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Trump defends pulling troops out of Syria: ‘The Kurds didn’t help us in the Second World War’

'They didn’t help us with Normandy, as an example,' president says, while suggesting any escaped Isis prisoners will travel to Europe

Thursday 10 October 2019 09:36 BST

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Donald Trump says Kurds 'didn't help in Second World War'

Donald Trump has defended allowing Turkey to invade northern Syria by saying the Kurdish people “didn’t help us in the Second World War.”

The president’s decision to withdraw US troops from the area was met with horror in Washington, with Republicans and Democrats criticising the step.

The withdrawal effectively allows Ankara to proceed with a long-threatened military offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Mr Trump dismissed concerns about the move.

“The Kurds are fighting for their land....they’re fighting for their land,” he said on Wednesday.

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

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1/17Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Shayma al Hassan, five, a Syrian refugee born in Lebanon

Her family arrived from the city of Halab in 2014. They lived on the perimeter of Halab airport in Syria, which was under control of the Syrian Free Army. As they fled under the cover of darkness by car they saw dead bodies of families lining the pavements and roads near their home. They would love to return to Syria at some point in time but “life in Lebanon is better than a war zone”. Lack of water, and financial handouts being cut by aid agencies means the family have less access to food.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Ahmed Abdulaziz Farai, three, was born a Syrian refugee in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

His family arrived in 2014 from the city of Raqqa. They were faced with the impossible dilemma, stay in Syria and face conscription to the government regime, join Isis who were in full swing or leave to neighbouring Lebanon that has shouldered approximately 2 million refugees from Syria. Ahmed’s father, Abdulaziz, who works as a painter and decorator is yet to be paid four months wages by his Lebanese employers, putting enormous financial strain on his family. They all want to return home to Syria if they can together as a family if the situation allows it in the future.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Warda al Hammoud, nine, from Reef Halab in Syria arrived at Mohsin Yaseen Camp, Bekka Valley

They fled fierce fighting between government forces and Isis. Airstrikes destroyed their home. After settling on the Turkish border for two months they decided to move to Lebanon. Smugglers demanded $1200 (£950) to facilitate passage for the family. They work eight-hour days for $13 per day to ensure that all bills are paid. Warda is in grade 1 in school and has hopes one day to become a doctor. The family prayers during the holy month of Ramadan is to return home to Syria one day.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Sharook Sbaa, nine, lives in Jaraheyi Camp in the Bekaa Valley

She arrived in Lebanon in 2013 from Reef Halab. The journey to Lebanon took three days across the mountain using smugglers at a cost of $300. Sharook’s mother, Tharah, tripped and fell, breaking her arm on the journey whilst six months pregnant. The Syrian Free Army destroyed their schools because they were funded by the regime state. She dreams of becoming a doctor. Tharah laughs, turns to Sharook and said “how can you possibly dream of becoming a doctor if you have never been to school?”

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Waedad Sheikh, seven, is a Syrian refugee from Haleb

She arrived with her family in the Bekaa Valley in 2013. Her mother Malachy ran away with the children, alone, as her husband was working away at the time to provide an income for his family. They left with only the clothes on their backs as the neighbouring homes were being bombarded by heavy tank artillery and airstrikes. Waedad was extremely scared as they came across the mountain that they may be caught by officials. She dreams of being able to go to school one day soon, although, her request for enrollment has been rejected many times due to lack of funding.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Hiba al Masader five, was born in a refugee camp in Lebanon

Hiba suffers from hay fever and can’t stop rubbing her eyes. Her hands are covered in dirt and bacteria from the camp where rats live among the rubbish, open sewers and drains. Her father Ghadeer explains that doctors are concerned her eyes are becoming infected. This could permanently damage her vision unless regular medication is purchased at a cost of $5 per week Ghadeer simply can no longer afford.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Aziz, six, and Majid Al Haj Mohamed nine, arrived from Reef Halab with their family in 2014 after crossing over the mountains

The family now live in Jaraheyi Camp in the Bekaa Valley. They work prising scrap metal from the dirt of the camp and the surrounding land, which they sell to dealers for 65p/kg. When asked what they were working to be able to afford, they replied: “We just want to be able to help our families to buy food.”

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Hiba Alawad Hilali 10, and her family arrived in Lebanon from Raqa in Syria in 2017

They were illegally smuggled across the mountains and entered the country like so many others. Isis had taken control of Raqqa, residents of the city like Hiba and her family were prisoners in their own homes without access to regular food or water. She passes the time by playing hopscotch with her friends. However she has never been to school or sat in a classroom. Hiba can only write her name but she still dreams of becoming a teacher one day. The family have made several applications for her to go to school only for it to be rejected on the basis there is no space and no funding for new classes or facilities.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Aymen al Yasr, six, arrived from Raqa in Syria in 2016 and now lives in the Bekaa Valley

They fled their home after a neighbour’s house was hit by airstrikes, killing all members of the household. Aymen’s father made the passage to Lebanon ahead of the family to find the safest route and then returned to collect them. Aymen has made good friends in the camp and has started grade one in satellite school operated in the camp for restricted hours in the week.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Yasmeen Ahmed, eight, left Alleppo, Syria when war broke out in 2012

They had very little access to food or water and so were forced to become refugees in neighbouring Lebanon. They feel it would be impossible to return back to Syria not knowing if they have anything to return to. The UN provide $200 per month for the whole family which must provide for eight people. The family explained “they urgently need funds to ease the financial burden here at Mohsin Yaseen Camp in the Bekaa Valley. The rent on their tarpaulin tent is $150 per month excluding electricity. The family have an $800 loan from the camp shop which they are struggling to repay as the family have been in various forms of employment but have been without any work for two months.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Louay Al Hassan, five, a Syrian refugee at Mohsin Yaseen Camp, Bekka Valley, Lebanon, arrived from Reef Halab in 2017

During the time in which they fled, Isis had infiltrated all the neighbouring towns and villages. They were trapped. The only available option was to plan their escape under the cover of darkness. They used boats to escape across rivers. Louay and his family live on less than a dollar per day each which covers food, heating and any other expenses. They have to pay $100 ground rent for their tent to their Lebanese landlord. Landlords evict tenants immediately if they miss one month’s rent. They mainly eat rice and cant afford to buy vegetables that often. Meat is the rarest of luxuries, at a cost of around $17 per kg for lamb. The family run a credit line of up to $700 with the camp shop in order to survive. Louay and his mother Khadeeja wish during the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims worldwide to be able to return to Syria with dignity.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Azzadin Jassam, eight, from Reef Halab, arrived in Lebanon in 2012 as civil warfare engulfed the country

They arrived illegally over the mountains with smugglers at a cost of $400. His father Zacharia currently works in a restaurant as a cleaner, until harvest season when he will start picking potatoes in the fields for around $10 for eight hours per day. Azzadin’s youngest sister, Jaydeh, lies on the floor of the family tent, wrapped in a blanket to protect her from the draft finding its way in. Zacharia raises her trouser leg and jumper to reveal her painfully emaciated and skeletal frame. Jaydeh has been sent home by a Lebanese hospital to die. The family, powerless, could no longer afford to fund the hospital bills. At six months old she caught a virus which in turn restricted the supply of oxygen to the brain. She has led a mainly normal life in part, however, the past few months has seen her condition deteriorate. Jaydeh died that afternoon in the camp. His father’s wish during the holy month of Ramadan is “to have my beautiful daughter alive with us”.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Najwah Alawi, 12, a Syrian refugee, arrived in Lebanon from Todmor, Homs, in 2014

Life was extremely difficult when war broke out in Syria. Food was incredibly scarce. They were forced to sell their livestock to pay for food. Najwah’s father has been forced to take whatever employment he can to ensure the family is provided for. The family rely on handouts of food from the Syrian community of refugees. Najwah is fortunate to attend a government-funded school paid for by a private donor; she is the cleverest girl in her year and has hopes of becoming a doctor in the future.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Yasr al Ali, 10, arrived from Raqqa in 2016, displaced through civil war

Yasr’s family had to run from the Syrian regime and Isis arriving on foot across the mountain pass. He explains “life here is really hard, I miss my home in Syria”. Yasr is in grade KG3 in school and hopes to become a businessman when he completes his schooling. He dreams of one day being able to buy a house and a car.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Aisha Sheikh, two, was born in the camp. Her family They arrived to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon in 2013

Her mother Malachy ran away with the kids alone as her husband was working away at the time to provide an income for his family. They left with only the clothes on their backs as the neighbouring homes were being bombarded by heavy tank artillery and airstrikes. There has been no news from relatives in Syria for over six years.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Hassan Khudr, six, arrived from Haleb in Syria in 2014 and now lives in the Bekaa Valley

They fled their home after a neighbour’s house was hit by a shell. He has made good friends in the camp. His mother Aisha explains that life is extremely hard in the camps and the winter was so cold with heavy rainfall for prolonged periods causing the settlements to flood.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

Syria’s children waiting in doorways

Ghayda Jassam, five, born a Syrian refugee in Lebanon

Her family escaped civil war, arrived from Reef Halab in 2012, illegally over the mountains with smugglers at a cost of $400. Her father Zacharia currently works in a restaurant as a cleaner, until harvest season when he will start picking potatoes in the fields for around $10 for eight hours per day.

Paddy Dowling/Muslim Aid

“And as somebody wrote in a very, very powerful article today, they didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy as an example...they’re there to help us with their land and that’s a different thing,” he said.

The SDF was widely credited for helping the US defeat Isis. The armed coalition of groups lost an estimated 11,000 fighters in the years-long war against the terrorist organisation.

SDF and US forces captured the last piece of Isis held territory in March 2019.

There are now growing concerns that the offensive will means less security around the prisons holding Isis members, as SDF soldiers are redeployed to the border.

Mr Trump claimed the US had helped the Kurdish forces financially.

“We have spent tremendous amounts of money on helping the Kurds in terms of ammunition, in terms of weapons, in terms of money, in terms of pay,” he said.

Mr Trump’s comments about the Kurdish people attracted immediate mockery online.

“The Kurds contributed just as much in Normandy as Donald Trump did in Vietnam,” said Rob Flaherty, the digital director of Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign.

Turkey views the SDF as a terrorist organisation due to its links to banned Kurdish groups inside Turkey. An SDF spokesperson said the group had been “stabbed in the back” by the US.

“They’ve been fighting teach other for centuries, they’ve been fighting each other for hundreds of years,” Mr Trump said of the two groups.

“We have defeated Isis. We defeated the caliphate,” he added, making no mention of SDF casualties.

“They’re bitter, bitter enemies, have always been, probably always will be.”

Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and close Trump ally, has repeatedly attacked the president for withdrawing troops from northern Syria.

“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration,” he tweeted on Tuesday, as Turkish fighter jets began bombing the region.

Fellow Republicans have also spoken out about the move. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said the withdrawal was a “terribly unwise decision.”

Even Nikki Haley, Mr Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, called the move a “big mistake” in a tweet.

“The Kurds were instrumental in our successful fight against Isis in Syria. Leaving them to die is a big mistake,” she wrote.

Mr Graham added that the move “ensures the reemergence of Isis” in the Middle East. He is concerned the removal of US troops will create a vacuum, allowing the terrorist group to possibly restore its caliphate.

There are grave concerns that Turkey’s offensive could affected security around Isis prisons and camps, operated by Kurdish fighters.

An estimated 18,000 militants are being held in prisons in the region, including around 60 British citizens.

The president appeared to dismiss these fears and implied that Europe, not the US, would be facing the greater risk from Isis fighters.

“Well [foreign Isis fighters] are going to be escaping to Europe,” he said.

“That’s where they want to go, they want to go back to their homes.

“But Europe didn’t want them from [the US]. We could have given it to them they could have had trials.”

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“Reminder that Trump has trashed all the allies who fought with us in Normandy, and also just glibly referred to ISIS terrorists returning to Europe [because] of Trump’s policy,” said Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama’s former deputy national security advisor.

The president has said that Turkey will face economic punishment from the US if it acts against the SDF in an inhumane manner.

“Well, we’re going to have to define [humane] as we go along,” he said.

“We’ll see how [Erdogan] does it.

“He could do it in a soft manner, he could it in a very tough manner. And if he does it unfairly, he’s going to pay a very big economic price.”

The Turkish operation began on Wednesday.

Sara, a Syrian Kurd in Tal Abyad, who asked to remain anonymous, previously told The Independent the Kurdish population was particularly concerned that people would be targeted for their ethnicity by the Turkish forces.

“Residents are extremely scared. The air is full of tension. Children are crying and the parents are helpless,” she said.

“The town is on high alert. People here are afraid of a possible genocide by the Turkish enemy. It is disastrous.”

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