[Leica] Reflections on Syria

[tmanley at gmail.com (Tina Manley)]

PESO:

I just returned from Syria and Lebanon and wrote down my thoughts before I
forget them.  Photos are now downloading.  If you plan to travel to the
Middle East anytime soon, be sure to check your airline's policy on
electronics!!

Reflections on Syria



            I have just returned from a trip to Syria and Lebanon.  The
purpose of the trip was to listen to Syrians and support them in their
current crisis.  Our group visited Kamishli, Hasakeh, Malkieh, and Damascus
in Syria and Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Tripoli and Minyara in Lebanon.  We
met with community leaders, NGO directors, pastors, teachers, ordinary
Syrians, refugees, displaced persons, youth groups, children, Christians of
every denomination, and Muslims.  We listened to their stories and made
films and photographs to share.  We showed our support by our presence and
partnerships and by raising funds for the education of Syrian children in
Syria and Lebanon.  The following reflections are mine alone but are what I
heard from the Syrian people.

?When elephants fight, the grass is trampled.?  That saying, told to us by
a Syrian pastor, represents how the Syrians feel about what is happening to
their country.  The elephants are the 83 countries which currently have
forces in Syria.  The grass is the Syrian people.  The Syrians want to stop
the exit of their people from their homeland.  They want refugees to return
and help rebuild Syria.  Many of the people we spoke to had the opportunity
to leave Syria but have chosen to stay because they love Syria and have
hopes that foreign forces will withdraw and leave them alone to rebuild
their country.  They sincerely believe that the Western media is wrong
about Assad.  They say that the barrel bombs and chemical warfare reported
in the media were either staged or perpetrated by other forces which have a
vested interest in the removal of the Assad regime.  They admit that the
Assad regime needs improvements in democracy and freedom of press, but they
want to work on those developments themselves without outside
interference.

When we asked where we could find media that would tell the truth about
what is happening in Syria, the Syrians recommended Al Mayadeen,
https://www.youtube.com/user/Mayadeentv  Many of Al Mayadeen's senior staff
were formerly correspondents and editors at Al Jazeera who left because
they felt they were not able to tell the entire truth at Al Jazeera.  They
have vowed to tell only the truth at Al Mayadeen.

            The Syrians all welcomed us even though they disagree with
America?s current policy on Syria.  They felt that they could separate the
American people from their government and they appreciated our support and
interest.  I?m not so sure the American people can be separated from
responsibility for the actions of the American government but I do know
that the Syrian people need and want our prayers and our support, but not
our troops and our bombs.


Photos will follow.



Tina

-- 
Tina Manley
www.tinamanley.com
tina-manley.artistwebsites.com
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html