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Sara, 7, lost her leg and her mother when Turkish forces bombed her home in Qamishli on October 10, 2019. Photo: Rudaw TV
"Ow, Uncle," seven-year-old Sara cried in pain after losing her right leg, but neither Trump nor the world heard her crying.
Sara was playing outside her home with her 12 year old brother Yousif. Their mother lost her life in front of their Qamishli home due to Turkish bombardment. Their blood spilled among tomatoes, bread and their shoes.
Nobody knows whether the bombardment of Qamishli and the killing of its women and children, are beyond the limit Trump has set for Turkey. Qamishli, whose inhabitants made it a peaceful center out of their love for warriors who fought against Daesh (Islamic State). Qamishli, which became a secure location for the Americans, the French and the British to lay out their counter-Daesh plans.
Lying down on a simple bed at a basic hospital with limited medical resources, Sara’s severe injuries were being treated. She kept uttering a cry of “Ow, Uncle" while she received first aid and later, treatment for her amputated right leg. Her crying tore through every human heart, except Trump's. If the American nation really understood the cry of pain, they would feel ashamed to have Trump as their president.
"Ow, Uncle" are the words Kurds will never forget until the day they will leave this unjust world. Kurds will understand that if the president of a country founded on the politics of morality, human rights and democracy can turn a blind eye to outrageous, inhumane atrocities, so too will others. Trump's politics and tweets devoid of human values mean Sara’s cries, and those of other children in Qamishli and Sari Kani, are mixed up with those of the children of Kirkuk. All these cries are felt in the heart and mind of Kurds, the only people who welcomed American forces into the region. After this experience, I am sure Kurds will seek other allies.
Trump intends to use the slogan "We are bringing our soldiers and military home...from endless wars" at the expense of the blood of Kurds, and as his motto to deceive the American nation into securing him a second term in the White House as US President. But I am sure that if any of his competitors use Sara's story, they will be able to remove Trump from office in a manner recalling Trump’s own campaign tactics in 2016, when he leveled criticism at the Democrats, accusing the party and then-President Obama of committing strategic mistakes such as the Iran nuclear deal, and attributing the emergence of ISIS to the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
Daesh is regaining strength, warns by The American Institute for the Study of War in detailed research. Daesh 2.0 will be much more dangerous. Trump’s greenlighting of the Turkish offensive will contribute to its swift, strong return - though in fact, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army is no different than Daesh in terms of ideology and actions.
In his baseless tweets, Trump criticizes the Kurds for not assisting the US during World War II and the invasion of Normandy. But Kurds did help the US in the fight against Daesh, prevailing over the group with the blood of 13,000 Peshmerga and Shervan (Kurdish fighters in Rojava) when the Americans chose to ally with a local force to prevent the need for their boots on the ground. In return, Kurds reaped the events of October 16, 2017, and the Turkish offensive on October 9, 2019.
Kurds have not asked Trump and the US to fight the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias in Iraq or the Turkish army for them. Kurds have only called on the US not to strike political deals with any side that would effectively pave the road for these forces to attack Kurds in areas liberated from Daesh. Kurds have asked only for the US to help broker a fair and peaceful deal.
Trump threatened to withdraw his troops from Syria on the grounds that Turks and Kurds have fought each other for 200 years now. However, in the meantime, he says he will dispatch 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia because according to him, Saudi will pay the expenses.
Kurds may not have money, but they have paid the price with the blood of tens of thousands of their own to protect the principles Abraham Lincoln posed to US Congress – principles that are a source of national pride. Trump’s [betrayal] is of great shame to the history of the USA.
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