These are deeply traumatized men, placed in a position no human should ever find themselves in: displaced from your home, locked inside Syria (borders closed), no job opportunities. Many in their position would do the same.
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The worst thing for me about doing research on the invasion of NE Syria is not watching field execution or looking at photos of mutilated children. It is talking to the Syrians fighting on Turkey's behalf, trying to justify doing something truly unjustifiable.
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Some are straight up criminals, who love being on the winning side, love having power and abusing it. Talk to anyone living under their rule in northern Aleppo - Arab, Turkmen or Kurd - and they'll tell you the same.
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Yet many others are former rebels who now find themselves inside factions that will never fight the regime, and are instead fighting Turkey's war. Humans don't want to admit to themselves & others they are being used.
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They reach out to me, despite knowing my views, trying to justify themselves to me (and to themselves). Some insist the SDF is the same as Assad. Others delude themselves into thinking they'll be allowed to fight the regime, eventually or trick Turkey's into a war w/ the regime
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Yet others recognize they are being used by feel trapped, unable to make a different choice. "I have a family to support," one said. Both before Efrîn op & now, Turkey paused salaries. Maybe a coincidence (salaries are inconsistent), but this increased desperation of fighters.
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Finally, some admit to being used, but argue they have no other choice. A fighter with the Hamza Division who lives in a stolen Kurdish home in Efrîn told me: "Turkey is the only one who stood by us, so we are forced to stand by theirs."
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I love following your comments on the war in Syria. You’re a voice of reason and compassion.
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Same here.
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Thank you so much! This made me smile
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You seem to have completely forgotten, the time when the Kurds took the Syrian armies side and slaughtered a bunch of FSA fightres then paraded their corpses on trucks around
#Aleppo. Unjustifiable?https://twitter.com/markito0171/status/726001555384717313?s=20 …
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I've seen the flag of the revolution being flown by criminal gangs, I've seen it flown by theocrats. But this is the lowest point. The fact that these people claim to represent the dreams so many died for is perverse.
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It is. Deeply tragic
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It's tragic alright, but not half as tragic as all the western cheerleaders egging on the contrived FSA 'revolution' in
#Syria for last 8 years. There was never a revolution, never any legitimate political aspirations, only western and gulf backed anarchy and terrorism. - 1 more reply
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How stupid and insane for any Syrians to be 'fighting on Turkey's behalf'? Did it ever occur to you that if they betrayed their country, betrayed their people - then all that's left is expendable mercenary duty...?
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I don't always agree with you but this time, I wanted to thank you for this thread. You said everything that should be said here.
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