07 December 2017•Update: 08 December 2017
By Muhammed Misto, Adham Kako and Erdal Turkoglu
EAST GHOUTA/ANKARA
An 83-year-old Turkish national stranded in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, which is under blockade by Bashar al-Assad regime, is looking forward to the day he will return to his homeland.
Born in southern Hatay province in 1934, Fevzi Sozer settled down in Syrian capital Damascus when he was just 17 years old.
After performing his military service in Turkey, he returned to Syria in 1959, where he worked as a shoemaker and hawker for 25 years.
“I am Turkish. I came here from Turkey, and got shot. I am married with five children. I want to get out [of Syria], but they don’t let me. I want to return to Turkey,” Sozer told Anadolu Agency.
Sozer lost his ability to walk 15 months ago when he was injured in an airstrike by regime forces in Douma city.
“We are under blockade… No one is merciful to anyone…,” Sozer said.
He said he had been to Turkey to vote in elections in 2013. “I turned back here [to Syria] one year later and got stuck here.”
Living in Syria for 67 years, Sozer also expressed his longing for home and the relatives -- including his sister that he left behind in Turkey.
“Turkey is a decent motherland. Wherever you go there, you feel at ease,” he said.
Gulenc Solmaz, Sozer’s 81-year-old-sister, expressed her hope to reunite with her brother after she learnt that Sozer is still alive.
Solmaz was delighted after watching her brother on television.
“My brother, who lives in Syria, came to Hatay with his wife 3-4 years ago. It was the last time I met him. He returned to Syria and never called me since then.
“We heard that the place they lived in was bombed. We tried to reach them but failed. I cried when I saw him on TV,” Solmaz said.
