Hasakah Resident Recalls Fuel Subsidies and Schools Under the SDF

By God, you made us wish those days would come back, honestly.

By God, I’m not waiting for you to testify on my behalf, to say that he used to do that for us.

By God, he really used to do nice things for us.

By God, the diesel—by Almighty God, the diesel used to come to us, the people of the Eastern Region, and—well, the whole Jazira region, let’s say.

By Almighty God, the diesel used to be distributed in July, in July, the 7th month.

By Almighty God, I swear, this is true testimony for her.

Can we deny it? Who used to make sure, Jaber, that the diesel was distributed a- at a price— look, it wasn’t subsidized, it was subsidized at four tabals, ten tabals, sub- subsidized.

Who used to make sure of it, Jaber? Huh?

Who ensured it? That was the only thing, and the good thing, heating in July.

By Almighty God, I was a mo- motorcycle driver before I got a car, a motorcycle driver. By Almighty God, with a card, a card that got you twenty-five liters of gasoline a month.

Okay? No problem. 25 liters, they'd say, “We'll get that.”

They didn’t get me anything. I had a card, and a card for my— my uncle, a card for my brother, and a card…

I swear, I filled barrels, and I got by just fine, with plenty to spare.

We’re country folk. He had cards. And the local transport workers can vouch for it, now within Hasakah Governorate, the owners of the yellow cars, the taxis.

Okay? I swear to God, their gasoline was free, five hundred lira, four hundred lira a liter.

Who forced us to do this, then? Man, you’ve made us—made everyone laugh at us.

You made a clip of us, saying we were using dung, excuse the expression, to keep warm.

Everyone started using the clip and posting trends at my expense and at everyone else’s expense. You made us a laughingstock.

Dung is a joke. You made us a joke on social media.

You burdened us, then liberated us. You’re not collecting the price of liberation.

Now you're getting paid for liberation. Can you believe it, Your Excellency, Minister?

Can you have no feelings? The government in general, can it have no feelings?

Before, we used to say, "Brother, the president is the problem, they’re the corrupt ones."

What can we say, brother? What can we say?

I swear to God, I hired half the people.

Teachers, now we have here in my area, more than two or three schools.

I swear, all were hired to teach ninth grade, its exams and the baccalaureate, and today they joined the state.

I swear, if you keep talking and get lucky, you'll turn against me and start criticizing me, and keep criticizing me, you know that the state, if the sheikhs meant it as an important matter, don't argue. I'm no politician.

You don't argue with it, merge it, or anything.

I'm telling you of achievements. Schools—what on earth were they supposed to teach?

They say it's a curriculum. No, it's not for teaching.

What? Our children learned reading and writing, you see, They wouldn't even give an Islamic studies teacher.

Eleven and a half, subsidized. Heating oil, 11.5, subsidized.

What? What's subsidized?