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Syria
The ceremony of the reopening of Ayn Arus school in Gire Spi. Date: March 16, 2021. Photo: Sanliurfa governor's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey has reopened two schools in the Kurdish town of Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) damaged when it invaded in 2019, as activists accuse Ankara of assimilation efforts in areas under its control in northern Syria.
Abdullah Erin, governor of the Turkish province of Sanliurfa (Riha), visited Gire Spi on Tuesday, reopening two schools renovated by his office and several Turkish non-governmental organizations, according to a statement from his office.
The schools, like many other buildings in the town, were damaged during Turkey’s invasion of the town.
Gire Spi and the neighboring Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) were controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), until Turkey and its Syrian proxies invaded in October 2019. Both towns were Kurdish-majority, but most people of the ethnicity have fled to other areas under the control of the SDF.
Ayn Arus primary school has 17 classrooms with the capacity of having 870 students, while Hassan Issa primary school has the capacity for 600 students. The governor said that all other 250 schools in the town will be examined — without specifying how many are currently operating.
“We will continue to stand by our Syrian brothers without any expectations, and we will not leave our oppressed Syrian brothers at the mercy of terrorist organizations,” Erin told those attending the reopening ceremony.
However, a Kurdish rights activist claims that Turkey’s intention in reopening the schools is to assimilate Syrians.
“The Turkification of Sari Kani and Gire Spi areas is carried out openly. Following their invasion, they [two towns] have been officially linked to Urfa province,” Izzedin Salih, an activist from the Synergy (Hevdesti) Foundation, told Rudaw.
He says that Turkey also imposes its curriculum at schools and raises the Turkish flag.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved a request from a Turkish university to open three campuses in Turkish controlled cities of Jarabulus, Al-Bab and Afrin, days before he ordered the offensive against the SDF in Sari Kani and Gire Spi.
A video, published along with the statement by the governor's office, shows students singing in Turkish. Additionally, Turkish flags were waving on the buildings of the schools and the billboards included the Turkish language.
Abdullah Erin, governor of the Turkish province of Sanliurfa (Riha), visited Gire Spi on Tuesday, reopening two schools renovated by his office and several Turkish non-governmental organizations, according to a statement from his office.
The schools, like many other buildings in the town, were damaged during Turkey’s invasion of the town.
Gire Spi and the neighboring Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) were controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), until Turkey and its Syrian proxies invaded in October 2019. Both towns were Kurdish-majority, but most people of the ethnicity have fled to other areas under the control of the SDF.
Ayn Arus primary school has 17 classrooms with the capacity of having 870 students, while Hassan Issa primary school has the capacity for 600 students. The governor said that all other 250 schools in the town will be examined — without specifying how many are currently operating.
“We will continue to stand by our Syrian brothers without any expectations, and we will not leave our oppressed Syrian brothers at the mercy of terrorist organizations,” Erin told those attending the reopening ceremony.
However, a Kurdish rights activist claims that Turkey’s intention in reopening the schools is to assimilate Syrians.
“The Turkification of Sari Kani and Gire Spi areas is carried out openly. Following their invasion, they [two towns] have been officially linked to Urfa province,” Izzedin Salih, an activist from the Synergy (Hevdesti) Foundation, told Rudaw.
He says that Turkey also imposes its curriculum at schools and raises the Turkish flag.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved a request from a Turkish university to open three campuses in Turkish controlled cities of Jarabulus, Al-Bab and Afrin, days before he ordered the offensive against the SDF in Sari Kani and Gire Spi.
A video, published along with the statement by the governor's office, shows students singing in Turkish. Additionally, Turkish flags were waving on the buildings of the schools and the billboards included the Turkish language.
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