Pigeon keeper, dog held out through Syria war
‘I took a decision seven years ago that weapons and bloodshed are not my thing’
The Yarmouk district in Damascus has switched hands many times in Syria’s war: from rebels, to Daesh militants, and back to regime forces. But Abu Nimr, 36, did not budge.
He has remained in his family home with his dog through bombs, siege, and fierce battles for more than seven years, raising pigeons on his roof even as people fled in droves.
“My siblings and I lived in this building. They left so their kids could go to school,” Abu Nimr told Reuters in the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in the Syrian capital. “I thought I’d stay here alone, keep an eye on the family property, and hoped things would be resolved within days. But seven years passed, God kept me patient.”
At the war’s onset, Abu Nimr — who is originally Palestinian — stored food from the empty houses of his relatives. As supplies dwindled, he often slept hungry. “I took a decision seven years ago that weapons are not my thing. Bloodshed is not easy,” he said.
Abu Nimr did odd jobs over the years and spent time with his dog Balo. When the fighting got too close, he would hide in the furthest room with a hammer, in case he had to dig himself out. The violence has turned his neighbourhood into a ghost town. Some streets are closed off with signs warning of landmines.
By the time the last battle came this year, after scores of residents had escaped or died, only 16 people were left in his neighbourhood. But he refused to leave. “People fled? The warplanes dropped bombs? The militants entered? It doesn’t matter.” Now, Abu Nimr people will be able to return soon.