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This article used to be first printed by SyriaUntold on January 21, 2026. An edited model is republished right here as share of a recount-sharing settlement with International Voices.

I am Rima (a pseudonym), a Kurdish girl from Afrin, Syria. I for the time being dwell within the town of Qamishli for work, however my family ragged to reside within the Al-Ashrafiya neighborhood of Aleppo old to being displaced for the third time. The indispensable time used to be in 2013, when our building used to be struck within the midst of shelling between the “Free Syrian Army” and regime forces within the Al-Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods, inflicting intensive wreck to our house. We remained trapped within the basement for four days till a stable passage used to be opened, exact thru which we fled toward the town of Afrin.

Between displacement and expropriation

A broad section of Afrin’s inhabitants owned two properties — one in Afrin and the assorted in Aleppo — for work and peek. After the first displacement, we headed to our house in Jindires, within the geographical region, and lived there till 2018. Then, the Turkish “Operation Olive Division” began, inflicting our 2nd displacement. We figured out ourselves stranded, with no house to shelter us; our house in Al-Ashrafiya used to be destroyed, and we lacked the funds to restore or renovate it. For the time being, my family rented a house within the Syriac neighborhood, however our deep attachment to Al-Ashrafiya drove us to return to the neighborhood and lease any other house near our ruined house.

At the identical time, our house in Afrin used to be seized. In 2018, my father got a cell telephone call from anyone in Daraya, informing him that he used to be residing in our house, which had sustained wreck from within attain shellfire. The man requested for money to restore it. My father rejected his request of and refused to grant him permission or “forgiveness” for occupying our house.

One in every of our acquaintances inspected the house after the 2023 earthquake, which caused important wreck in Jindires and led to elevated circulate to and from Afrin. He assured us that the house used to be now not damaged, as it used to be surrounded by olive bushes, however it absolutely had been entirely fenced off and monitored by cameras at every corner; a faction leader from “Ahrar al-Sharqiya,” an armed Syrian rebellion team founded in 2016, had taken up position there.

After the autumn of the regime in gradual 2024, many had been able to consult with Afrin to envision on their properties, and my father used to be amongst them. He traveled there months after the regime’s give scheme, accompanied by one among the native notables. When he reached our house, the occupant got right here out and verbally assaulted my father, calling him a “pig” and an “Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) member” (“Qasd-i’). My father would possibly maybe well per chance well fully are trying to peaceable him down, explaining that he used to be a civilian who had by no scheme carried a weapon and merely needed to return to his house after spending years in rented lodging. The occupant’s response used to be to quiz higher than (USD) 5,000 to vacate the house.

My family is now not properly-off and would possibly maybe well per chance well now not come up with the money for to pay such a broad sum. After the native vital intervened, the occupant lowered the amount by half of, however it absolutely used to be still far previous our scheme. My brother and I scraped along in terms of $1,000 and requested my father to manner him all yet again to persuade him to vacate the house. Then all yet again, he took the money and didn’t leave; as a replace, he began contacting my father periodically, asking if he had advance up with the important amount, till my father used to be forced to turn off his cell telephone for two months.

This man, who hailed from the town of Deir ez-Zor, told my father that he would now not leave the house till the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from his contain city. In his most up-to-date risk — which he has now not yet completed — the particular person, who now belongs to the “Overall Safety” provider, gave us two alternate choices: either pay the pudgy amount, or he would recede the house fully after blowing it up.

Residing in anxiety

For the duration of the most up-to-date attack on the Al-Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods, my family used to be displaced from their house for the third time, accompanied by my sister’s family. All over all yet again, they had been forced to jog toward Afrin since the road to the Jazira space used to be decrease off on the time. I used to be anxiously attempting ahead to them to approach in Qamishli; I had even ready my modest house to welcome them, however the motive force told me it used to be very now not likely. The congestion used to be broad, and the scramble — which most regularly takes decrease than an hour — lasted in terms of seven hours.

At the present time, my family lives within the house of my sister, who has also lost higher than one house. She used to be fully able to reclaim one among them with coarse utter after paying hundreds of US bucks. Now, every day she encounters the very one who plundered her properties.

My mother begs me now not to jot down anything else about their suffering on social media, fearing for my two brothers. In our remaining conversation, she told me that when they left the neighborhood, she held their fingers your total manner — as if holding the fingers of minute kids — dreading that anyone would possibly maybe well per chance well hurt them. But, she still heard a non-Kurdish resident of the neighborhood enlighten, “Merely riddance; would possibly maybe well per chance well also fair you by no scheme return.”

At the present time, two of my family contributors possess returned house to Al-Ashrafiya. My mother, nonetheless, categorically refuses to return out of hysteria for my brothers; she lives with the heartbreak of being unable to dwell in our contain dwelling in Afrin. Meanwhile, my sisters inform me that the topic within the neighborhood is alright, even supposing many “irregular faces” are present, alongside wretched public products and services and the rubble of structures still strewn across the ground. That is accompanied by a sense of hysteria looming over every person; anyone entering the neighborhood is subjected to intense scrutiny, particularly younger males within the high of their lives.

Amidst every little thing happening, we — the folk of Afrin — basically feel on the present time that we were develop into exact into a bargaining chip in every person’s fingers. What leaves us feeling most betrayed is the loss of our properties in Afrin, as no one treats this utter with any seriousness.

For the duration of the length of the attack on the neighborhood, I felt as if I had been slipping out and in of consciousness; it’s still demanding for me to activity what took order. My cell telephone by no scheme left my hand, and the road remained open between me and my family. I felt a heavy burden of responsibility, as they had been attempting ahead to me to tell appropriate news and reassure them that they would now not be forced to jog away their house. My judgment of right and inaccurate jumpy me for being to this level away from them, to the level that I contacted lots of parties in an are trying to search out a vogue to attain Aleppo.

For the duration of my remaining consult with to Aleppo, I accompanied my sister to the town’s highest level — within the eastern share of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood — to drink espresso.” Though it isn’t my behavior to doc such moments with pictures, an inside feeling entreated me to capture the scene old to me. At the present time, I possess a study that photo and basically feel that a actually prolonged time will pass old to I take a look at all of it yet again, and that this is also painful. As a Kurdish girl, I’ll return broken.