Ship sinks with asylum seekers onboard – five children and young people die

A report has reached us from Yeliki Media that a ship has sunk carrying asylum seekers from Izmir, Turkey to Greece causing the death of dozens of people, including five children and young people from Deyrik town in the Hassaka region in Kurdistan of Syria.

The children are the sons of Mohsen Khalaf  Jarro:

• Ali Mohsen Khalaf  Jarro, nine years old
• Salah Mohsen Khalaf  Jarro, six years old.

The other three are young people from one family,  the sons of Abdul Rahman Rammo:

• Mohammed, Abdel-Rahman and Diyala aged between 18 and 22 years.

The final number of victims who were on board this ship when it sank is not currently available,  but the number of Kurds from Syria who died in this tragic incident is likely to rise.

These children died escaping from the persecution of Kurds in Syria.  Families are becoming desperate due to an        increased clampdown on all Kurds by the authorities:

• the decline in the construction industry in the Kurdish area as a result of Decree 49;
• the wasted agriculture in the Kurdish area due to a combination of drought from lack of rain and the withholding of water to the area by Turkey;
• the continued policy of denying 400,000 Kurds their rights to citizenship which leaves them stateless;
• stateless people cannot move around the country,  nor can they leave the country legally;
• stateless children are denied the right to education;
• people are being arbitrarily detained without trial.

Kurds are being forced from their ancient homelands.  Many go to the cities, but others try to leave illegally because they have no choice …  and children are dying.

International Support Kurds in Syria Association – SKS

26 October 2009