Handmade oil refineries pose deadly threat to Syria’s Rojava

QAMISHLO, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – Hundreds of handmade oil refineries in Syria’s northern Kurdish areas known as Rojava have recently caused a lot of diseases and pollution, oil workers around Qamishlo city said on Sunday.

Kurdistan24 visited dozens of handmade oil refineries in the southern rural areas of Qamishlo city and prepared a documentary.

According to the Kurdistan24 documentary-making team on August 6, there are about 300 handmade oil refineries in the rural areas south to Qamishlo alone.

“Our work is very dangerous, and many of our coworkers lost their lives because some pots explode when fire reaches the oil inside,” said Amir Humadi, a worker in handmade oil refineries of Tirbesipiye village south to Qamishlo.  

“Others die because of the toxic gases and steam coming from the refining process,” Humadi added.

Humadi further explained that most workers are injured with severe burning and infected with deadly diseases.

Additionally, Omar Saleh, an oil refinery worker, told Kurdistan24 that people know working in oil refining is dangerous, but they have no other options.

“Those who work here say if they don’t die of cancer or lung diseases, they will surely die of hunger,” said Saleh.

Saleh further pointed out that people in the southern areas of Qamishlo and Hasaka cities, which are mostly Arabs, had to work in handmade oil refineries to make their living.

They had no option but to work in such dangerous environment because the region is besieged from most sides: Syrian government forces and the Islamic State (IS) insurgents from the south, and the Turkish borders from the north.

It’s worth mentioning that most of the handmade oil refineries were made and used by IS, and after the many areas south of Qamishlo and Hasaka are liberated, the Arab villagers used it to earn their living.

The oil produced from those refineries formed one of the main financial resources for IS, especially in the strategic town of Shaddadi which was liberated about five months ago.

Editing by Ava Homa 

(Heybar Othman contributed to this report from Qamishlo)