can live for a long time.”

‘Our aim is to create a clean and healthy environment’

One of the duties of the municipality is to beautify the town by planting trees, Meha Mihemed said. “As the municipality in Til Temir, we do our best to plant more trees; however, our society does not have a culture of planting trees.”

The Turkish state has stopped the Alouk water station from pumping drinking water since it occupied Serêkanîyê in 2019, causing water outages in many cities and towns of North and East Syria. “Due to the ongoing water outages, we plant trees to make our environment green. Green spaces play an effective and positive role in climate change. Our aim is to create a clean and healthy environment. If we develop the culture of planting trees in society, we will protect ourselves against many diseases, and our town will turn into a beautiful painting.”

‘We will turn our town into a beautiful painting’

Green spaces are as important as the lungs that provide oxygen to body tissues for cellular respiration, remove the waste product carbon dioxide, Meha Midemed emphasized, adding, “Winter will come in a few months and we will probably suffer from the lack of fuel. In addition, people suffer from the ongoing war. For these reasons, our people should not cut down trees and burn them. We hope that our people will support us to turn our town into a beautiful painting.”