Alevis in Afrin: We are not leaving our homes

While the Turkish state attacks Afrin in every conceivable way to change the demographics of the region, Alevis from Afrin emphasize that they will not leave their villages despite the threat of massacres and heavy attacks.

The Turkish state is using heavy weapons, fighter jets, soldiers and militias to drive the population of Afrin to flight and thus to change the demography of the region in their favor. The Turkish state had previously attacked Ezidi villages in Shera and Jindires and carried out massacres and is now trying to eradicate the Alevi villages in Mabata by bombing the region.

However, Alevi residents still declare that they are not afraid of the attacks of the Turkish state and will not leave their villages.

The Alevi population in Afrin comes for the most part from Northern Kurdistan. They fled from the genocide of the Turkish regime in 1938 in Dersim and the massacres of Maras and settled in the region. Now they are again threatened by the Turkish state.

One of these resistant villagers is Eyûb Mihemed. "The people here in the region have lived together without any racial or denominational discrimination. Those who now attack our coexistence should know that we will never leave our villages and resist to the last,"said Mihemed, stressing that the Turkish state wants to demolish and plunder their homes. “Even as we die, we will stay in our homes and leave no plunder," they say.

Alevi citizen Bekir Elî explains: "They threaten us with massacres, but they should know that we are not afraid. We will stay in our country until the end."

Villager Izet Qelindir says that no one from Efrîn will flee from this threat.