Syria goes to the back burner of the news

Since Israel has started pounding Gaza, all eyes are focused on that scenario. The never ending Syrian conflict is now relegated to the back burner of the news. 

Despite choosing a new man, Sheikh Ahmad Mouaz al-Khatib, to represent the Syrian opposition, not much appears to have changed. Some days I read that the rebels have made advances other days it's Assad's regime tearing an area a new one.  I really wish Khatib can get most of Syria behind him and   end this civil war. 

Things are slowly deteriorating. Not only has Syria shelled in Turkey, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, but all it's neighbours are suffering from the civil war in Syria. Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are all filling with Syrian refugees, an estimated 400,000 refugees. Though I think in Iraq, it's Iraqis that had left their country because of the war there, slowly returning due to the instabilities in Syria. 

With temperatures cooling those in refugee camps are in dire need of warmer clothes and blankets as winter approaches. 

The whole region is going to hell in a hand basket. It sucks that the average person has no control over this catastrophe mostly caused by greed, selfishness and the need to control others.

Casualties of rising against the regime

Not only have over 20,000 Syrians lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands more have been in jail, and equal amounts have seen family been killed, or brutally tortured. But that isn't all. Syria was a country rich in history, with old sites, almost untouched. I remember visiting the Umayed Mosque in Damascus and the tomb of Saladin and being in awe at it's age and how well it was preserved. I was so looking forwards to going back and seeing many old castles and mosques. 

Sadly there might be nothing left to see. Rebels who hid inside old buildings hoping the army wouldn't attack them, were wrong. The army has left incredible destruction behind.

I keep praying but it looks bleak, the future of Syria not unlike that of Iraq or Lebanon.  My mom-in-law, God bless her, had as a Facebook status the other day "it might be easier living in hell, then life in Lebanon" or something to that effect.  And at least it's reasonably safe in Lebanon compared to Syria. But she must still watch what she says around her, and life is still so much harder then life in Canada. I so wish she was here in Canada. 

I don't know if hubby started the process, but with the news that they want to delete over 280,000 applicants does not give me much hope that we will be seeing her here anytime soon. :(  If anything Canada should process family of people living in Canada in reasonable amounts of time.

People are being silenced in Lebanon too!

I wrote a while ago about a Pro-democracy protest in front of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut that turned violent. This time  some Syrian Kurds in Beirut protested with the support of the Lebanese police, so they didn't get attacked at the embassy. But later in that say members of Lebanese intelligence went to beat them up? What is the Lebanese intelligence suddenly working for Bashar Al Assad?  It blows my mind that one part of Lebanese society is pro-democracy for Syria but when people try to express it they get beaten up in some shape or form.

The second part of this story is that tensions in Lebanon have gotten so high, they are afraid of imploding into civil war so anything that can cause tension between people is silenced in hopes to avoid more fighting.  This means rights are being eroded. Movies supposed to show at a film festival being pulled because of fears.

It's no wonder my mom-in-law thinks some of what I post is propaganda. She couldn't dare to say anything otherwise, it's too dangerous. If anything saying I'm posting propaganda may keep her safe. Bless her soul, brave woman who's seen too much war and pain in her lifetime.

His thugs crave blood

Apparently you cannot criticize Bashar Al-Assad anywhere. There was a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, peaceful until Bashar's thugs showed up and beat the living daylights out of everyone there, because they refused to be intimidated and go away.

The UN is about as useless as tits on a man with the crisis in Syria. Their resolutions always short of being meaningful.  Assad lost his legitimacy months ago, and yet he's still able to kill people with no consequences.  The Arab world sits in silence as people are being slaughtered like sheep in Hama, to use the expression people in Hama have used.  Some of the video's coming out of Syria are incredibly disturbing, and the fact the world sits and watches without intervening just blows my mind. I'm not sure what the best method of intervention is but there has to be a way to get him to stop his killing.

This Friday's protests in Syria are dubbed "God is with us". All I have to say is  Yalla irhal ya Bashar!

Estonians freed in Beirut

The 7 Estonians that were kidnapped in the Bekka valley near Zahle  in Lebanon were released in Beirut today and are in good health according to an article in Al Jazeera this morning.

This is good news for those 7 Estonians that have been captive for over 4 months. They can go home and be re-united with their families.

Missing cyclists still missing

The Estonian tourists kidnapped in the Bekaa valley 2 months ago I blogged about still have not been found. The 7 men were kidnapped March 23rd, and now speculation is that they are in Syria. Authorities believe that it was 1 Syrian and 1 Lebanese who got the deed done. 

Between the power vacuum in Lebanon left by months of no government and the pro-democracy uprisings in Syria, they have bigger fish to fry then the 7 Estonian tourists.

A previously unknown group Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has taken responsibility for the kidnapping. They were probably going for Europeans from Western Europe and are probably not pleased with the Estonians. 

An undated video was uploaded to youtube last month, with the Cyclists pleading with Lebanese, Jordan, Saudi and French leaders to set them free. 

It's also sad that some of the Lebanese actually believe Syrian propaganda that the country is being overrun by Salafists.   I'm sure we can thank Hezbollah for spreading those lies around. You'd think a group that identifies itself with the underdog wouldn't side with Assad's government, but as we all known politics makes strange bedfellows.

Which makes me wonder, what happens to Hezbollah when Assad's government get overthrown and the Syrian people go for a democratic Syria.  Just asking?

Adonis makes hubby pine for home.

Hubby decided yesterday to go to the large Adonis on Sources blvd, near Anselme Lavigne. Why one would go there on a Saturday is beyond me. Just trying to get into the parking lot is infuriating enough for me. I tend to only go there on week days generally, in the middle of the afternoon where I'm the least likely having to argue with hordes of pushy people. I take the same approach for going shopping at Costco. 

Apparently hubby found the right type of za'atar there along with his favourite halawa and labneh. He found other stuff too that was "typically Lebanese" to the point that when he came back home he was all homesick. It felt like the chaos of Lebanon he told me. 

I'm not sure why he never went before. We pass in front of it on our way to work and our on way home from work. You'd think he would have noticed just by the parking lot that it was Lebanese chaos :)  I mean he's been pining for stuff for a while and he hasn't been able to find everything at Akhavan, you'd think he would have stopped at Adonis earlier. Just saying...