HATAY, Turkey – The Alaa Aldin family bakery may have been a victim of the Syrian civil war. Instead, it has become a symbol of what U.S. officials describe as the resilience of refugees trying to survive a conflict that many fear has been forgotten.
The three brothers Ahmad, Iyad and Bassam Alaa Aldin decided to move the business in 2013 to escape the violence that has since ravaged their hometown, Idlib. With their wives and children, they moved to the border and opened a bright new bakery in the southern Turkish city of Hatay in a neighborhood now so crowded with Syrians that evokes comparisons to Damascus before the war. . Its 25 employees are also Syrian refugees.
“What this shows me, and the world, is that refugees can contribute to a country,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, this week at the bakery, in front of piles. of pistachio and baklava rolls dripping with honey.
“The message they have heard from me is that we have not forgotten Syria,” he said as the brothers approached.
It was also a message addressed to the Turkish government, which wants to relocate many of the country’s 3.7 million Syrian refugees back to the border.
In an already tense economy, many Turks have blamed refugees for accepting lower wages to be hired for a limited number of jobs available in the country. Hardline politicians have long accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of having an open-door policy that he said allowed for an “invasion” of Syrians, Afghans and others fleeing conflict.
Mr Erdogan has vowed to send at least some refugees back, and this week has threatened a new military offensive in Syria against Kurdish fighters, in part to clear a safe passage for the return of refugees.
The United States has criticized the planned Turkish attack, which targets Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in a pre-civil war conflict that began in 2011. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warn that a Turkish incursion would further destabilize the region.
It could also force more Syrians to flee, as well as the possible closure of a route used by the United Nations to deliver food, water, medicine and other supplies to millions of people in Idlib province in northwestern Syria. .
Peace talks that had been pushed by the United States and Russia have stalled for years, supporting a decade of human devastation and diplomatic disappointments.
The enduring effect of the Syrian civil war
After a decade of struggle, many Syrians are wondering if their country can be reunited.
After 11 years of war, Syria has become a cautious example of what can happen in a never-ending conflict, such as the one that began 100 days ago in Ukraine.
“Global reach is lacking,” said Ammar al-Selmo, a member of the White Helmets, a rescue organization operating in rebel-held areas in Syria, mainly in the northwest of the country.
“There is no action against Syria,” he added, “and I am very sorry to say that this war has moved to Ukraine, the same tactic of war, which is happening in Ukraine right now, the same suffering.”
“What happened in Syria is a testament to what happened in Ukraine later,” he said. al-Selmo.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield spent two days in Hatay this week and traveled to the Syrian border to assess the possible consequences of the United Nations being forced to end its aid deliveries to Idlib in July. as many diplomats and relief workers anticipate. UN officials are already emptying their warehouses to store aid to Syria in the event that Russia vetoes an annual Security Council measure that would allow deliveries to continue for another year.
Russia, a benefactor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has accused international aid deliveries of violating Syria’s sovereignty while supporting extremists in Idlib. In a recent interview, Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, questioned whether UN deliveries would continue, given that the problems of the mission in recent years had only been alleviated in the negotiations. last minute with the United States. .
Diplomatic talks between the United States and Russia have virtually stopped since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February. But Ms Thomas-Greenfield said she would try to reopen talks with Russian diplomats at the UN to preserve aid and to make sure Moscow does not use it as a bargaining chip with other nations to gain influence in Ukraine.
Mark Cutts, the UN relief coordinator for Syria, said the humanitarian aid operation was the largest in the world, with more than 56,000 trucks loaded with life-saving supplies delivered since 2014. to four million people in Syria, including about 1.7 million living in Syria. tents: they receive supplies delivered to Idlib, Syria’s last major rebel enclave, and an area that has also become a haven for al Qaeda-linked extremists.
“No one should have to live in stores for more than a decade,” Mr. Cutts. “And we are no longer providing the help that is needed.”
Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield said it more clearly. Without help, he said, “babies will die.”
On the Turkish side of the border, known as Point Zero, Hatay’s deputy governor, Orhan Akturk, said the amount of assistance appeared to be lower than in the past. The UN mission “should be expanded,” he said. “This is important, given the alternative.”
The United States and Turkey, both members of NATO, have formed an awkward alliance over the past decade as Erdogan has tried to stifle political opposition and free speech, leading to US condemnation. The belief among many Turks that the United States played a dark role in the failed coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016 fueled tensions.
Understanding the Syrian civil war
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A lasting conflict. The war in Syria began 11 years ago with a peaceful uprising against the government and turned into a multifaceted conflict involving armed rebels, jihadists and others. Here’s what you need to know:
The origins. The conflict began in 2011 when Syrians peacefully rose up against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The protests were met with violent repression, while communities took up arms to defend themselves. There was a civil war.
Both countries oppose the seizure of power by Mr. al-Assad, but are bitterly divided over Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. Turkey considers them terrorists, but the United States sees them as partners that helped defeat the Islamic State.
More recently, Erdogan has blocked Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, aligning with the Russian opposition to expand the military alliance.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield spoke on Thursday with Sedat Onal, a Turkish deputy foreign minister. A description of the conversation, published by his office, said the two agreed on the importance of keeping UN aid flowing in Syria. He also noted the US opposition to the upcoming Turkish offensive against Syrian Kurds.
Human rights defenders have accused Mr. Erdogan of deporting refugees, in violation of international law, and relocating them to areas of Syria near the border where Turkish forces have expelled Kurdish fighters.
In an interview Thursday, Ms Thomas Greenfield said it was “an exciting and hopeful thought” for Turkey to try to justify the return of refugees to so-called safe areas where many Syrians have never lived.
He added: “Refugees will determine if they are safe to return.”
Mr Erdogan’s government has already begun building some 100,000 brick houses in Idlib for returning refugees and other Syrians in a process that Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday would be voluntary. Mr. Erdogan has also pledged to build schools and hospitals in Syria to attract refugees to return voluntarily.
“We will not leave humanity alone. We will not turn our backs on our neighbors,” Mr. I’m in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Wednesday. But, he said, “we know it is not possible to bring another wave of migration,” and accused Western governments of not offering solutions.
In Hatay, Mohammed Faisal, 67, said he could not return to Syria.
He survived 15 years in prison for speaking out against the Syrian government and another four years of civil war before fleeing in 2015 to Turkey, where he feels safe.
People still living in Syria are “in a very difficult situation,” said the man, who did not want to be identified by his full name for fear of reprisals.
Without international help, he said, “you can consider these people dead.”
Safak Timur in Istanbul helped report.