“The first thing ISIS does is burn or kill”

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As always one day we went to our garden. We saw the sound of a cannon. Smoke was rising from the side of our house. Some of them were calling and saying, ‘The first thing ISIS does is burn or kill.’

A woman from Kobani talked about her last moments in her city with these words.

Hundreds of families escaped the battle in Kobani in 2014 and took refuge in Siruc. 

An anonymous woman told Botan Times how she ‘ran away from the war.’

That woman lives with her 5 children in the old neighborhood of Siruç, in a house with a small yard and two rooms.

There were about 10 km between us and the war. We were sitting and listening to the sounds of cannons and guns. We were still fighting. In the evening, we used to light the house, but we were afraid.

I just ran away without a shoes

We planted sesame. We spent 40 days of cultivation because there is too much. My children and I were in dirty clothes from morning till evening.

“We were in the corner field. When ISIS came, I immediately took my children and got into the car. We didn’t have any clothes or shoes, only the dirty clothes went away.”

They said that the border of Turkey is open, and everyone can cross. I also saw my father’s house here. The soldiers stepped on the fence and we passed the border.

We pulled away in tears

A man took us in his car. We went to a village in Siruc, which was also near Kobani. We stayed there for a few days. Then we went to a camp between Riha and Siruc.

My children and I were there for 6 years when the camp was removed, we parted in tears. 

I had no one to employ. I started working. My children are now going to school, and I am going to work as a gardener. We harvest cotton, garlic, and onions. I live in a circle in this hole. 

This news was translated by Yonca Sarsilmaz