A Letter From Syria

Tags

Kurds, Syria, The Syria Campaign, White Helmets

Today I received this mail from Laila Kiki, The Syria Campaign (they are connected to the “White Helmets” who have done a lot of great work in Syria rescuing people). I would like to share this with all of you.

Dear friends,

Many times over the past years we Syrians have dared to hope that the worst of the conflict may have passed. On so many occasions we have been wrong, and the conflict took a new, darker turn.

The latest disaster to befall us came after a phone call last weekend between US President Trump and the Turkish President Erdogan, after which Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from the northeast of Syria. A few days after, Turkey advanced across the border and started its military operation to establish a buffer zone along the border and drive out the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led Syrian militia that has been in control of the area.

International attention has focused on Trump’s betrayal of the SDF, which was the main partner of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and lost thousands of men and women in the fight. But behind those headlines there are civilians whose lives, rights, and aspirations are being ignored.

Already we have seen horrific losses: civilians killed, homes destroyed, executions, serious human rights violations by Turkish backed forces, and more than 160,000 civilians displaced. The people of northeast Syria–Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Chaldeans–have suffered tremendously since 2011 and it’s heartbreaking to see them subjected to further displacement and bombardment.

One of the worst fears for the area materialized only a few days later when Putin took the opportunity to broker a deal for the SDF to hand over control of the region to Assad in a bid to protect itself against Turkey. Assad forces, backed by Russia, advanced across the northeast and started seizing control of towns and villages there.

Syrians know well that Assad’s rule means total oppression and punishment for communities that have opposed him. Journalists and activists, many of whom resisted ISIS and its ideology at huge personal risk, will face detention and disappearance in Assad’s torture dungeons. Civil society groups that have received US support are particularly at risk, and the US has a responsibility to ensure they’re protected.

People in the area and across the country are living in fear and uncertainty about what will come next. The northeast has been thrown into chaos by the US withdrawal and the Turkish operation, and the ripples of these events will affect all parts of the country. Many fear that Turkey will forcibly resettle Syrian refugees to the buffer zone that it’s aiming to establish, which would constitute a further violation of Turkey’s obligations under international law. And while the world’s attention is on the northeast, the 3 million civilians in Idlib are terrified that Assad will use the opportunity to further escalate the attacks on them.

So, what’s next?

The situation is likely to get worse, and more complicated, and the dream we share with millions of Syrians of a free and democratic country may seem more distant than ever before. But we will not accept an international community that stands by while Trump, Putin, and Erdogan make decisions that will impact millions of Syrians. And we will continue to support Syria’s heroic civil society activists in their demands for a nationwide ceasefire, accountability for war crimes, and a Syria for all Syrians without Assad, without extremists, and without foreign forces. I hope you will too.

In solidarity,
Laila

Here you find the Web site of The Syria Campaign.

I am totally at a loss about what to do. Shame on Trump. But also shame on Europe who have not accepted their responsibility. And I wonder if there is not anything we can do except sharing posts and emails?

I think we can do better. Can I have a million, please?

Tags

Syria, White Helmets

Today I received this nice letter from the “White Helmets”.

Your generous donation

Bissan Fakih – The Syria Campaign

An Hajo von Kracht

Dear Hajo,

Thank you for your incredible generosity in supporting the White Helmets – you are one of the White Helmets’ top 500 supporters worldwide. I am writing to let you know that your donation is changing lives — it is helping the amazing heroes on the ground working around the clock to save lives amid all the violence in Syria. Here’s a message from Majd, a White Helmet volunteer:

“Thank you to every person who donated to our injured volunteers, our martyrs and their families. The Hero Fund is supporting those who give everything, who sacrifice what is precious to them, sometimes even a limb, in order to save as many lives as possible. You have helped treat our injured and supported the families of our fallen volunteers and this in turn is saving lives and bringing back hope.”

Many injured White Helmets treated by the Hero Fund have now gone back to saving lives. Hassan from Hama got a prosthetic leg after surviving a cluster bomb explosion on a rescue mission in his city of Kafr Zeit. He is now back to work with his team. Mohammad, a father of four, received an injury to the head and shoulder back in February. He underwent two surgeries paid for by the Hero Fund. He hasn’t fully recovered yet but insisted on going back to work in the service of the White Helmets, helping his team in Maarat Al Atik in Aleppo.

Dozens of other volunteers have been helped by the Hero Fund since it was established in the summer of 2015 and sustained since by your generosity. Yours was a crucial act of solidarity — the costs of treating wounded volunteers and helping the families of the fallen were not covered by donor governments. Before the Hero Fund existed, the teams struggled to pool together whatever money each volunteer had, calling their friends and relatives to raise enough cash to treat a teammate or provide help to the spouses and children of a White Helmet who had died. This was was never going to be enough, particularly as the rescue workers became a greater target for Russian and Syrian regime airstrikes.

The number of fallen White Helmets has tragically risen to 147. Two volunteers were killed just last week in separate attacks. Mohammad Osama Hawa was killed in the town of Anadan in regime shelling. Two years ago we mourned his father together, Osama Hawa, when he died in an attack while saving lives with the White Helmets. Another volunteer, Bassam Hadleh, was killed last week in an attack on a civil defence centre in Idlib. Five of his colleagues were injured.
Currently there are about 400 wounded White Helmet volunteers, 80 of them with serious injuries like loss of eyesight, amputations and deep shrapnel wounds. The most common injuries now are loss of limb – hands and arms, and amputations below the knee. A few of the most urgent cases have had to be moved from Syria to Turkey where the Fund has paid for hospital stays, surgeries, prosthetic limbs and medicine.

Your contributions and your solidarity have gotten wounded White Helmets back on their feet and helped families of the fallen through the worst of times. You haven given these teams the comfort of having a safety net, and you have shown them that people around the world are standing with them.

We want to continue sustaining the Hero Fund but also pay for new rescue equipment to replace the ambulances and diggers that were destroyed in airstrikes. Days ago we launched an urgent crowdfunder to get the White Helmets these funds. If you wish to make another contribution, the People’s Million fundraiser can be found here. We’re already almost halfway to our goal.
peoplesmillion.whitehelmets.org/donate/peoples-million

Together we’re determined to support the White Helmets and their call for real action to stop the bombs in Syria. Thank you for all your incredible efforts.

Yours,
Bissan