The Ottoman-legacy Turkish state demonstrates how true the saying "No grass grows where the Ottoman horse steps!" is. Wherever the Ottoman state and today's Turkey's sphere of influence reaches, oppression, ignorance, backwardness, and destruction have prevailed; life has lost its vitality and diversity.
Recent news confirms this bitter reality once again. In January 2025, Turkish armed forces uprooted and looted approximately 200 olive trees in the Kurdish city of Afrin. Among those targeted were Hesen Hemo, who had cultivated 100 olive trees through years of effort, as well as Esed Mehmûd and Fewzî Ebdo, each owning 100 trees. The forces also seized animals and partially slaughtered them.
Over the seven years since 2018, Turkey-linked forces have systematically uprooted most of Afrin's forests and olive groves. Similar patterns are occurring within the borders of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. Turkey's standard approach is first to destroy the natural vegetation by uprooting trees, then to commercialize the timber.
Currently in Afrin, Kurdish homes are being confiscated, household goods stolen, poultry seized, children kidnapped for ransom, and grain stores burned and destroyed.
These disasters, particularly the recent Afrin developments, once again confirm the reality of the historical saying. Afrin's olive trees have become the silent screams of this plunder and destruction.