Exclusive interviews | Permanent disabilities and sever physiological disorders: Turkish Jandarma’s atrocities against civilians fleeing military operations and seeking for safe haven
In early November 2015, Turkey closed its land border off to Syrians almost completely, deploying military unites along the border strip, as the Turkish border guard forces “Jandarma” prevented Syrian civilians from crossing to the Turkish territory, using concrete border wall, barbed wire, interceptor tunnels and snipers. Besides, the Turkish Jandarma have deployed large number of guard posts along the border strip. Such strict measures have led to several incidents when many civilians have sustained permanent disabilities and deformation, due to brutal beating and shooting with live bullets.
A.A. a 32-year-old man from Abu Al-Zuhur area in Idlib countryside who lives now in Afrin city in the north-western countryside of Aleppo, is one of the victims of the Turkish Jandarma’s violations. A.A. was shot while he was crossing to Turkey, attempting to join his wife who had managed to smuggle herself to the Turkish territory.
In his testimony to SOHR, the young man said “I failed to get a job, and my living conditions deteriorated greatly. After I had been displaced and moved to a refugee camp where I experienced hanger and freezing cold, I decided to leave to Turkey in order to get a job and secure my and my family’s needs. I had sent my wife, but I stayed for a month in order to accomplish some tasks. In late August 2019, I finally managed to cross the border strip with the help of a smuggler, after several failed attempts. As soon as I arrived in the Turkish territory, gunfire targeted me from three directions, so I, the “Dalil” (the guide) and nearly seven other people who escorted us tried to ran away, but I was hit with a gunshot at my back. I was taken by members of the Jandarma to a hospital in Al-Rayhaniyah city in Iskenderun Region where I had a surgery and stayed for a month. I left the hospital on a wheelchair as I was became paralyzed and I was severely distressed. I and my wife were deported later to the northern countryside of Aleppo, via Bab Al-Salamah crossing. Now, I only move on this wheelchair with nobody caring about me, neither the Turkish government nor organizations operating here.”
Another displaced young man called M.S. from Sahl Al-Ghab in the western countryside of Hama and lives now in Salqin city in the northern countryside of Idlib on Syria-Turkey border repeatedly attempted to cross into Turkey during the period when military operations in Hama and Idlib countryside were stepped up in 2019. M.S. said to SOHR “as military operations escalated in the region, I decided to flee to Turkey where some of my relatives had settled. I paid 400 USD to a ‘smuggler’ after I had sold my motorcycle. I tried to cross to Harem area on the border with Iskenderun Region in north-western Idlib with groups of young males and females on six occasions. During the last attempt, I was arrested with three others in Hursh Kabeer at nearly 12:00 am. The members of Turkish Jandarma beat us brutally. Three members were beating me at face, abdomen, back and ‘sensitive organs’ until I had a hit on my head and lost my consciousness. I waked up at an outpost of the Turkish Jandarma and on the following day, we were deported to Syrian territory, then I was taken to a hospital in north Syria where I stayed for two days after it was found out that I had an almost-deadly hit at the back of the head. Since this accident, I have epileptic seizures and feel unbearable headache and some times I lose consciousness. I also lose concentration and have troubles with my ‘reproductive system’. The members of the Turkish Jandarma also stole my mobile phone and a bag contained personal items.”
It is worth noting that the Syrian Observatory documented the death of 446 civilians who have been killed by the Turkish Jandarma since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution, including 78 children under the age of eighteen and 44 females over the age of eighteen.
In January, SOHR sources reported that since the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in 2011, and with the Syrian regime’s criminal practices, Turkey became one of the major countries where Syrians had sought refuge trying to flee the destruction of war by crossing the common border between the two countries in legal and illegal ways, without any difficulties.
However, in early November 2015, Turkey almost completely closed its land borders off to Syrians by deploying military units along the border strip, stretching from the Latakia countryside through Idlib and Aleppo to Al-Hasakeh countryside, as well as building a concrete border wall to prevent refugees from entering its territory.
Although Turkey tightened border security measures, people continued trying to reach Turkey illegally, through local smugglers, often from villages and towns adjacent to Turkish territory, as they know every detail of the routes and geography of the region .
In recent years, a high number of sniping and killings of Syrians by the Turkish border guards “Jandarma” has reported, of those fleeing the horrors of war and decided to enter Turkish territory through smugglers, ignoring the roads’ hazards and difficulties, the majority of which have become monitored by thermal seeking surveillance and snipers, dozens of military patrols and the huge concrete wall built on the border.
Moreover, many people fleeing the scourge of war are being defrauded by greedy smugglers; those people tend to borrow large sums of money from their relatives or selling their properties to pay for the smugglers’ services.
Even worse, people are often being caught between a rock and a hard place, the Turkish gendarmerie and exploitative smugglers, and there have been many cases of sexual harassment of girls trying to reach Turkey for marriage or study, where the smugglers exploit the absence of a companion or relative.
A girl known by her initials as “W.M.” from the city of Ma’rat al-Numan, south of Idlib, speaks to SOHR about her experience while trying to reach Turkey through smugglers who are in the border areas with the Iskenderun region, north-west of Idlib: “I accepted to marry a young man who has family connections to my family and has been in Turkey for nearly five years. After my family and I were displaced from Ma’rat al-Numan to Idlib city, and after the agreement between my family and his family and the completion of the marriage paperwork, he decided to send me some money to bring me to Turkey. After my family’s approval, my fiancé and I spoke with one of the smugglers who was in the Salqin border area with the Iskenderun region in Idlib countryside. The smuggler gave us several options for smuggling costs starting from $700 and up to $3,000, depending on the distance I will walk and the danger of the road, including Turkish border patrols and the shooting at the people who cross the border. The smuggler is called Abu Ali, we only know him by that name. He is an honest person and has a good reputation, according to the friends of my fiancé who helped us to reach him.”
The girl added “I packed my bags and agreed to take a rugged road, but the distance is short and very secure, as the smuggler said. The road from the countryside of Harem, bordering the Iskenderun region. We agreed to pay $1,500 to a third party inside Idlib, and will be handed over to the smuggler as soon as I arrive in Turkish territory.”
“At the beginning of September 2020, Abu Ali called me and asked me to prepare myself, and then he came and took me by car to the area from which I was supposed to enter Turkey. I went with him and he drove me to a house but I did not exactly know the area, but it was close to the Harem area. The house was hosting about ten young men and five families, including women and children, all of whom want to enter Turkish territory on the same road. At 1:00 p.m., three young men came to us and told us that we would split up into three groups, and then we will start the journey across the border.”
The girl added “we started our journey by walking through a rocky terrain, including mountain areas and low valleys. After walking for two hours, I and the group I was with, three young people and a family from Rif Dimashq of two girls, three children, a woman and a young man, felt tired, then one of the smugglers known as “Al-Dallal” (the guide), who was tasked by the major smuggler of leading us in a safe way to Turkey, told us ‘the route is surveilled and we have to wait until morning, you can sleep now if you want’. Then the smuggler got closer to me and started verbal harassment by saying ‘it is unfair for this beauty to struggle with inconveniences of travel through smuggling routes. I can deliver you to Turkey in a car, if you wish,’ while I was shivering with fear.”
“The family and young men fell asleep as they were so tired. However, I and the “Dallal” stayed awake, as he sometimes offered me cigarettes, served some cups of tea and talked to me in a strange way, as if he was drunk. Later, I found out that he took illicit pills, as he took several “captagon” pills before me and acknowledged of taking drugs in order to keep him awake while working.”
“An hour later, another young man, the Dallal’s friend, came and sat next to us. The two smugglers started to talk using distasteful and dirty words in my presence. I walked away, sat on some rocks nearly 200 metres away from the two men and started to cry. I later intended to put up with these words and the journey’s inconveniences, especially since only a few hours separated me from reaching Turkey. Suddenly, I found the “Dallal” groping me and touching every part of my body as if he was out of his mind, and when I started to shout, he put his hand on my mouth, trying to hush me. I looked at the place where the family and young men were sleeping, but I found that they had left, as the other smuggler escorted them to another place far from where I was. I ran away from the “Dallal” who kept chasing me, until I approached the family and young men who heard my cries and hurried to me, at a time when the “Dallal” and his friend had escaped, taking advantage of being familiar with the routes in this area. The group told me ‘the other guy told us that you decided not to continue your way to Turkey for fearing of the rugged route and returned to Harem, so we were about to leave with the smuggler’s friend who was supposed to help us to cross into Turkey, before we heard your cries.’” said the girl
The troubles narrated by “W.M.”, however, capture just a fraction of the sufferings faced by the Syrian people while attempting to smuggle themselves to Turkey, as they are exposed to scams. Besides, girls are subjected to harassment, most cases like this go unreported due to the society’s traditions and fear of stigma, while some of such incidents could evolved to honour killing.
Moreover, the Turkish border guard forces “Jandarma” continue violating human rights and moral standards by killing, arresting and humiliating refugees on the Syria-Turkey border . It is worth noting that the Turkish Jandarma directly shoot at everyone detected crossing into Turkey, while those arrested are beaten brutally and forced to do hard work like erecting soil barriers at the Turkish posts and cleaning bathrooms, then they are forced to provide their fingerprints on documents stating their desire to return to Syria, so that they will be detected as soon as they retry to enter Turkey.
According to Syrian Observatory statistics, the number of Syrian civilians who have been killed by the Turkish Jandarma since the beginning of the Syrian Revolution, has risen to 461, including 82 children under the age of eighteen and 44 females over the age of eighteen.
We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), renew our appeal to the UN and international community to intervene and find a lasting political solution to the Syrian crisis. We would like to see a genuine, maximum pressure put on all the parties involved in the Syrian conflict to stop all hostilities and violence; and we urge all humanitarian organisations, governmental or non-governmental, to double their efforts and help to the people of Syria: your action now will save lives.