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LIKE ALL SYRIANS, I still find it hard to believe what has been allowed happen to my country over the past seven years.
Despite the killing, the blood and the ongoing horror, the barbarity inflicted on the people of Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks has troubled me deeply.
I was born and raised in Damascus and the violence that is taking place in that suburb now is occurring less than three kilometres from where I used to live.
The shelling still continues
At least 850 people have been killed since the latest intensive aerial campaign began on February 18. That equates to the murder of 47 people every day for the past 18 days. And still the shelling continues. It is unbearable.
On Saturday, February 24, the UN’s Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria. But despite the inexcusable delay by the international community in getting to even that stage, the ceasefire has yet to be implemented. The five-hour daily delay in hostilities ordered by the Russians has not come into force and is nowhere near adequate anyway.
In the meantime, the bombardment continues and dozens of my people – my fellow Damascenes –are being slaughtered in their homes and in their beds every day.
I hear the people there saying that they would prefer to be killed in their homes with their families, rather than being forced to move to another area. These people are so strong; they would rather remain at home with rockets flying over their heads than give up their homes and neighbourhood.
A text from Eastern Ghouta
Last week, I received a text from a relative of mine who lives in Eastern Ghouta. He said:
Maybe this is the last time that I will be able to text you. Please pray for us. The situation here is crazy. In just one minute this morning, five rockets were fired over our home. Please tell everyone that we stayed until the end.
I have not been able to reach him since.
I also know that international rescue teams are being denied access to Eastern Ghouta to provide humanitarian support, take the bodies from the streets or even just to provide medical aid, food or water.
The ordinary people of Syria have been suffering now for more than seven years, but it is especially difficult for Damascenes right now. For young people like myself – I am 32 – I have known nothing but war since I was forced to leave university and ultimately, escape from Damascus in 2012.
Our lives were drastically affected
When the war began in 2011, we tried to stay in the capital, but it was extremely dangerous, even back then. We had a house in the suburbs, but we had to move closer to the city centre to escape the bombing.
Our area was a focal point for the protests and the regime targeted that area as a result. At first, they tried not to bomb areas where they knew there were citizens living, but after a while they no longer cared about that detail.
Our lives were drastically affected. It was difficult to find food, water and medicine. Lack of electricity and communications made it hard to find out what was happening around us. We couldn’t attend prayers because the regime was planting car bombs near wherever people were gathering, including the mosques.
We discovered quite early on that what the Syrian media were telling the world was completely different to what was happening in reality. I tried to do what I could to let people know the true story by working with friends to post images and videos online that revealed what was being inflicted upon the ordinary people.
It was a very dangerous thing to do. If the regime found out where we were posting from, they would come to the neighbourhood overnight. In the morning, they would arrest everyone, kill most of the men and put the women in jail, if they were lucky.
I have seen this happening and those images will never be deleted from my mind.
I eventually left Syria
I eventually left Damascus with my mother in March 2013. After passing through Lebanon and Istanbul, we arrived in Antakya in Turkey’s Hatay province. We were very worried about my father but thankfully, he managed to join us two months later. We have been living in Antakya ever since.
I joined GOAL as an IT officer in October 2013 and I have been working with them for the past four and a half years.
My hopes now are simple. They are the hopes of most Syrians. I want the killing to stop. I don’t want to see any more blood; I don’t want to hear the sounds of rockets or bombs; I don’t want to read about chemical weapons. I want my people to live in peace. And once the war has ended, I want to help rebuild my country.
In the meantime, all I can think about is the poor people of Eastern Ghouta. I pray that those with the power to do so will finally put a stop this Syrian river of blood.
Ayham Al Akkad is IT Manager for GOAL in Syria. GOAL is supporting 750,000 people in Northern Syria with daily food, water and emergency provisions. Visit goalglobal.org for more information on GOAL’s work.
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Any chance of some balanced journalism and report on the siege by Turkey and its head hacking allies in Afrin?
Indiscriminate bombing? Check
Civilians being massacred? Check
Lots of kids being blown to bits? Check
Maybe it’s too real and the status quo is afraid Call it for what it is, 100 years since the Greek and Armenian genocide, the Turkish establishment haven’t lost their Mongol slaying instincts
@Chicinho Hear Hear!!! But balanced journalism doesnt fit the US led Neoliberal western agenda..
@Nigel O’Neill: It’s actually a Neo-con agenda being delivered by neo- lib reporters who are owned by Neo- cons. You couldn’t make it up.
@Chicinho: The lack of media coverage of what’s going on in Afrin is disgraceful. It’s been under bombardment for weeks now, and has had no water for over a week since Turkey shut of supply from a nearby dam and treatment plant. All we hear in MSM is Turkey’s version of events. And it’s not like the US are nowhere to be seen as their allies are slaughtered. They are actually watching from a few Km’s away and not lifting a finger to intervene. Disgusting.
@Chicinho: Not to mention Zionist Israel getting the US to fight a proxy regime change war to install a puppet president. The UN previously recognized Assad’s Syria until Israel and the US decided he should go. Putin is no saint but I’m glad he stuck in there because otherwise they would have establish anew front in Iran and that would not be nice for anyone.
@JimmyMc:
Don’t forget Fake News RTE.
Goal are really taking sides in this complex 6 year civil war….Seeing things from the Sunni Jahadi side…..Many of the 400000 civilians in Ghouta don’t support the Sunni Jahadi and wish they would take up the offer from Syrian army to surrender and safe passage to another rebel held area to fight on…..Saudi Arabia and Qatar have armed and trained many of these rebels in Saudi proxy war against Iran…..Whatever about been democratic moderate rebels at start of conflict as John Kerry and Joe Biden called them….For many years they are Sunni Jahadi similiar to IS…..Very wrong of Goal to support them…
@John003: well said
@Jamie Thornton: ‘Sunni jihadists similar to IS’. and backed by the US of course. why can’t journalists report it like it is? because they are owned by corporate greed who have no concept of people suffering.
The official policy of the west – ‘Regime change’ for Syria has been stymied by Russian military intervention. This policy of Regime change, has involved Britain, the Us and and their allies arming and promoting ‘ moderate rebels’ to destabilize the Syrian Government and destroy the country and it’s people. These moderate rebels are terrorists. The west, for all it’s talk of freedom and Liberty and morality, has descended into a pit of double standards, lies and murder. Everyone who has backed the west’s narrative is also in this pit of blood and shares responsibility – this includes the media here in Ireland and around the world esp. state propaganda outlets like RTE and the BBC.
It is no wonder there is huge anti Russian sentiment at the moment as they have ruined the complete destruction of Syria for western and Israeli geopolitical goals.
@raymond grehan: This is not in interest of Israel ….Obama administration did train and arm the rebels in early days of conflict….It was in Jordan not Israel….This Syrian civil war has been a disaster for Israel …. Iran’s proxy army are now on their border with Syria as well as in Lebonan….Israel are close to the Druse in Syria who support Assad….Jews are not stupid supporting a Sunni Jahadi takeover of Syria with one of the main groups Al Nusra in charge would be disaster for Isreal….One of the few things Sunni and Shia agree on is destruction of Israel….Only group Israel support are the Kurds in Northern Syria….
@raymond grehan: well said
@Raymond well said and to add also that this is in Black n white, its not a conspiracy theory. Go check out the white paper named ‘Project for the new American Century’..it tells you all you need.
Sounds like another Whitehelmet story.
work is going well to cleans the Islamic terrorism when you here this propaganda.
@Jamie Exactly. Have you ever wondered why there are none such articles with inside stories from people in Yemen ?? They have been under constant bombardment by US backed Saudi forces for months and months now and theres a humanitarian crisis underway. I recall a funeral of a family member killed by a dropped bomb and then they blew up the funeral home while all the mourners were there, as one example
@Nigel O’Neill: I know nigel its a sad state of affairs in Yemen at the moment and will be for a long time as long as the UK USA are backing the slaughter.
@Nigel O’Neill:
May and the British have blood on their hands. They are arming the Saudi killers.
That’s why I can’t take their self-righteousness about the Rusian guy seriously.
In the future the world should look back in shame on events in Syria, which were utterly preventable.
@Walt the events are awful but whi exactly should be ashamed for what exactly?
@Nigel O’Neill: the apathy
@Walt Jabsco:
Yes because getting involved in regime change has work out so well in the past.. #Iraq
@Walt Jabsco: don’t know what to believe anymore. The American paid “rebels” fight on, and the Syrian government drops bombs. I’m sure it’s awful, but the dripfed white-helmet type nonsense doesn’t get attention anymore. No Twitter in Yemen it seems.
These people are trying to drag us into their war. If they want to stop the violence, they should call on their jihadi buddies to leave Ghouta, and to set the civilian population there free.
I’m sick of all the chancers that have spring up–Whiite Helmets etc. A few months back I saw video of the White Helmets (they took off the helmets) cutting off the head of a Palestinian kid. I have no sympathy for them now.
Goal are an extension of the US foreign policy nexus…always have been.
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