Terror in Syria: A Reflection from Cotton Tree Trust’s Chair of Trustees

Published: 21 January 2026

This reflection was written in response to the unfolding violence in Syria and the impact it continues to have on members of our community. At Cotton Tree Trust, many of the people we support have family directly affected by conflict, displacement and persecution. This piece reflects the human reality behind the cases and conversations we encounter every day.

I wake up with a thud of anxiety. I check my phone. There are two Instagram reels from Ava.

One of them shows a snowy landscape with hundreds of people climbing a mountain. In the distance, I’m told, is Turkey. You can feel the ice; you can see the slipping and sliding. People keep appearing, and they keep on climbing.

The text message reads: Kurdish people who live in Turkey always stand for their people in Syria. They were walking in snow all night because they know Isis won’t leave a single Kurd alive.

So these Kurds in Turkey are walking towards their own certain or likely deaths, to be with their fellow Kurds in Syria.

Messages have been coming in for days. Yesterday I read:

My father is besieged. Isis are out. It’s really bad there.

Ava told me that her father was in hiding and she couldn’t reach him on his mobile. He is elderly, she said. It’s freezing cold. There’s snow on the ground. I’m scared. I’m

scared for all our people.

Another Instagram reel shows two terrified young women captured by Isis.

That almost happened to me, says Ava. I escaped, but I could have been one of them.

The Cotton Tree stands with all innocent victims of war, abuse and massacre. Some of our members, like Ava, have families in grave danger in Syria. They are in our thoughts and prayers. This is why our work exists: to provide safety, legal support and dignity to those forced to flee violence and persecution.