Zeynep Akın/JINHA

ÊLIH - Wetha Mahmud came to Turkey after her home and life were destroyed by Daesh. Now, it is factory life that threatens her existence.

Wetha Mahmud brought her family of nine to Turkey after Daesh attacked the city of Hasakah, Syria, last year. 35-year-old Wetha lost everything and had no choice but to flee here, to the mainly Kurdish city of Batman. Now, Wetha and two of her six children work every day for 10 hours making diapers. Wetha and her children bring in 500 lira (about $185) between them.

"We know our labor is being exploited, but we have no choice; otherwise we'd starve," said Wetha. The Mahmud family had been settled in their home in the city of Hasakah for three years when Daesh attacked, killing many of their relatives and occupying the town. "My children have seen many things. They were really scared."

Wetha and her children (aged 12 and 14) are paid 250 lira (about $92) for every ton of diapers they produce. If she and her two children work for 10 hours a day, they are able to produce two tons per month. Her husband cannot work because of his slipped disk and leg problems.

According to Wetha, the aid that she has been told she will receive never gets to her.

"They pick someone in the neighborhood to distribute the aid. The people they choose are generally Syrian, but the aid never gets to us," she said. "The people who are supposed to distribute aid to us take it themselves and sell it."

(gc/cm)