ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Almost 200 new brides from northeast Syria (Rojava) have been separated from their husbands on the other side of the recently closed Semalka-Fiskhabur crossing with the Kurdistan Region. The newlyweds are calling on both Kurdish governments to reopen the border for them so that they can reunite.
Issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Rojava further escalated late last year after Revolutionary Youths, a paramilitary group affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), attacked the Region’s border guards on December 15. The group held a sit-in on the border, calling on the KRG to hand over the bodies of PKK fighters who were allegedly killed by the Peshmerga forces.
The KRG closed the border on the same day of the attack but has reopened it since January 24 for foreigners, humanitarian workers, cancer patients and other emergency cases for a few days per week. However, this does not include hundreds of new brides who want to reunite with their husbands who had entered the Region before December 15 with the hope of preparing a new home for the brides.
“The border crossing was closed. We waited for it to be reopened. It was reopened but not for brides. We want to be allowed to reach our fiancés. We have been waiting for months to enter Southern Kurdistan,” Inas Khalid told Rudaw on Wednesday, referring to the Kurdistan Region.
The 25-year-old newlywed called on both Kurdish governments to reopen the border for them.
Her husband, Hassan Hisan, who is currently living in an IDP camp in Erbil, told Rudaw that he has been unable to bring her to the Kurdistan Region.
“I asked for her hand more than a year ago. We have done our best to bring her here but the border was closed,” he said, adding that he had done all the marriage paperwork in Rojava before leaving.
Mohammed Sino lost his wife three years ago. He decided to take his 12-year-old daughter, Maram, out of school to look after her siblings. He managed to marry another woman in Rojava but has been unable to bring her to the Kurdistan Region due to the recent closure of the border crossing.
He fears that he may lose his bride if the border crossing is not reopened soon.
The newlyweds have only been married on paper, as they had been planning for their weddings to be held in the Kurdistan Region.
According to an unofficial figure, obtained by Rudaw English, the stranded brides total at least 160.
Rojava-Kurdistan Region relations became thorny in summer 2020 after Peshmerga and PKK fighters fought over land control in Duhok province. The PKK is reportedly dominant in Rojava, and Rojava’s military commanders have acknowledged that PKK-Peshmerga tensions immediately affect their relations with the KRG.
Additional reporting by Halabja Saadun
