The Birth of Another "Deniz" | The Story of Rangin Muhammad and Her Displaced Family

The Birth of Another "Deniz" | The Story of Rangin Muhammad and Her Displaced Family


Rangin Muhammad is 34 years old and a resident of Aleppo. During the intensification of attacks by the new Syrian government militants on the Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo, Rangin was pregnant and due to give birth. However, the intensity of the attacks and the ongoing fighting prevented her from reaching a hospital to deliver her child.

At 6:15 PM on January 13, the sound of drones echoed near Rangin’s home as clashes reached their alley. Fearing for her life, her two children, and her unborn baby, Rangin fled outside. As she reached the street, a drone bombarded the area. Shrapnel from the explosion struck Rangin’s abdomen, cutting through her skin and severely wounding her. Rangin’s blood ran as the children’s cries filled the air. Crawling and sometimes crouching with her two children, Rangin managed to reach the "Khalid Fajr" hospital in Aleppo. Doctors informed her they could not provide the necessary medical treatment because it would pose a risk to the life of the unborn baby. Meanwhile, Rangin’s husband had also been wounded in another part of the city with shrapnel in his thigh. Due to the danger in Aleppo, the family fled toward Qamishli, becoming displaced.

A few hours after their arrival, Rangin’s baby was born into displacement. With the birth of the child, the piece of shrapnel naturally exited Rangin’s abdomen without the need for surgery. The newborn is a girl. To honor the struggle of a female fighter from their neighborhood (Sheikh Maqsoud) named Deniz—who was killed by Syrian state militants on January 10 and thrown from a building—Rangin and her husband named their daughter Deniz. Currently, Rangin, her children (Deniz, Jengiz, and Maryam), and her husband (Rafat Aziz) are sheltered in a single room at the Teacher Training Institute in Qamishli. Their health condition is poor; in addition to needing medical treatment, they are in desperate need of food, bedding, and heating supplies. Rangin told a representative of CPT: “We don’t feel safe in Qamishli either. We fear that the new Syrian government militias will reach here and massacre us. Everything happening to us is because we are Kurds, not because we have committed any crime.”