Abdulkadir Kasım, 62 years old, born in Aleppo, Syria, moved to Gaziantep with his family 4 years ago due to civil war.

Kasım, in the shop next to the historic Aleppo Castle in Syria, he has been rug weaving for about half a century which was his father's profession, now continuing in Gaziantep.

Kasım, rug weaving regardless of his advancing age in order to make a living for his family, stated that his only wish is to be able to return to Aleppo where he grew up.

Stated that many of his relatives went to European countries but he said that he preferred to live in Turkiye, saying, "I have many acquaintances in European countries and I could go to Europe if I wanted to. But I came to Turkiye, I will stay here. Because Turkiye is an Islamic country, Turkiye is no different from Aleppo for us. At least here we hear the adhan, there are mosques here. Our acquaintances who went to European countries are in regret. For that we love Turkiye."

"When Aleppo comes to mind, I sit and cry"

Kasım said he wanted to return to his homeland as soon as because he has not the heart to stay away from Aleppo and said:

"We are good in Turkiye but we still miss our country no matter how good we are. Because I was born and raised in Syria. Sometimes Aleppo comes to mind, I sit and cry. I miss my old days."

"After the war, it was difficult to live in Syria"

Referring to the difficulty of living in Syria after the civil war began, Abdulkadir Kasım said, "We came to Turkiye with my wife and children. A daughter did not come to Turkiye, she is staying in Aleppo now. It was very difficult to live in Syria after the war. We must have come here. Our religion, our life and our properties are attacked. The most important thing was our religion. We came to Gaziantep in order to live our religion more comfortable. They treated us very well here. They own us like brothers. When opening this shop, they were helped in licensing and other works."

Kasım, indicating that he sent rugs prepared in Syria to about 50 countries, "This art is both in Antep and Aleppo. For that, I have never faced difficulties here. I wanted to do my job here with my son. But there are very few who do this profession. I send my products to customers in Syria and to different countries. I also have a workshop in Kilis, sometimes I go there and work there. People from Kilis knew me when I was in Aleppo. I was going to Kilis and coming back."

"I hope these events will come to an end, we will return to our country again"

In 2009, President Abdullah Gul had come to his workshop during his visit to Syria said Kasım and continued as follows:

"When I was in Aleppo, well-known bureaucrats were buying the products I made. I had a store next to Aleppo Castle in Syria. At that time, President Abdullah Gul had come to Aleppo. He visited me, he liked what I did. We had a short conversation with him. At that time, people were coming to Aleppo very much from Turkiye. We had a good friendship with the citizens in Turkiye. But each of us has scattered to other sides. Our biggest problem is people who remains in Syria now. Their situation heartbreaking. I hope these events will come to an end. We will return to our country again."

Stating that there is not only a regime and opposition war in Syria, Kasım said that the target of the USA, Russia and other western countries is Muslims.

"Muslims will win one day, no matter what happen"

Kasım states that all the weapons of the Western countries are used in Syria, "The target of the US and Russia is the Muslims. The US is shooting Mosul, Russia bombing Aleppo every day. They have destroyed Syria. They have separated us. But I hope Muslims will win one day. Again the Islamic flag will wave. How many western countries have are entered Syria. They used all their weapons in Syria. I have a daughter in Aleppo. I spoke on the phone, the bomb fell in front of her house. Every day civilian people are dying.” (ILKHA)