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ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER and photographer Muhammed Muheisen travelled to the Syrian rebel headquarters in Marea yesterday as fighters returned from Aleppo, where they had been engaged in fierce clashes with government forces.
Delving into their past lives, Muheisen found a mixed group of men – former butchers, barbers and construction workers, as well as as ex-policemen and members of Bashar Assad’s army.
“We kept saying peaceful, peaceful. But they came at us with guns and shells and airplanes, so we finally said: “This peaceful isn’t working,” 22-year-old Mohammed Sami told the photo-journalist about the start of the now-violent conflict.
Before the Arab Spring erupted in 2011, Sami was working with a friend in his own barber business. He described the shop as having two chairs, big mirrors, electric clippers and a television. When the uprising began, he hung a revolutionary flag on the wall but the place was set on fire when soldiers subsequently raided the village.
It wasn’t long until he joined the opposition. “They torched my shop because I put up a flag. After the revolution, I’ll put up whatever I want. There will be flags all over the place.”
Still a minor, Bader Farouh told Muheisen that he has already been arrested and beaten twice in the past year. He claimed that police detained him in Aleppo for three days during which time he was folded into the hold of a car tyre and lashed with sticks. They only let him go after he signed a declaration pledging to stop protesting.
However, they caught him at a demonstration a week later and the alleged torture got worse. He said they hung him naked on a wall for more beatings. When he was eventually freed 12 days later, his father took him to the head of a local rebel brigade and told them to “take him and treat him like one of your sons”.
Almed al-Saleh always wanted to go to university but, because of money worries, he took a job with the police force instead. When the protests against the regime started, he was working at an isolated border crossing with Turkey where he earned about $270 a month.
The 22-year-old explained that he always supported the revolution “in his heart” but kept quiet at first. “I volunteered to serve my country, not to serve Bashar or anyone else.” Last month he ran away, borrowed $1,000 from a friend and bought a Kalashnikov rifle.
-With words and photos from Associated Press’s Muhammed Muheisen
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Well done lads. People homeless and good educated kids leaving the Country in the thousands and all they worry about is a prayer. Well Trump will have the last laugh on these politicians and I hope he recinds the invite for Paddys Day to them
@linda o keeffe: The opposition,that’s why they lost the election.
@Gerard Mahady: top comment 100% the invasion and erosion of our culture and land by Islam enabled by our liberal left government and opposition and sure we the people are all far right better watch what we say especially after the Garda bugging of journalists in our so called democracy freedom of speech will be a distant memory
@Gerard Mahady: They’d introduce it, if they could!
@I’m a robot Robot: we have established right wing parties only very recently. They are very inexperienced and it will take a few years for people to trust them handling our problems. It will inevitably happen where we will get an actual right wing party. Next election will definitely see a growth in right wing parties popularity. 8 years time there will be a right wing party in charge no doubt. Just look across Europe. Reform UK were established recently, and didn’t get voted in because people didn’t trust them handling the money because of their inexperience. Now Nigel Farge is favourite to be the next prime minister of the UK. (Check Paddy Power). Right wing parties are winning in Sweden, Austria, Denmark, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany, Italy, Poland etc. It’s inevitable thankfully
@Joe Willis: reply meant for David
Nope!!!!
@Dman: why not?
@Darius Guppy: Why change it? The country didn’t vote for the opposition.
@Daniel Roche: Ridiculous comment and how did the opposition get elected, osmosis?
It would be much better if the state took the church to court for the hundreds of millions, still owed, to the people of Ireland for what happened to our citizens.
@Jimmy Donovan: That will get silence guaranteed Mr Donovan ,many moments me thinks.
@Jimmy Donovan:
Hundreds of Millions from where? What do you thinks the market values of cathedrals, monasteries and churches are? Mostly negative equity considering the maintenance costs.
We are facing dangerous times and this . Please don’t waste our time with nonsense. The best can can be managed are compensation schemes, which mean the we the taxpayers pay, for state negligence 50 + years ago. BTW these compensation /redress schemes should be out, they are totally abused with false and exaggerated claims
@Antony Stack: The Vatican Bank ,I believe they are quite liquid ,maybe there ,what you think before we start selling Cathedrals?
Excellent. No place for religion in politics
@FoxyBoiiYT: The opposition lost the election.
@FoxyBoiiYT: NO Place for any religion in these times. It’s easy to start a Cult!
@Daniel Roche: You must be a detective?
A prayer gets first headline over TD’s declaring any additional income & liabilities !!
.
Let us pray.
@Tom: Praying? While Homeless people haven’t a prayer of getting a roof over their head’s! Beautiful Hypocrisy Isn’t!???
Half their time is spent governing themselves, and the other half is spent solving the problems of other countries.
What a shower of wasters.
Good to see they’re focusing on the important things ffs.
At last. They are really getting something done up there…….
@Oh Mammy: yes, they have loads to do and prayer is a waste of time. They don’t need a moment of reflection either, it’s codswallop.
None of the above ideas will ever come to fruition. All I can see is the moment of reflection being brought in. As your asking a Minister to be held accountable, your making me laugh writing this. As it’s the Civil Servants who are wasting money like the OPW – Office of Professional Wasters
If that part of our culture and heritage can go so can the Irish language.
@Vincent Alexander: Religion is forced on people…NO getting away with that. Look at the Apologies the RCC had to say about Native Canadian People. And THAT is not that far back in History.
@Mick Hanna: So is the Irish language being forced on people currently.
Honestly can’t believe they pray in the Dáil. Such anachronistic nonsense
Tackling the big issues
Since they came back, they’ve elected a not so new taoiseach, had a week off, then decided to have a big hullabaloo over the. Irish language and proposed a moment of reflection to t replace a prayer. Have they done anything worthwhile since the Dail recovered?
SInn Fein in progressive vestments again. it used to be said the the quality of a government was due to the quality of the opposition. The Middle East and Ukraine are existential threats to everybody including us and this is SF’s big issue. A party which has dome it’s best to overthrow the state for 100 years so that they can start a Hamas inspired war with UK. WIle failing to notice the mayhem in the streets casued by their own failure to defend Ireland
Praise the Lord.
This is still a Christian Country..Found by..fought for by christians so hzve some respect and Say your prayers Before Dail sittings…
A BUNCH OF PAGANS THEY CANT PRAY OR GOVERN
@Thomas Brophy: Really not fair on Pagans
It easy understand why people reelected the last government because the state of this opposition is unbelievable. They continue with stupid irrelevant clap trap about the most stupid rules and regulations.
@Tim Brennan: Tim, not nice, but dim the gift that keeps on giving. Stay off the sauce, Brennan.
About time.
Form a committee to discuss the remit of the committee and which snouts are in the trough. Do anything and everything to suit the new waves of the death cult fawning hamas loving brigade.
have your say