A Syrian's journey along the riskiest road to

exile
Among the many routes that lead Syrians to exile, the most risky runs straight through the country as
one survivor recounts

A Syrian refugees climb walks through a field (AFP)

The phone rings as expected. Rafiq is on the line, talking with

confidence. He is a veteran of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group of defected
Syrian Army officers and soldiers, based in the region of Deraa in the south of
Syria. He has just arrived in Germany with his wife and two kids after a monthlong journey, including 10 days through the Syrian chaos. They have been running
blindly between the thunderous sounds of war and the various illegal smuggling
networks.
My family didnt want me to leave. My own mother called me mad. She said I

had no rights to risk my childrens lives like that," says the former soldier.
"However, every single day in Syria, women and children die under the bombs. My
youngest daughter was witnessing death on a daily basis," he adds with a
trembling voice.
Most of the time, the trip for Syrians begins in the city of Deraa, located not far
from the border with Jordan. First, all refugees are gathered up by the FSA. There
are among them Syrian people who took refuge in Jordan and who, after a while,
found themselves unable to cope with the living conditions there and decided to
go to Europe. Most of the time they are sought by the Syrian authorities and have
no legal documents so they cannot fly to Turkey so they travel by land. Others
have stayed and witnessed the war in Syria since it broke out, but the death of a
relative, fear, or just disillusion finally lead them to risk it.
Every single one of them have to pay a $400 "down payment" to the FSA, which is
divided between them and smugglers. Refugees are then brought to Sweida, a
neighbouring region in the east. For those exiled people, close to the Syrian
opposition, the name Sweida triggers terror. This mountainous region, entirely
controlled by the Assad government, is indeed for them a symbol of the brutal
army repression after the insurrection.
They couldnt care less about your past, whether you were a rebel or not. What
they really care about is money, claims Rafiq in a mocking tone. No ID checks, no
body or luggage searches. The smugglers, often Bedouins, solely negotiate the
crossing price with people in charge of the checkpoints. Former FSA fighters and
their families on the run are now viewed by state officials merely as commodities.

We have become pawns on a real life chessboard

Rafiq decided to quit the armed forces because of how confusing and mad that
whole conflict became. Military officers would order you to kill and kill again, but
why would I kill the one standing in front of me? He is Syrian too, isnt he?
Rafiq has lost his bearings. This war is no longer ours, it has become the great
world powers war. They made us simple pawns. Our cause does not belong to us
anymore, he laments.
He adds with confidence, as if he was about to say something sacrilegious: Let me
tell you something very serious here. I could get killed for this. There are no
martyrs in Syria anymore In Islam, the martyr dies defending the Muslim
community. He dies for his country Today, this is no longer the case. It's over,"
the repentant fighter concludes firmly.

The war has literally left deep marks on Rafiq. He still has pieces of shrapnel
lodged in his head. Even today, I'm still suffering from my wounds, he complains.
However, what is truly unbearable for him is that feeling of pointless sacrifice. I
got involved in a revolution I truly believed in, but today, I have no idea what it all
means anymore.
The route chosen by the smugglers reflects the inconsistencies of this war. It goes
from one belligerent to another. Thus, once the "loyalist" checkpoints have been
crossed, the Bedouins lead the column of refugees to the enemy territory, the
final port of destination: The Islamic State. At the end of a tiresome walk in the
desert under the moonlight, the procession of refugees finally reaches the
territory of the self-proclaimed caliphate at dawn.
There, Daesh (IS) fighters put us into gleaming pickup trucks and we drove
another 200km to the hamlet of Rujm Baqr," Alaa, who took that road in
November, tells Middle East Eye.

Photo: Route taken by Syrian immigrants. The red itinerary depicts the route through the IS territory (Vincent Vulin)

A closely monitored territory

The hamlet is located in the southern reaches of the territories conquered by the

Islamic State (IS). Straddling the borders of Syria and Iraq, those 300,000 square
kilometres have an estimated population of 10 million people.
A large territory, it is nevertheless closely monitored. At Rujm Baqar, electronic
devices and refugees luggage are carefully inspected and searched. The
motorised caravan is then allowed to go through, and off it goes for another
450km toward the hub of that Proto-State, on the banks of the Euphrates.
Once they reach Mayyadin, one of the strongholds of IS, men and women are
segregated. Blindfolded, they are led to the Hisba headquarters, a powerful police
force in charge of regulating the public roads. Through my blindfold, I was able to
see a huge building. There were hundreds of people inside walking around in all
directions, says Rafiq.
Gathered up in one room in front of Islamic judges, they face intense questioning:
Have they ever joined the force of the FSA - the unbelievers army? The few who
at first denied this, eventually gave in under pressure. They were then beaten up
and arrested, reveals Rafiq.
The death penalty is usually then mandated for those who admit to having ever
fought against IS. The same sentence is applied to the former soldiers of al-Nusra,
a group affiliated to al-Qaeda. The executives of the "caliphate" are obsessed with
this other fanatical group. They are ruthless warriors and have a competing
ideology to IS, as a sworn enemy probably interfering with their ambition of taking
over the global "jihad".
Interrogations are mainly about religious doctrines. First, they check if you are
indeed a Sunni Muslim, explains Abdallah, who was also interrogated by the
Mayyadin police before going to Turkey. You are asked questions such as: how do
you pray, how many prayers a day do you do, what are the religious obligations
After all that, those whose religious knowledge is judged insufficient or deviant,
remain held for a fortnight. That is the time necessary to teach them good
manners, according to the rules of the new theocratic regime. In the land of Abu
Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the caliphate leader, everyone has to respect the law.
The ones who are caught smoking are sent for three days to Mattar, near Deir EzZor, where battles against the Al-Assad regimes forces take place. There, the
prisoners dig graves for the ones who died on the battlefield, says Rafiq.
A comfortable way of life

What struck the veteran the most was how easy and comfortable life was for the

IS leaders and their "citizens". Prices are allegedly far lower than anywhere else in
the region: one litre of oil fuel that costs $2 in Deraa is four time cheaper in
Mayyadin. They use the Internet, and drive the latest ATVs as if they were living in
Dubai, says Rafiq amazed.
All public services run perfectly, water or electricity, adds Abdallah.
Won over by such opulence, a few refugees decide to stay and adhere to the
cause, admits Rafiq. An unthinkable choice for him: They call us traitors and
cowards because we left our country. We left because of people like them. All of
this is not the Islam I know.
After two days of investigation, the convoy sets off again. It drives along the
Euphrates, near Deir Ez-Zor, passes by the gas fields and then crosses Raqqa,
capital of the state in gestation, before reaching the extreme end of the territory,
above Al-Bab. In total, the refugees travel more than 800km on the lands of the
militant organisation most wanted in the world.
Every day, more than 50 people pay around $400 each for a right of way, which
equals to a monthly gross revenue of $600,000. Not bad but probably marginal
compared to that generated by Deir Ez-Zor oil sales.

Photo taken by one of the refugee, Abdallah, showing the migrants travelling by foot (MEE)

It is all about the money

Rafiq witnessed the oil business with his own two eyes. Dozens of tankers would
use the same route as he did, taking the same road between Turkey and Bab AlSalam. We headed West in order to reach the Turkish region called Hatay, he
explains. Once we reached the border, the freight took another direction. I dont
know where it went.
Was that black gold sold to the members of Jabhat Al-Islamiya, an opposing militia
located between the Turkish army and IS? Or did a Turkish organisation get it?
Rafiq is not trying to find answers anymore, it is all clear for him now: I came to
the conclusion that is it all about the money, this is the reason why I left. He now
lives in a small town in West Germany. He is still tormented by the memories of
the war. He is facing a new challenge now: to learn how to live in peace.
Posted by Thavam