Syrian families have been increasingly concerned about the PKK terrorist group using out-of-school activities to deceive and recruit children into their ranks.
According to a news article by Al Monitor, the PKK gave computer literacy lessons to children in PKK-controlled Amuda, Syria, where two young girls were convinced to leave their homes and join the terrorist group at the end of the course.
Shams Antar, the aunt of one of the girls that joined the PKK, said that the terrorist group abducted the girls. Antar who has been active in protesting the PKK’s recruitment, said that courses on music, computers, painting and language have been among those exploited.
"They fill the minds of children with their ideologies in the courses," said Antar, adding that the children, who were deceived by the PKK's Revolutionary Youth (Ciwanen Soresger), which is responsible for the employment of children, are sent to places not only in Turkey, but also Iran, Iraq and Syria after being trained to fight on behalf of the PKK.
Antar said, "The organization has a presence in these countries, we do not know exactly where they were taken."
Several of the families who want their children to grow up living a normal life are struggling to get back their children that have been detained by the terrorist organization.
A father, who did not want to be named, emphasized that his 16-year-old daughter is still a child and is not mature enough to make the decision to take up arms.
Locals living in areas held by the YPG, the PKK’s Syrian wing, have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
The terrorist group's training and use of children as fighters for military purposes have repeatedly been documented in U.N. reports.
Since its foundation, the PKK has forcibly taken at least one child from a family who failed to "pay taxes" in support of the group. To fill its ranks, the PKK has continuously raided villages and kidnapped young adults from the ages of 15 to 20 through violent means. In addition to forced conscription, the PKK also carries out propaganda campaigns that mainly target university students. The terrorist group's approach has remained largely consistent, according to statements by captured or surrendered members of the organization.
