‘What we do in our silence will kill other people.’- Salford resident who moved from Syria raises his concerns about the conflicts abroad

The voices of hundreds of Kurdish supporters echoed through the city of Manchester, opposing Turkey’s military assault against Kurdish-held parts of Syria.

One man who voiced his concern about the conflict is Peydar Ahmed, who left his home in Syria and moved to Salford seven years ago.

“This is what’s scary. I’m scared for my mother, for my sister, for my brother. My entire family are still there so it is scary.

“We need to do our best to show people that what we do in our silence will kill other people!”

Although Peydar is more than 3,000 miles away from the action, the conflict is still taking a toll on his everyday life.

“I didn’t go to work for a week now because I can’t work and watch the news at the same time.”

Peydar’s brother is a PKG fighter in Syria in the midst of all the action, and his mother and sister also live near the area so it is crucial for him to stay up to date with the news.

“I have to keep contacting and talking to my family. Before you came here as well I was talking to my family.

“They are okay, but after this problem.. I don’t think they will be okay anymore.”

Turkish-backed Syrian forces advanced into the North-East of Syria in an attempt to create a so called ‘safe zone’ cleared of Kurdish fighters, who they perceive to be ‘terrorists’.

This action however has been widely condemned, as it has left at least 30 civilians dead, many more injured and displaced thousands of people from their homes.

While the Kurds wave their flags of freedom, the Turkish are trumpeting the security of their state.

Mete Kalyoncu, who lives in Istanbul explained the motives behind the Turkish offence: “It is not a war. Turkey wants to establish a safety zone on the Syrian border because terror groups want to occupy the border areas.

“Kurds are not all terrorists. The terrorists are terrorists.”

Protestor Ahmad Mohammed was a prominent figure in the demonstration in St Peter’s Square, leading the chants that filled the Mancunian air.

Ahmad feels helpless, being so far away from the action: “At the moment we feel very angry.

“We feel that we cannot do anything because we have been demonstrating, protesting.

“We shall act now or it will be too late.”