‘Don’t be afraid of the Syrian people’

A HOME FROM HOME Syrian native Manar Cherbatji in Ballyhaunis, where she has lived for 28 years.

Manar Cherbatji, living in Ballyhaunis for 28 years, speaks of the turmoil in her native Syria

Edwin McGreal

As Manar Cherbatji tells you stories of her family and friends in her native Syria it is hard not to be moved.
Manar moved to Ballyhaunis in 1988 with her husband Marwan and they’re here since and have four sons born and raised in the town. Her brothers, Mohammed and Faisal Kezze, came in the early 1980s to establish Iman Casings, a meat company, in the town and there’s now a strong Syrian community in the east Mayo town, many of them working for the Kezzes.
But events in the homeland, particularly in the last four years since a particularly violent Civil War broke out, mean every news update is fraught with worry and every phone call could spell bad news.
“I know a family who sleep together in Syria because they think if something happens they will all die together because the Mom or the Dad couldn’t survive if the other died,” Manar told The Mayo News.
Some of Manar’s family have died in the troubles, including cousins and her husband’s uncle. More family members are trying to escape from the city of Aleppo. She tells the story of two fathers she knows, one looking in the rubble for his son and the other looking for his daughter.
“He found his friend’s son. He took his friend’s son and it was like he found his daughter, hugging him and bringing him to his friend. He forgot his own trouble and ran to his friend,” recalls Manar.
Manar has not been to Syria in five years. Both her parents are deceased but she used to go to her home city of Aleppo more often before Syria broke into Civil War in 2011.
“I haven’t visited my Mom and my Dad’s grave for five years. I don’t want to go. I am afraid. If I go I will make trouble for my own family as well because they have to come to collect me and that is not safe,” she said.
Over 200,000 people have died in Syria since the Civil War began, according to the United Nations. Manar Cherbatji says it is mainly innocent, ‘honest’ people who have died and the sadness in her voice is clear when she talks about it. “Syrian people are lovely people. My country used to be peaceful and you could walk anywhere in the street,” said Manar.

Refugees
With many Syrians fleeing the country in recent months and seeking refugee status in Europe, Manar Cherbatji argues countries like Ireland have little to worry about once people coming in are screened.
“The Syrians I know are very nice people. Before people used to say to me here [in Ballyhaunis] where is Syria because they never heard any trouble from Syrian people,” she said.
Admitting that ‘I can’t blame them’ if Irish people are concerned about whether Isis terrorists could come in masquerading as refugees, Manar argues this will not happen if people are screened.
“I just want to say to people don’t be afraid of the Syrian people. I think the language barrier could be a problem if they do not speak English but they are a very friendly and very nice people. Everything that happened the Syrian people has really upset my people,” says Manar.
She says events in Paris on November 13 last were ‘very bad’ but argues ‘it was in the news what happened in France but it wasn’t in the news as much about what happened in Syria or Beirut’ and is very critical of attacks like the recent French air strikes on Syria and European intervention in the Syrian Civil War.
“Europeans come and get involved. Why? Soldiers come from Europe to Syria to fight and do you know who the victim is? The honest people in Syria.”

More
See next week’s Mayo News where our Spotlight series focuses on Ballyhaunis and, in particular, looks at the issue of integration in Ireland’s most diverse town.

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