SIRNAK, Turkey — Having survived mass killings and starvation, 200 Yezidi refugees have trekked through rugged mountain terrain to seek shelter in Roboski, a village in southeastern Turkey that was the cite of a massacre in 2011.
Yezidi Kurds from Iraq began fleeing over the border to Roboski after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) extremists attacked the community last month in what Amnesty International has deemed “ethnic cleansing on an historic scale.”
The arrival of desperate Yezidis seeking shelter in Roboski has attracted media attention in Turkey given the village’s tortured history.
Thirty-four people — most teenagers from a Kurdish family — were killed when Turkish F-16 fighter jets bombed the village in Sirnak province along the Turkish-Iraqi border in December 2011.
The boys, who were smuggling in petrol and cigarettes from Iraq, were apparently mistaken for Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels. The government deemed the attack an unintentional error but families and Kurdish rights advocates have demanded the case be probed further.
Veli Encu, chairman of the Roboski Martyrs Association, told Rudaw that village residents are collecting money for refugees, providing medication and welcoming them into their homes. Many of the refugees are suffering the effects of chronic dehydration and a 60-year-old man recently died.
"We are victims ourselves and will always be ready to help other victims. We will always stand side by side with them and share their grief," said Encu, who lost his 16-year old brother and 11 other relatives in the 2011 massacre.
Cengiz Gunay, chairman of the Medical Association in Diyarbakir, said that in addition to recovering from starvation and thirst, the refugees are also being treated in Roboski for chronic illnesses. Refugees in Roboski are not entitled to healthcare in public hospitals, however.
"It's a big problem because many of them are physical handicapped,” said Gunay. “It’s clear that children haven’t had access to water for a long time.”
Roboski is known for its treacherous mountains, which are difficult for cars to navigate. The same tractor that was used to transport the bodies after the 2011 massacre was used to transport the Yezidi refugees to the village.
"Slowly, we have developed an almost familial ties to these refugees from Shingal," Encu said.
One of the refugees, Ahmad Ahmad, agreed.
Like many, Ahmad is slowly recovering from the IS attack on Shingal, where extremists beheaded one of his elderly female relatives.
"We are very happy with the care and hospitality we have received in Roboski," Ahmad said.
Yusuf Dawud spent seven days starving and severely dehydrated during the IS siege of Shingal mountain. Islamic extremists consider Yezidis devil worshipers, a crime punishable by death.
"It was really hard. Some of my friends didn’t make it and died. We thank Roboski many times for their help," Dawud said.
Rustem Erkan, a professor at Dicle University in Diyarbakir and an expert on the Kurds, said, “Since the 1960s, Roboski had a tradition of helping Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) on the Iraqi side of the border.”
He added that unlike most Iraqi Kurds who speak a dialect called Sorani, Yezidis Kurds in Turkey have stronger ties because both speak the Kurmanji dialect.
Refugees, however, consider Roboski a temporary solution.
"We can’t live in peace in Shingal so unless a solution is found in Shingal, we hope that Europe will take us," Ahmad said.
