Those poor Syrian children

Those poor Syrians in general. Things have not improved, in fact the civil war is spreading. Now there's a blackout in Damascus as the fight for Syria continues and Assad fails to see how much he's screwing his people over.  I keep praying at Assad leaves or that he happens to be a casualty of war. After all he's been saying he's going to die in Syria.

The Syrian conflict has inspired a whole series of cartoons, that expresses the feelings of the various sides.

The situation in the middle east is still deteriorating, with the situation in Gaza and the situation in Egypt not improving either. These are interesting times we live in.

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.

Intervention in Syria is well overdue

I've been feeling that someone should intervene in Syria and that's what the Emir of Qaatar seems to be saying as well.

In the past couple of days some of the worst destruction they have done in months has been done in Syria.

There has to be a resolution soon before there's nothing left but bodies in rubble.

Everyday I still cry for Syria

Not a day goes by that I don't check what goes on in Syria. It's sad that such a beautiful country is being completely destroyed because a select few don't want to let go of power.  I can't help but think about the millions of Syrians who are stuck in this civil war now with no place to go.

I can't help but think about an entire generation of children growing in this. Seeing their families, relatives, neighbours, homes, towns, cities, way of life and I could go on about the things that are being destroyed. 

I know the 'rebels' have no choice. They have lost too much to stop fighting now.  The fight must go on. I support the rebels cause realizing that there are abuses done there too. How that will affect this society once war is over?

I think of Lebanon that was embroiled in civil war for the better part of 20 years and the shattered souls it left. It scares me to think that what is going on in Syria could very well spill over into Lebanon, as it has multiple times already, it could also spill into Turkey, and Jordan.  It probably scares the living daylights out of Israel as well.

I don't know what to think anymore.  I see more victims and more rage and the vicious cycle of violence rears it's ugly head.  I see that Bashar Al Assad is nothing more then a chip off the old block. A butcher just like his father. And like Gadaffi, he will not stop until he is dead.

I still cry for you Syria and keep hoping that there is soon an end.

Notice the shift in the protests?

Last year, many countries in the Muslim world were still involved in Arab spring protests. They were asking for their rights and freedoms. This seems to have changed in some countries like Tunisia and Egypt, where the angry protests are now against a film no one has seen!!!  It's so far just a trailer on the internet. But all the anger that should probably go against the problems in their country is now aimed squarely towards the west.

It's obvious those who put this trailer up want to inflame the those who would get offended at this sort of thing. I don't know who's behind it, but it's really turning part of the Muslim world against the west and this is bound to have a backlash for us Canadians.

It really sucks because the level of hatred showed in some of these protests is disproportionate to a movie. I mean 4 lives were lost in Libya and the people who died had nothing to do with the movie trailer. I mean going to a protest and saying all those who offend Islam should be beheaded makes me wonder what kind of world we live in. You want others to respect your religion and prophet how about respecting other people's right to have an opinion too? 

Some people like pushing buttons

Some yahoo in the US decided that it would be a good idea to be offensive to Muslims with a movie. The trailer has been around online since mid july but was recently translated into Arabic for maximum effect.  Sadly for some reason, large crowds of Muslims in the middle east like storming the US embassies to get the point across. Sadly for the  US ambassador to Libya it was fatal.

Art and Poetry exiled from Syria

Things are not looking good in Syria at the moment. Hala Muhammad, a Syrian artist exiled in Paris shares her vision.

This does not stop Assad and his regime from air bombing neighbourhoods in both of the countries biggest cities, Aleppo and Damascus. I keep praying for this conflict to end and it keeps getting worse :(

Solidarity with the Syrian people - August 11, 2012

Last night I attended a night demonstration in solidarity with the Syrian people that were killed and slaughtered. Seventeen months after the beginning of the uprising of Syrians asking for dignity and freedom, the response was and still is massacres, massive killings, destruction, arrests and torture and ignorance.

We met at Cote Vertu Metro starting around 9:30. The group was about 100-150 people strong.  The March got on it's way around 10:15, and went for only a couple of blocks before a torrential downfall came down. It did not dampen the spirits of the participants, just drowned out the candles. The singing of songs and slogans was strong even while hiding next to a public building to get some cover from the rain.  Walking back towards Cote Vertu Metro on the sidewalk, I noticed our group covered 2 city blocks.

We got back home around midnight after leaving the group a little bit past 11. We stopped to gas up the truck on the way back home, since the gas is 2 cents cheaper in Ville St Laurent than near my house. 

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.

Kofi Annan quits and finger points

No surprise that Kofi Annan quits. It's not like anyone can agree on what to do with Syria, and even though there's yet another vote at the UN, I'm sure Russia and China will veto again, because it serves their interests to sell more and more weapons to the Syrian government.

It's not going to end well for those poor Syrians. I feel for them. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. I firmly believe that many Syrians want to be rid of the Assad clan as their leaders, but others believe that Assad is the only one who can keep this country together. 

Personally I keep wishing that they will find peace and a democratic government, but the more things get out of hand the less likely this will occur anytime soon. Sadly Syria seems to be drifting into similar terrain as Lebanon and Iraq [Thanks to US intervention]

Documented deaths exceed 20,000 in Syria

The Syrian Press... so predictable...

If you're with the regime, you're honorable person. The minute a woman is no longer with the regime, she's just a prostitute. It amazes me how as soon as someone says they aren't with the regime, suddenly they are just bad people. 

I'm not sure how the Syrian government justifies having a PROSTITUTE as it's attache in Cyprus. I mean that should require an explanation other then "She defected". Who hires prostitutes to serve in their embassies? Apparently SYRIA!!!! 

So Bashar, spent anytime with a prostitute lately? How does Asma handle your choice of friends? 

Syria - let's hope it's the final stretch

I haven't written about Syria in weeks. I haven't shown up to events in weeks. It's not that I've lost interest, I just find it harder and harder to hear about more deaths. You'd think I'd be somewhat desensitized. I've stopped looking at gruesome video's for months now. After watching them for months I could not see the dead and the maimed anymore. I don't need to watch the videos or see the images. I just read about the number of deaths in that day and I see the images and the videos still running in my head. Once you've seen this type of violence it's hard to unsee it.  

I so feel for the children in Syria witnessing things that should never happen that even adults cannot deal with and yet they are stuck in the middle. They see all the carnage, they see what happens to those who are against the army and the Assad government. 

The red cross has started calling what's going on in Syria a civil war.  Lately there has been high end defections from the regime. There's also this excellent opinion piece by Maher Arar. 

I keep hoping that tomorrow I'm going to hear that Bashar Al Assad stepped down and that the Syrian people will be able to choose their leader, but until then I will keep lighting candles for the martyrs and keep praying the opposition finally depose of Assad.

Syrian government forces executing civilians in front of UN

Forces loyal to Bashar al Assad are responsible for the massacre in Houla, a group of villages near Homs. Most of those killed were summarily executed. So far the only 'armed gang' in Syria that I know that does this is government loyal forces composed of Shabiha.

It's pretty sad that despite the presence of the UN, that people are still executing others. And Bashar never changes his old worn out tune of blaming his opponents and "armed gangs". Yeah armed gangs that he armed and does his bidding. 

My heart goes out to the grandmother in Houla who heard all her family get executed, and managed to stay hidden. May you get justice. My heart goes out to all the Homsis. No one should have to endure the kind of oppression brought upon by the Syrian regime.

More blasts in Damascus kill many

The regime is up to it's old tricks again. Whenever it seems the opposition is getting too much sympathy the regime places bombs around their own infrastructures to pretend it's the opposition setting the bombs. 

The reality is, most of the time, the areas where the bombs happen are in heavily guarded areas, where due to the checkpoints it would be impossible for the opposition to set the bombs. Also noted this morning by the opposition, how come some of the dead from the blast, had their hands tied behind their backs and the injuries on their bodies look more like they were caused by torture then by roadside bombs. It's all note worthy in any case.

I keep praying for this evil regime to fall.

The times they are a changing.....

It's not looking good for Syria. Not only is it tense in Syria with the opposition being more heavily armed then before, with sectarian undertones, but this peace plan has not been adhered to. Not really. The army seems to go there the UN isn't kinda thing.  Then there was those elections yesterday. How can they say these were democratic elections?

So although I will keep hoping for Bashar Al-Assad and his regime to fall, I'm not sure how long that will take and if it will take the whole region into war, or if it will stay inside Syria. Hard to tell, but it looks grim. It doesn't help that even the activists outside Syria don't see eye to eye on certain issues and it creates tensions even in Montreal.

Then there's the student strike in Montreal in it's 13th week.  The students aren't backing down. It sucks however that they want to ban people from protesting anonymously.   As a friend pointed out, she always has a bandana with her and she will put it over her face if she sees police using pepper spray.  Now it will be illegal?  I'm noticing our rights being eroded just a little bit at a time, this way no one really pays attention.  Soon it will be completely illegal to protest just you watch?

North Carolina has banned gay marriages, but you can marry your first cousin, just not your double cousin..... and it's weirder.   I had a good giggle. I don't ever intend to live in North Carolina.

Video of protest in El Waer, Homs, Syria today - love the spirit of the people.

Stand in Support of Syrian people tonight in Montreal

There is going to be a stand on Bishop & St Catherine in front of St James Church downtown Montreal today from 7pm to 8:30pm today.  For more details see event on Facebook

From the pages on which I follow what goes on in Syria, the cease fire is tenuous at best and many areas of Syria report breaches.

April 10th 2012

It's supposed to be the day of ceasefire in Syria but I don't have much hope for that. So far the Regime has been trying really hard to squash the opposition once and for all. They have not withdrawn from restive cities, they have shelled them relentlessly.  The death toll since Syria 'accepted' the Annan peace plan has risen.  This does not bode well. The BBC calls the peace plan 'ailing'.

Yours truly holding sign that says "From Montreal to Damascus we no longer want Assad's Regime!

 Yesterday instead of the Syrian army withdrawing as it should have been, they managed to hit people in two other countries. Three people were hurt in Turkey and one person died on the Lebanese side of the border, after being hit by the Syrian army.

Also April 10th is my mommy's birthday. She would be 79 years old today. She's been dead since the fall of 1999. I still miss my mommy :(

Teens attacked by Assad thugs in Montreal 17.03.2012

Yours truly is at 0:37... Nice first video for a young lady activist. I'm betting we see many more from her in the future.