Farmers from Afrin (Efrîn) say their olive groves have been plundered by armed groups backed by the Turkish state. Berav resident Îbrahîm Me
Afrin’s olive oil, known worldwide as “liquid gold”, is now sold across Europe, the United States and the Middle East under the label “Made in Türkiye.” Yet the people of Afrin, the true owners of these groves, have been unable to access their land or benefit from even a drop of its produce since 2018. The orchards, systematically confiscated by the Turkish state and the armed mercenary groups operating under it, have been turned into one of Turkey’s major olive oil export sources.
Afrin is one of the best-known olive-producing regions in Northern and Eastern Syria, as well as across the rest of the country. The region is home to at least 18 million olive trees, some more than a century old, of which around 14 million are highly productive. Afrin olives are also the raw material for the world-renowned “Aleppo Soap,” a 2,000-year-old tradition. For generations, olive oil has been regarded by the people of the region as their own form of “liquid gold.” [...]
Everything changed after the Turkish state launched its occupation on 20 January 2018. More than 300,000 civilians were displaced, and their homes were handed over to families of armed groups brought from different parts of Syria and even from third countries. Of Afrin’s 300 olive-pressing facilities, 140 were looted and the rest fell under the control of these groups. As farmers lost any possibility of working safely, killings, kidnappings, ransom demands and systematic theft became widespread. Large numbers of olive trees were cut down, burned or seized by force.
Local sources and human rights organisations have documented the destruction of over 2.1 million olive trees since the occupation began, with much of the wood sold to Turkey.
Farmers can no longer enter their own land. Those who manage to reach their orchards are forced to pay fees ranging from 4 to 15 dollars per tree. Many villagers are compelled to harvest their own olives for armed groups who declare, “These trees belong to us now.” [...]
Farmers are forced into a struggle for survival between harvest seasons. Like every year, the arrival of the harvest period has triggered another round of organised looting. Many farmers face harassment aimed at forcing them to pay extortion fees. Those who resist are frequently threatened with violence, abduction, murder, confiscation of property or the destruction of their olive trees. [...]
Îbrahîm Menan from the village of Berav still recounts the forced displacement he experienced in March 2018 with the same pain: “That year the weather was bitterly cold and rainy. Half of the population walked for three days. The planes were bombing; they wouldn’t let us pass. Elderly people and children died from hunger and cold; we couldn’t even dig graves. We walked for three days without food or water. We escaped with only the clothes on our backs, we brought nothing else. [...] We have been displaced for seven or eight years now. They are plundering our property and taking everything to Turkey. Since the day I left my home, I have not received a single drop of olive oil. I don’t even know if my trees are still standing.”
