Mohammed Abdullah is a 22-year-old resident of Churaqurna village in South Kurdistan. At the age of 18, he decided to migrate abroad, so he joined a gang of smugglers who took him to Turkey and planned to send him to other countries, but was arrested in Turkey. According to the advice of the smugglers, he introduced himself as a Syrian person. Therefore, he was later deported to Syria and imprisoned in Afrin.
The Barzani Charity Foundation’s representation in Afrin, after hearing about this incident, the foundation put all its efforts together and contacted the relevant parties, thus rescuing him from prison in Afrin, but due to legal affairs it couldn’t immediately send him back to his homeland.
Mohammed Abdullah wears the Barzani Charity Foundation uniform and as a volunteer carries out its daily work and humanitarian duties. After 14 months and completion of legal affairs for his return, on Wednesday 12\3\2025 with a convoy of a team of Barzani Charity Foundation and several journalists, he returned to his hometown.
From here, pearly tears of joy fell on his and his relatives’ cheeks.
Mohammed’s mother after hugging her son and wiping her tears said: “I didn’t have any hope to be reunited with my son because someone said he was gone, someone said he had fallen into the hands of ISIS. People’s words destroyed us, but my husband had hope. He kept trying, and God did not disappoint us.”
Mohammed’s father, Abdullah, shows a picture of his son Mohammed on his first day of departure to Turkey in front of the media cameras. He called the reuniting with his son a “long dream” in which he woke up. He said that after knowing that the Barzani Charity Foundation had helped the victims during the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, he found the mobile number of Rawaj Haji (a member of the board of directors of the Barzani Charity Foundation and in charge of the Afrin case. About that he said “I called Mr. Rawaj at 2:30 in the morning and asked him to look for Mohammed in prisons in Afrin and Syria. He promised me and fulfilled his promise within three days,” he also said: “I hope that the Barzani Charity Foundation will continue to grow day by day and continue to assist countries that need charity work”.
Mohammed Abdullah, in the crowd of relatives with a happy heart and a smile on his face, wearing Kurdish clothes and the Barzani Charity Foundation’s vest. He is happy that he was released from prison on his birthday. And about that, he said: “On January 16, 2024, they told me that the Barzani Charity Foundation was here. It coincided with my birthday. I was very happy to stay in Barzani’s office and work as a volunteer,” he added: “We had people from the south, east, Iraqis and Arabs in prison, most of whom have been released, but there are still many people left,” and he was wishing serious work to be done to release them all.
Rawaj Haji (member of the board of directors of Barzani Charity Foundation and in charge of the Afrin case is very happy that he and his team were able to find Mohammed in a short time, but with great effort. He added that during the natural disasters of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the Barzani Charity Foundation has remained in Syria has a representative office in Afrin, and is trying to open an office in Damascus. And about rescuing Mohammed he briefly said: “We promised them and we kept it”.
This story, which is more like a story and drama, does not only include Mohammed, he is one of the thousands of young people and sons of the country who went missing and their fate is unknown. Therefore, Barzani Charity Foundation considers it its duty to devote part of its activities to the rescue of such people, and to ask humanitarian organizations, civil activists and authorities to facilitate the rescue of these young people whose fate has been played with.
