Taking the Clue from the Syrian People

This past week saw violent, vicious attacks on Gaza, followed by daily, determined rallies all around the world to stand up for the Palestinians. Almost 50% of the  people killed in Gaza this week alone were children. The Syrian cause has been going on for 20 months at even great casualties daily, but we want everyone to know that each life lost is a life lost. This is not a competition for evil, but a race to do good and achieve that basic human right of freedom - and you can even throw in some dignity as well. 

The Syrian people is being slaughtered inside Syria alongside with their Palestinian fellows, most of whom have been treated like second-rate citizens in Syria under Al-Assad. In Damascus, their rights have always been curbed and they were contained (literally) in a camp there for decades. Inside Syria, Palestinians and Syrians alike are fighting the oppressive regime and together dying and getting wounded. The Syrians never expected this turn of events when they first began rallying, but all citizens in Syria support the need and demand for freedom. The Revolution is united and supported by Syrian Muslims and Christians, Kurds, the Druze, Palestinians and Alawites and they rally and kill and get killed without discrimination.

As the people of Gaza are being violently attacked, then it is encouraging and heartfelt to see that many ex-pat Syrians are walking in those rallies all across the globe, standing together and united for oppression and non-sense killing. Syrians are suffering right now, but still have humanity and the capability to care. Because that is what being free and having choices really mean - to unite and stand together for rightness and peace.

Boston Rally and Walk - One Photo Only

Yesterday was the rally and walk for Syria in Boston. As always, then I found myself to be too busy and too happily occupied to take pictures, so this photo here is the only one I took. It shows the very end of our walk line, crossing a small bridge in the Public Garden, walking towards the sunset and on wards for Freedom.

This picture is special in other ways. I was walking next to one of my most respected fellow activists (well, she is a real activist, I am just improvising), Hiam T. Hiam T. works day and night for Syria, translating and documenting every single atrocity that has been recorded for the time soon to come when the regime is going to be held accountable in International Court. She is amazing. Despite the hate and ugliness she watches and listens to every day, then her heart is full of hope and joy for the goodness in most.

In this photo itself  you see my trusted friend Laura (American and not related to Syria except via me), another Hiam - who is also  my role model and is always the first humanist in any worthy cause - along with her good-hearted son, my super cool Cambrige activist and Connector Extraordinaire to any person I might want to connect to, Blake, and my most respected Syrian protester and survivor of torture (name to be withheld here). Just an amazing shot actually, if I may say so myself (which I may since this is my blog and my voice).

I guess this photo really symbolizes the whole rally and walk. People who may or may not be Syrians, humanitarians for rightness and believers in basic human rights, and the youth that is eager and still innocent. If only I had been in the frame itself, but watching humanity unfold is not too shaggy either....

Getting Ready for Rally and Walk 11/17

Tomorrow Boston is going to see a great rally for Syria and an amazing Walk 4 Children of Syria. Rallies are always intense, uplifting gatherings. They leave you energized and re-focused, meeting so many people who come out and spend a few hours chanting for freedom and peace in Syria.

Tomorrow we hope many Palestinians will join us as well. This week  Gaza saw vicious attacks by Israel so Palestinians and supporters had rallies both yesterday and today. The hope really is that most will join the Syria rally tomorrow. It is common knowledge amongst Syrians that Assad is on par with the Zionist efforts to eradicate Palestine; just go to Syria and see how Palestinians have been living as third-grade citizens for years there and how they are getting killed like flies along with anyone else.

The People United Will Never Be Defeated. Palestine, Syria is here for you despite our bleeding hearts (literally speaking), then we are here.

Wounded Boy, Asking for Forgiveness

I met the Turk brothers online via a local trusted activist who traveled to Turkey this fall to spend a year, working with refugees and the women in particular. The Turk brothers, Hani and Shadi, work tirelessly in their spare time (and even during their school hours) to do their best to alleviate the suffering and pain for as many refugees as they can get to.

 They try to document their stories via video recordings, they spend time with the children and wounded children and try to keep them distracted and entertained, they use donations - sparse as they are - to buy basic clothing (and some dignity) for people who arrived in bloody rags, they give out phone cards to the most depressed situations so people can call their families and let them know they are still alive and they try to get much needed medication for severe cases. Whatever they do, then they do it with very limited donations and in very limited amounts. The main point is that there are people who do care and who are working tirelessly and totally selflessly to help other humans. Shadi and Hani are actually twins and around 20 years of age, college kids who should be studying and having fun with friends instead of dealing with the most traumatic cases imaginable (and not imaginable).

Recently the brothers sent me this most touching video of a 10 year old or so boy who got wounded in shellings during the night as he was at home sleeping. The video footage is almost 6 minutes long and consists of the boy reciting suras, praying and asking for forgiveness, saying shahadah, praying, cursing the perpetrators including the president of his home country and praying and crying. Please explain to me the logic of a kid having to ask forgiveness after he was wounded and almost killed.

Asylum Case and Interpreter

The past few days were spent getting feedback from our local asylum-seeking family and talking with the student lawyer and lawyer representing their case. They have so far been in two meetings with the lawyers and we are still figuring out the logistics of interpretation and avoiding mis-representation. At the first meeting I was interpreting for the father and while my Arabic is far from fluent, then we would go back and forth until I felt confident that I was completely conveying his sentiment and his actual words. It worked really well (and was personally very fulfilling), however, the lawyers were concerned that  was not a neutral party  and that my friendship with the family would invalidate their asylum case.

At last week's meeting the mother was alone at the session and as we had been told then she had an interpreter appointed by the lawyers. The mother left feeling totally violated and not properly represented in addition to the information the interpreter had give to her about her daughter's medical case properly not being ground for human parole (she might feel better and not be seriously ill) as well as relaying that the lawyers indicated the case was very weak and had not real ground. The mother was obviously very shaken up and when I spoke with the father several days later then he was still very nervous and now scared.

I called the student lawyer up and explained to her that the family was terrified and back to feeling mistrust. How could they be continuing to tell the truth if the interpreter was telling them their case was weak unless they had done specific acts or been involved in specific political acts when they had not? It dawned on me that basically the lives of the asylum seekers are in the hand of an interpreter so if that person has a personal or political agenda, then too bad. Not only is there a lot of space of deliberate misrepresentation and misleading, but also scarcity of words and lack of delivering the emotion of the story told can change the whole perspective. It is really scary to consider how a stranger can be set about to represent you and your family and you are at their mercy.

The lawyers thankfully quickly agreed to investigate getting another interpreter as they had also not been comfortable with the situation and the brevity of the interpreter's translations. It was a relief to find that they had had some of the same concerns and wanted the refugee family to feel safe and in good hands. For tomorrow's meeting, then they will try another interpreter and if things don't improve then I will suggest more strongly that we investigate getting a neutral interpreter from our broader community.

It all boils down to trust and delivery of the message. If the messenger can tell the story truthfully, then the asylum-seeking family has nothing to fear or worry about.

Rally and Walk - Let's Unite

Saturday is Walk 4 Children of Syria which will take place all around the States and in dozens of countries internationally as well as in some places inside of Syria and in some refugee camps.Walk 4 Children of Syria is coordinated by Syrian American Alliance which in such an effort has ensured everyone walks on the same day in a unified attempt.  It is empowering to be united about something as well as very positive for the sake of creating more awareness about what is going on in Syria in general and in particular what is happening to the children.

Boston also has a rally before the walk. Rallies are a great way to connect with fellow supporters and activists and really get the enthusiasm and blood in the cheeks flowing. If the weather is even remotely as nice as today, then we should have a grand time and even if it gets chilly, then the reality is that Syria's people have no choice, sunshine or not, but to forge forwards in their strive for freedom.

Unity Amongst Individualism and Discrepancies

We are all individuals with our own tempers and agendas. Sometimes our egos get in the way of the better good, but most often - with the cause and goal in mind - even the most stubborn and self-observed individual can get over themselves in order to achieve their objective. During the recent months, that have now turned to over a year and a half, I have encountered many activists who have clashed over whatever personal disagreement came up and even occasionally deeper rifts were grown with the obvious result in a lack of cooperation and aborted projects.

Today I donated a very modest amount of money to a fellow activist who had set up this wonderfully enthusiastic and innovative orphan sponsorship collection on Facebook where he encouraged folks to donate money towards the sponsorship of five Syrian orphans. Lo and behold, within a couple of days he had reached his minimum goal and was now reaching for even a higher number of orphans that would now be guaranteed food and some sort of financial stability for at least a year.

As it happened, then I wanted to donate because like this activist then I love doing good also and setting up initiatives and - like him - then I know what it means to get support from many people and a pat on the back. I sent off my (honestly shamefully modest) donation and received in return a wonderful thank you email that also brought to my attention the fact that the brother and I had previously had some disagreements which was why he was especially surprised and thrilled over my contribution. I was floored. It had honestly never occurred to me to not support him (nor was I carrying the disagreement in my mind or heart). Yes, we had disagreed over some pro-Revolution project and I had - as a matter of fact-- left the Facebook group as I had not wanted my dissent from the majority to bring down the focus of the group. The reality was that their group and their intentions were wonderful all along, but just had not jibed with my needs (or perhaps even with my ego since I was their senior in age and from my perspective also experience) and I had had different expectations about the activist group than what was the perceived reality. However, it had never occurred  to me to carry a grudge for ages or to abort helping and supporting useful and innovative programs out of pride or arrogance. I replied to this honest brother's pleasure at my support of his project, and he agreed and was enthused that as activists and humans  the cause was bigger than the ego and individual discrepancies.

The People United Will Never Be Defeated. This is the mantra I try to follow and live by (but, of course, I am only human and have temper and an ego, so you never know if those might come in the way one time for uniting and working together for our shared goal).