Life after Aleppo

"Sometimes it seems to me that death haunts us wherever we go." This is not a quote from the movie "destination" . These are the words of Abdulkaka Alhamdo, an English teacher who managed to get out with his family from the besieged Aleppo.

Abdulkaka Alhamdo 31 years old. 6 years ago, he, like thousands of other young Syrians, entered the protest against corruption and violation of human rights by the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al -Assad. Since then, Alhamdo had to endure all the hardships of the Syrian war, which he categorically refuses to call "civilian". During the same time, other changes occurred in his life: he married and became a father. Fearing persecution by the authorities, Alhamdo fled from his native village to the Aleppo part occupied by the rebels and stayed there until mid -December 2016, when the Syrian authorities finally agreed to the evacuation of armed detachments and the remaining civilian population from the besieged part of the city.

Alhamdo and other Syrian activists who regularly wrote to Twitter and made direct broadcasts from Aleppo (the most famous, perhaps, is the account of the seven -year -old girl Bana Alabed ), became an important source of information about what is happening in the besieged city. The authenticity of their accounts has repeatedly tried to question, however, all independent investigations, including using open sources, confirmed that it was really about real people living and transmitting information from Aleppo. Video with the "last messages from Aleppo", on which Abdulkaka and his friends say goodbye to loved ones in anticipation of the last assault of the city, flew around the whole world. Fortunately, he says, none of the authors of these videos eventually died. About the last days of the siege, about how the evacuation of people from Aleppo passed, and Radio Liberty told about his future fate of Abdulkata Alhamdo.

- Tell us a little about yourself: where you were born, how old you are, what you did before the war and where you are now.

- I am 31 years old, I am married, I have a daughter, her name is Lamar. Today she turned exactly 11 months. Before the start of the war, I was an English teacher, taught in schools. When the war began ... You know, it did not start right away. At first, people simply took to the streets for demonstration, demanding freedom. They wanted their voice to be heard. They did not want them to be killed, as this happened. Then the war began. I was accused of terrorism, just because I publicly declared our right to demand freedom. I moved to East Aleppo, who was occupied by the rebels, I lived there for the last 4.5 years and continued to give English lessons.

- Where do you come from?

- I come from Aleppo, but I was born and raised in one of the surrounding villages, which all this time was under the control of government forces. I can’t go there, and all just because I demanded freedom.

- During these five years, you had to pick up a weapon to fight with the forces of Bashar al -Assad?

- No no. I did not pick up weapons. The only weapon that I have is my tongue, my pen and pencil, my words. And for the [Assad] regime, this weapon is much more dangerous. Many times they wanted to arrest me only because I say and write.

“You said your daughter is 11 months old.” Was she born in Aleppo?

- Yes. After I moved to East Aleppo, I lived for one 2.5 years. Then I got married and our daughter was born. Aleppo was not yet in full siege at that time. It happened when she turned 5 months old. She had to endure a lot.

- How did you manage to survive in a besieged city with a small child?

- You cannot imagine the suffering that I experienced in the besieged Aleppo. We did not have water, food, electricity, medical care. I will never forget the day when my daughter fell ill. I could not find her a doctor. There were doctors in the besieged Aleppo, but at that moment they were busy with other, more serious cases, they had to treat people who suffered during bombing, carry out operations to amputated limbs, deal with injuries that posed an immediate threat to life. I did not find a doctor who could help my daughter. She had a very high temperature, abdominal pain.

The only thing I could at least feed her was crushed rice mixed with salt water

I did not find a doctor, I fought to get at least some medicines for her, but could not. Soon my wife also fell ill. She had no milk, she could not help with something. The only thing I could help my daughter was the only thing I could at least feed her was crushed rice mixed with salt water. Of course, she did not like this in taste, but we had nothing else. She cried all the time and asked to eat.

- When did you leave the besieged Aleppo? Was it during the official evacuation?

- Yes, absolutely true. I left Aleppo on the last day of the evacuation, to be precise - December 18. But it was the most terrible evacuation that could only be imagined. Just imagine: we sat on buses without water and without food for 20 hours, without the opportunity to go to the toilet! My daughter in this bus almost died again. When I asked the representatives of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent to give her a little water, they said: "This is forbidden." I said: "It was not forbidden to discard cassette and phosphorus bombs on us, and it is forbidden to give my daughter a little water?" What we experienced during this evacuation was terrible.

- Why did the buses stand without movement for 20 hours?

Want to save your lives - don't ask questions

- This is a kind of humiliation that Assad’s troops and the Russian army decided to expose us. We left the besieged Aleppo quarters and headed for the suburbs, which are under the control of the rebels. But the path there passes through the areas of the city occupied by government forces. We were stopped there and were not allowed to go further for 20 hours, for no reason. We asked representatives of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent: "Why are we standing? What is the reason? Tell us!" They answered only one thing: "You want to save your lives - do not ask questions." Although we, of course, knew that neither the "Red Cross" nor the "red crescent" were agents of Assad and Russia, neither during the evacuation, nor before it.

- How did the organizers of the evacuation separate civilians from armed militias?

- It was not easy to separate some from others. They said: "The fighters must leave the last." So in the end it turned out. But it was not so simple with everyone. One man, he was a militia, but evacuated with his family, with his wife and daughters. How could he leave them alone, how could he quit his family, which was nowhere to go? So some of the militias chose to evacuate with the civilians, some of them were subjected to monstrous circulation because of this, many were simply killed.

- Where did you end up? Where are you now?

- All civilians were evacuated to the Western suburbs of Aleppo, some went to the province of Idlib (it is under the control of the armed opposition. - RS) . Part went to Turkey, but even this path is very dangerous and expensive. So most of the evacuated remained in villages located west of the city. I stayed here too.

- What is the name of the settlement in which you are now?

- Unfortunately, I cannot say the name of the village where I am now. Assad Army is bombing neighboring villages, they got out very close to us. All I can say is that we are in rural areas west of Aleppo.

- Where did you settle? Do you have any relatives in this village or did strangers have provided a roof over your head?

- In the first week, we lived in the aunt's house of my wife. Then people offered us the house in which we live to this day.

- How do you earn a living to feed your family?

- This is another big problem that the evacuated from Aleppo faced. People had to leave everything there: work, at home, friends, even clothes. We left Aleppo only with the clothes that were on ourselves. We have nothing more left. Here, in the liberated [from Assad] areas of Syria, there is no work for us. At least some work is only for those who have always lived here. I am trying to give English lessons, fortunately, as I promised, soon for me there may be work in some of the local schools. I am happy that I can start teaching again.

- How can you describe the humanitarian situation in the place where you are now, if you compare it with what was in Aleppo?

- Nothing can be worse than the situation that was in Aleppo. What I see now looks like this: when we left Aleppo, we left this hell - although there, perhaps, it was even worse than in hell - we lived without bombing for two weeks. It was unusual. But now the bombing has begun again , Russian aircraft and aircraft Aviation Air aircraft are discarded again. People are very scared. It seems that death haunts people Aleppo wherever they find themselves. As for the humanitarian situation, there is water and food. Yes, there is no electricity either, but at least I can get a little food for myself and my family.

-Russia says that it strokes on settlements where there are fighters of the Ang Nusra Front, groups excluded from the conditions of the ceasefire . Have you seen them?

-It seems to me that Assad and Russians use the words “al-nusra” and “terrorists” always when they want to attack the civilian population, civilians, even hospitals. They always say that they attack the "al-Nusra." I have been living here for about 23 days, and have not seen any fighters of the "Ang Nusra" or "al-Qaeda". Here only civilians. I have not even seen any of the opposition fighters who were evacuated from Aleppo. I'm talking about the fighters of moderate groups, not about the "al-nusre". But even they are not here. Yesterday (January 12, RS), many children died during one of these strokes . Assada mode says that all this is "propaganda". Peaceful inhabitants who die every day are “propaganda”. And many more will die if this will not be stopped.

- Farewell videos from East Aleppo, shot by you and several other inhabitants in the last days before the fall of the besieged part of the city, flew around the whole world, millions of people saw them. Do you know something about how the fate of the authors of these videos developed?

- Fortunately, they are all alive, as far as I know. Lina Shami is alive, Bilyal Abdulkarim is also alive, I heard about him.

- Do you have relatives in Syria, except for your wife and child? Do you know what's with them now?

- Yes, I still had parents in the village, which I told you about, which is located in the territory controlled by Assad forces. I also have several relatives in Turkey. I have not seen any of them for 5 years and, of course, I miss them very much and I hope to ever meet them alive someday.

- You yourself did not think about fleeing Turkey, to Lebanon or even to Europe?

This is a war against the Syrians, this is the real occupation of Syria

- Honestly, I never tried to run to Turkey, but I heard from those who did it, that it is very dangerous and very expensive. Türkiye, as far as I know, has now closed the border. Many of those who tried to cross her were killed. I never even thought about it. I do not want to leave Syria because of Assad, because of Russia, because of Iran. This is a kind of occupation. Believe me, what is happening in Syria is not a civil war at all. This is a war against the Syrians, this is the real occupation of Syria. I know that Assad and Russia would be happy if we all left for Europe, to Turkey or to any other place on Earth. They do not want us to live here. Or we must die. This is the only choice they leave us: to leave or die here. The same applies to people who are in other Assad areas, for example, in the Vadi Barada valley. There are 100 thousand people! And they left only one choice: to die from the bombs that are dumped on them, or to leave for any other place on Earth.

- It turns out that all you have left is to sit and wait?

“I hope something else can be done.” Maybe the international community, which watched for 5 years how they are killed, can do something? I hope for humanity in the hearts of people around the world. I want the voice that we were deprived of was heard all over the world. I want to understand: what are they waiting for? Why do they expect that we will leave Syria or die? I would like to see some kind of mass movement in the world, designed to help us. We have earned life, our children deserve it, they deserve the right to go to school, to get an education. This is the only thing I hope.

-Do you allow the possibility of maintaining power in Syria for Bashar Assad for some transition period after the war ends?

- I think this is just a trick of Assad, this is a trap. A trap for us, for opposition groups, for all people who crave freedom. At first they will say that this is only for some period, and after a few months it turns out that no alternatives triple them. There is not one side that would achieve these agreements and at the same time keep the word. Russia is not such a side. At first they say that they advocate the ceasefire in the western part of the Aleppo province, and then people die from their bombs here. When an evacuation from Aleppo passed, Russia was one of its guarantors. She said that no one would be harmful to anyone. In fact, a lot of people died during the evacuation, many were arrested or stolen.

- The worst thing is that life in a besieged city with a baby is already behind you. Did you have any event that you remember for a lifetime during this time? What memory will remain the most terrible of those who torment the rest of their lives at night?

- To be honest, such a memory will be all these 5 years that I spent in Aleppo. Especially, of course, the last week. There was a moment when I just cried for two days in a row. Not about yourself, but about your family. There were many moments that I can never forget, but this one stands apart. In recent days, we were surrounded on a very small piece of land, with an area of several square kilometers. 50 thousand people. Bombs and artillery shells fell on us like rain. Everywhere on the streets were the dead and the wounded, whom no one could help. On one of these days, the building, located next door to where we were, collapsed. I heard screams from under the wreckage, but there was no one nearby who could raise heavy slabs and save people. They were left there to die. We all expected that Assad’s troops would enter our quarter from a minute, and we were sure that they would kill everyone who would meet in their path.

There was a moment when I just cried for two days in a row

I was so worried about my wife and daughter, I was practically sure that we would not survive, that I would lose them forever, that they would die. Although you know, what was in Aleppo is much worse than death. If the Assad’s soldiers, the Iranian police, mercenaries from Afghanistan and Lebanon entered our quarter, it would be worse than death. Therefore, I then went out online, through Periscope to convey the last cry for help. For us it was the last chance. Fortunately, he worked and we were able to survive. I hope that what happened in Aleppo will not happen again here, where we are now. I hope that my voice will be heard all over the world that the international community, the UN Security Council will hear it: please help us, help the children, all the people who are now in rural areas west of Aleppo, help as soon as possible!

The European march that started on December 26 in Berlin in support of Aleppo passed the first 340 kilometers and lingered for a day in Prague. Radio correspondent Liberty spent a day with participants in the support of the residents of the Syrian city:

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