Tweet
TURKEY PUSHES SYRIANS INTO LIMBO ACROSS BORDER
National Public Radio
October 1, 2012 Monday
SHOW: All Things Considered 08:00 PM EST
ANCHORS: Kelly McEvers
GUESTS: Em Abdo, Abu Ali, Mahib
AUDIE CORNISH: Where there is war, there is often a border town. It's
a place where refugees seek shelter, where rebel fighters regroup,
gun runners ply their trade and reporters try to follow it all. In
the Syrian conflict, that town has been Antakya, Turkey. But as
the violence drags on, Antakya's status is changing, as NPR's Kelly
McEvers found on a trip there.
KELLY MCEVERS: Long before the Syrian uprising, Antakya was a storied
place. Once known as Antioch, the city was home to Greeks, some of
the earliest Christians, Jews, Armenians. It once was a major stop on
the Silk Road. Now, it's a Turkish city steeped in modern intrigue,
a place where any number of aid workers, spooks, reporters, rehash
the day in loud crowded bars like this one.
For many months, Turkish authorities tolerated Antakya's status as a
hub for the Syrian rebellion, even encouraged it. Turkey built refugee
camps for tens of thousands of Syrians, including one for officers
who defect from the Syrian army to join the rebel cause. But that
support is starting to fade.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHANTING AND CLAPPING)
KELLY MCEVERS: At a recent protest, Turkish citizens living in Antakya
called for the Syrian rebels to be expelled. At the same time, Turkish
authorities began knocking on doors of Syrians who rent apartments
in Antakya, telling them they only have a few days to get out of town.
And for now, the refugee camps aren't taking new arrivals. That means
desperate Syrians trying to get into Turkey are stuck in limbo.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE)
KELLY MCEVERS: We just crossed the border into Syria from Turkey. And
what we're looking at here, it's an olive grove. So you've got kind
of orderly rows of olive trees. Underneath each tree, basically,
is a family and they've built their own tents out of carpets.
Em Abdo(ph) is one of 3,000 people living in the olive grove.
EM ABDO: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: She says she left her town not far from here when
the shelling seemed like it would never stop. For now, she says she
feels safer under this tree. The branches provide shade. Blankets make
walls. The kids surrounding us - there's probably about 10 kids around
us - they have sores on their faces, they're covered in flies. And
Em Abdo says she has no idea when the family might be able to leave.
The olive trees where Em Abdo lives are situated just at the
Turkish/Syrian border. Drive a few miles deeper into Syria and you
get to the town of Atme. Abu Ali has it better than the refugees.
He's a gunrunner and fixer for Syrian rebel commanders. In other words,
he has cash.
ABU ALI: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: He says Turkish authorities told him to leave Antakya.
So he decided to come back into Syria, rent a house here in Atme,
and bring his wives and children.
Just a few months ago, Atme was a sleepy town, a way station for
people coming and going into and out of Syria. Now it's the place to
be. People here say the town has grown from 5,000 to 40,000 people.
Where there once was a single falafel stand, there's now a thriving
market.
(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: The leaders of the rebel fighters, known as the Free
Syrian Army, recently announced in this video they're leaving the
officers camp in Turkey and coming back into Syria, too. That may or
may not be true but the message was symbolic: It's time to regroup
on the inside.
MAHIB: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: Our guide, a doctor named Mahib(ph), explains that
Atme has been immune to the violence that's been unleashed on the
rebel strongholds, because it's far from any Syrian army base and
it's surrounded on three sides by Turkey. People here believe Turkey
quietly enforces an unofficial no-fly zone over Atme.
Dr. Mahib says the town hopes to build hospitals next. Right now,
the nearest hospital is about 10 miles away. Dr. Mahib takes us there.
It's clear the unofficial safe zone doesn't reach this far. In the past
few weeks, some 70 wounded people - rebel fighters and civilians -
were treated here after being attacked from a nearby army base. The
head doctor comes to tell us a Syrian army jet has just fired a
rocket at a house not far from the hospital. We rush to the lobby
where medics wait for casualties.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
KELLY MCEVERS: OK, that's some shooting. The jet has come in low to
strafe people gathered just outside the hospital. We're all going
down in the basement. One man was shot in the knees. OK, here comes
a wounded guy. He's in here. He's limping. He's covered with blood.
Back in Atme, we asked Dr. Mahib whether this new safe zone inside
Syria is a good idea and how long it will remain safe. We say it's
God's will, he says; only God knows how long it will last.
Kelly McEvers, NPR News.
From: Baghdasarian
National Public Radio
October 1, 2012 Monday
SHOW: All Things Considered 08:00 PM EST
ANCHORS: Kelly McEvers
GUESTS: Em Abdo, Abu Ali, Mahib
AUDIE CORNISH: Where there is war, there is often a border town. It's
a place where refugees seek shelter, where rebel fighters regroup,
gun runners ply their trade and reporters try to follow it all. In
the Syrian conflict, that town has been Antakya, Turkey. But as
the violence drags on, Antakya's status is changing, as NPR's Kelly
McEvers found on a trip there.
KELLY MCEVERS: Long before the Syrian uprising, Antakya was a storied
place. Once known as Antioch, the city was home to Greeks, some of
the earliest Christians, Jews, Armenians. It once was a major stop on
the Silk Road. Now, it's a Turkish city steeped in modern intrigue,
a place where any number of aid workers, spooks, reporters, rehash
the day in loud crowded bars like this one.
For many months, Turkish authorities tolerated Antakya's status as a
hub for the Syrian rebellion, even encouraged it. Turkey built refugee
camps for tens of thousands of Syrians, including one for officers
who defect from the Syrian army to join the rebel cause. But that
support is starting to fade.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHANTING AND CLAPPING)
KELLY MCEVERS: At a recent protest, Turkish citizens living in Antakya
called for the Syrian rebels to be expelled. At the same time, Turkish
authorities began knocking on doors of Syrians who rent apartments
in Antakya, telling them they only have a few days to get out of town.
And for now, the refugee camps aren't taking new arrivals. That means
desperate Syrians trying to get into Turkey are stuck in limbo.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE)
KELLY MCEVERS: We just crossed the border into Syria from Turkey. And
what we're looking at here, it's an olive grove. So you've got kind
of orderly rows of olive trees. Underneath each tree, basically,
is a family and they've built their own tents out of carpets.
Em Abdo(ph) is one of 3,000 people living in the olive grove.
EM ABDO: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: She says she left her town not far from here when
the shelling seemed like it would never stop. For now, she says she
feels safer under this tree. The branches provide shade. Blankets make
walls. The kids surrounding us - there's probably about 10 kids around
us - they have sores on their faces, they're covered in flies. And
Em Abdo says she has no idea when the family might be able to leave.
The olive trees where Em Abdo lives are situated just at the
Turkish/Syrian border. Drive a few miles deeper into Syria and you
get to the town of Atme. Abu Ali has it better than the refugees.
He's a gunrunner and fixer for Syrian rebel commanders. In other words,
he has cash.
ABU ALI: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: He says Turkish authorities told him to leave Antakya.
So he decided to come back into Syria, rent a house here in Atme,
and bring his wives and children.
Just a few months ago, Atme was a sleepy town, a way station for
people coming and going into and out of Syria. Now it's the place to
be. People here say the town has grown from 5,000 to 40,000 people.
Where there once was a single falafel stand, there's now a thriving
market.
(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: The leaders of the rebel fighters, known as the Free
Syrian Army, recently announced in this video they're leaving the
officers camp in Turkey and coming back into Syria, too. That may or
may not be true but the message was symbolic: It's time to regroup
on the inside.
MAHIB: (Foreign language spoken)
KELLY MCEVERS: Our guide, a doctor named Mahib(ph), explains that
Atme has been immune to the violence that's been unleashed on the
rebel strongholds, because it's far from any Syrian army base and
it's surrounded on three sides by Turkey. People here believe Turkey
quietly enforces an unofficial no-fly zone over Atme.
Dr. Mahib says the town hopes to build hospitals next. Right now,
the nearest hospital is about 10 miles away. Dr. Mahib takes us there.
It's clear the unofficial safe zone doesn't reach this far. In the past
few weeks, some 70 wounded people - rebel fighters and civilians -
were treated here after being attacked from a nearby army base. The
head doctor comes to tell us a Syrian army jet has just fired a
rocket at a house not far from the hospital. We rush to the lobby
where medics wait for casualties.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
KELLY MCEVERS: OK, that's some shooting. The jet has come in low to
strafe people gathered just outside the hospital. We're all going
down in the basement. One man was shot in the knees. OK, here comes
a wounded guy. He's in here. He's limping. He's covered with blood.
Back in Atme, we asked Dr. Mahib whether this new safe zone inside
Syria is a good idea and how long it will remain safe. We say it's
God's will, he says; only God knows how long it will last.
Kelly McEvers, NPR News.
From: Baghdasarian