I have recently been corresponding with another friend of mine in Syria. His name is Ziad. I worked with Ziad at Mahjoub House in Damascus in 2001 while I was there studying Arabic. He told me that he and his family were doing fine and that he has no plans to leave Syria (hopefully). He has a 12 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. He works as a Foreign Purchase Coordinator in an Austrian company that runs a paper mill in Deir Ez-zor city (a city northeast of Damascus that has seen a heavy amount of fighting). The company has a liaison office in Damascus and that is where he goes everyday "with some difficulties in transportation depending on the day itself."
He left Mahjoub House (where I met him) in 2002. He said the mill where we used to work was "robbed and burned by freedom fighters (Robin Hood gangs), occupied by them and then bombed by the army." That place had a lot of employees, so sad to think that they may all be out of work and doing who knows what to survive. He stated that he hadn't seen our boss Khaled since 2002. Who knows where that rich Syrian business man is? Did he have the cash and connections to leave the country? He was pretty close to Bashar Al Assad when I knew him or at least claimed to be. Maybe he is hunkered down somewhere in the country "protected" by the army. Who knows? It is all such a reality check for me. It is unbelievable to hear about all these places that I knew well, being destroyed. It is more difficult to think about all the people's lives all of this effects. Many of whom I know! Ziad goes on to say, "I feel very sorry for the situation we are living in and the civilians going down everyday. It is now anything but revolution. Maybe it was at the beginning, but not now for sure. Junkies, robbers, outlaws have succeeded to steal it from others."
I asked him how easy it was to get food and needed supplies. He said, "materials in Damascus are easier to find than other areas, and yes there are certain areas that are safer than others." He goes on, "I called some of my friends in Aleppo: factories were robbed, disassembled and smuggled to Turkey. Of course this is my point of view. We need better civilized people to build the country, not worse who exclude the others. I believe you know really how Syrians (Muslims and Christians) used to live."
In another email a few days later, Ziad answered my questions about a colleague named Sahar, who worked with us and who I have not heard much from. I assume she is safe though because she sent me an "invite" to her knitting page on Facebook. Ziad writes, "I don't know exactly what Sahar does, but I believe she is
moving between Damascus and Homs. She married her cousin and moved to Homs
before the crises in Syria." Well, I sure hope she doesn't live in Homs anymore. According to the Syrian opposition, Homs has become a "blighted
city," where authorities regularly block deliveries of medicine, food
and fuel to the inhabitants. This past June, there were
near-daily confrontations between protesting residents and Syrian
forces. As a result of these circumstances, there have been more deaths
in Homs and its vicinity than other areas of Syria. Homs was the first
Syrian city where images of al-Assad and his family were routinely torn
down or defaced and the first place where Syrian forces used artillery
during the uprising. I will continue to try and contact Sahar. I would love to hear from her and know how she is.
Ziad ended his second email saying, "Life is not normal anymore in all Syria, and I
pray to God to end this with the minimum losses. We are losing Syria and for
sure not gaining democracy because some people just don't accept the others and
respect their opinions. I long to see democratic and secular Syria (Religion is
for God and homeland is for everyone)." I long to see a democratic Syria as well but I worry it will not become a reality anytime soon. I just hope and pray my friends can get through this long, awful crisis and remain safe. I can't imagine being there right now...
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