SANLIURFA, Turkey
No mother should bear witness to the untimely death of her children. This is the solemn message that Syrian mothers want to give to the world on Mother’s Day, who after losing everything, dream of visiting their children’s graves as they pass on their days on foreign lands as refugees.
Women and children have been the most affected in Syria’s ongoing bloody civil war, which entered its fifth year in 2015. In interviews with Anadolu Agency, Syrian refugee mothers living in Turkey thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for helping Syrians across the board and providing shelter to hundreds of thousands of refugees. Most of them now just wish that the war in Syria ended soon so that they are able to visit the graves of their children buried there at least.
Hanud Barjas, a Syrian woman at a shelter in the Suleyman Sah accommodation for refugees in Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, told Anadolu Agency that she used to live in eastern Syria’s Deir al-Zour city.
Barjas said that she lost three sons in a month who had taken part in clashes with Assad regime forces.
“I saw three coffins coming, but at first I did not know to whom they belonged. I was devastated when they told me that they were my sons. I pray to Allah that nobody else would ever face the same fate. I did not allow my other two sons to go to war as I feared they may face their brothers’ fate. We then escaped to Turkey fearing for our lives,” she said.
Barjas said that she had visited the graves of her three sons only twice and wished to visit them every day when the war ends.
She also recalled how she sees her dead sons among the living.
“When I had a heart operation in Sanliurfa, I realized that my doctor looked like my youngest martyred son, which made me feel very sad. When I told the doctor, we both cried,” she said.
About the future, she said that she hoped to go for Hajj or Umrah if she ever got the means.
“May Allah bless Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, all Turkish officials and the Turkish people. I wish Turkey does not ever live the pain that we suffer,” she said.
Zahra Hammoud, another Syrian mother, said she lost two sons in the war.
“One of my sons who lost his life was married. My grandson was born after his death and we gave him his father’s name, Gazi,” she said.
She said that she moved to Turkey with her other three sons two years back. She visited her son’s grave with her grandson only once.
Hanan Hussein said that Mother’s Day did not mean anything to women who lost their family members.
Hussein said that they hoped the war ended soon and they returned to their country so that they could once again live with their beloved ones, including the ones who were now six feet under.
