Rima
Grandmother Rima describes the five month period before her family were forced to leave Syria, when fighters would come to their house at random, at first taking food, but later stripping the family of all their belongings:
"For months (there were) men coming in and out, going up to our roof top where I had two grape vines, of two different varieties. They would come up, sparing their own crops and eating ours. Two or three of them would come up with baskets and fill them up, then go downstairs with loaded baskets. I was just sitting watching them and saying “Saha, Saha” (an Arabic wish for health, said to someone who is about to eat, or when food is given), we were afraid to say anything else. As the expression goes, “a hand you can’t bite, you kiss!” What could we do?
They would just come and take whatever they wanted from the house, they carried the new fridge on their backs and I tried to stop them but they just ignored me and went on... Anyway, the issue of a stolen fridge pales in comparison to what has happened to us. A few days after we left, we got the news that they burnt the house down. I asked, “why?” After they had taken everything out, mattresses, refrigerator, blankets, ceramics, the washing machine, even the thermos in the cupboard… everything."
