Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(EQTSAD)- Baroha, a small village in the western countryside of central Homs province, with a population counted 2300 people before the Syrian revolution, the majority of them (85%) were Sunni, and the rest were from the Alawite minority.
It is adjacent the village of Kherbit Jibab from the West that known of being the centre of what so called (Ghawar’s Shabiha” , the well known sectarian militias. From the East the village of Sindiyanah, and from north the village of Komairi and Zara. All villages are predominantly Alawite. Added to villages of Wadi al-Nasara of Christian majority and the main source of the National Defense forces.
The village is known of its wide fruitful fields of olive, fig, pomegranate, grape, and big number of cattle.
Baroha is known of its scenery of wide green fields and beautiful houses, its people used to be known of their affluence and comfortable living conditions.
After the revolution, people of Baroha did not participate in distinctive activity, however, after controlling Tal-Kalakh by the militias of national defense forces, the sectarian militias “Ghawar militias” in surrounding villages worked on evacuating the village from its people because of its Sunni majority among Alawite and Christian villages.
Sectarian Militias tended to raid houses to assault young men, arrest and detain them in unknown places, as there are dozens of young men went missing, either were killed or detained.
Moreover, the sectarian militias and “Shabiha” seized and occupied fields, lands and houses of local residents under threat and intimidation.
All that pushed Sunni people in Baroha village to leave it and go to Lebanon where no young man stayed in the village, only few families, 15 one, stayed in the village and the majority of them elderly, women and children. Adding to that “Shabiha” prevented people from working in their lands which forced them to work in land of other villages of Christian majority at wage of 150 Syrian pound.
The operation of evacuating villages of its Sunni people, then seizing their houses and fields and replace them with other people of different religion and sect from surrounding Alawite villages under cover of sectarian militias is clearly systematic process aiming to change the demographic structure of the area.
The sectarian practices reached to schools where Sunni pupils of Baroha village and other displace Sunni children were deprived of teaching for the whole academic year of 2014-2015 by threatening and hitting them by alawite children, which forced families to stop sending their children to schools. Moreover, families did not send their children to schools in Tal-Kalakh fearing of hurting them on their way to the town. There is a primary and secondary school in Baroha, but only Alawite children study in them.
After communication and mediation, students of baroha were allowed to go to Tal-Kalakh by an Alawite bus driver at a cost of 200 Syrian pound daily.
Furthermore, public transportation stopped operating to the village, which force people to rent taxies to go to Tal-Khalakh to sort out their issues and shopping.
On Friday, April 8, after the activitiy of “Mahaba gathering” in Tal-Kalakh, "Shabiha" and sectarian militias attacked the village of Baroha and assaulted its remaining Sunni families as well as the displaced families and forced them out of their houses and seized them, then they collected people in one house under threat.
People complained to the local council in Tal-Kalakh and to other military security departments who called leaders of those sectarian militias, they confessed of their acts and refused to return houses to their Sunni owners claiming that they deserve them more. Thereafter, none of the officials or security forces dare to to anything to return people to their houses as everything is managed by militias.
(EQTSAD)- Baroha, a small village in the western countryside of central Homs province, with a population counted 2300 people before the Syrian revolution, the majority of them (85%) were Sunni, and the rest were from the Alawite minority.
It is adjacent the village of Kherbit Jibab from the West that known of being the centre of what so called (Ghawar’s Shabiha” , the well known sectarian militias. From the East the village of Sindiyanah, and from north the village of Komairi and Zara. All villages are predominantly Alawite. Added to villages of Wadi al-Nasara of Christian majority and the main source of the National Defense forces.
The village is known of its wide fruitful fields of olive, fig, pomegranate, grape, and big number of cattle.
Baroha is known of its scenery of wide green fields and beautiful houses, its people used to be known of their affluence and comfortable living conditions.
After the revolution, people of Baroha did not participate in distinctive activity, however, after controlling Tal-Kalakh by the militias of national defense forces, the sectarian militias “Ghawar militias” in surrounding villages worked on evacuating the village from its people because of its Sunni majority among Alawite and Christian villages.
Sectarian Militias tended to raid houses to assault young men, arrest and detain them in unknown places, as there are dozens of young men went missing, either were killed or detained.
Moreover, the sectarian militias and “Shabiha” seized and occupied fields, lands and houses of local residents under threat and intimidation.
All that pushed Sunni people in Baroha village to leave it and go to Lebanon where no young man stayed in the village, only few families, 15 one, stayed in the village and the majority of them elderly, women and children. Adding to that “Shabiha” prevented people from working in their lands which forced them to work in land of other villages of Christian majority at wage of 150 Syrian pound.
The operation of evacuating villages of its Sunni people, then seizing their houses and fields and replace them with other people of different religion and sect from surrounding Alawite villages under cover of sectarian militias is clearly systematic process aiming to change the demographic structure of the area.
The sectarian practices reached to schools where Sunni pupils of Baroha village and other displace Sunni children were deprived of teaching for the whole academic year of 2014-2015 by threatening and hitting them by alawite children, which forced families to stop sending their children to schools. Moreover, families did not send their children to schools in Tal-Kalakh fearing of hurting them on their way to the town. There is a primary and secondary school in Baroha, but only Alawite children study in them.
After communication and mediation, students of baroha were allowed to go to Tal-Kalakh by an Alawite bus driver at a cost of 200 Syrian pound daily.
Furthermore, public transportation stopped operating to the village, which force people to rent taxies to go to Tal-Khalakh to sort out their issues and shopping.
On Friday, April 8, after the activitiy of “Mahaba gathering” in Tal-Kalakh, "Shabiha" and sectarian militias attacked the village of Baroha and assaulted its remaining Sunni families as well as the displaced families and forced them out of their houses and seized them, then they collected people in one house under threat.
People complained to the local council in Tal-Kalakh and to other military security departments who called leaders of those sectarian militias, they confessed of their acts and refused to return houses to their Sunni owners claiming that they deserve them more. Thereafter, none of the officials or security forces dare to to anything to return people to their houses as everything is managed by militias.
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