"It's freedom or death by any means"

Demonstration in front of the Syrian Mission in Switzerland - 15.03.12

Tens of people demonstrated in front of the Syrian Mission in Switzerland yesterday, Syrians, Syrian Kurds, some Swiss people too, young, old, men, women, children, all together. There was a road between them and the Syrian mission, because policemen did not want us to be approach so that we would not enter. I was the only one on the other side of the road, because I was silently filming and taking pictures. I was wearing a pro-revolution T-Shirt. We had been demonstrating for about half an hour when an egg landed at the demonstrators' feet, and another one on some man's head. Some of us went to buy eggs too and threw them on the building ; someone spat out at me from the third floor but missed his target. This lasted for about an hour, then some of us decided they'd walk through Geneva chanting revolutionnary slogans. The police car followed them, but a diplomatic car from the Syrian mission did too. People inside this car started insulting the protestors, spat out at one of themand sprayed them with pepper spray that burnt their skin and made them cry. One of them went out of the car to fight with them. The police intervened, wrote down the number of the immatriculation plate and called ambulances for five of us. Who dares say this regime is not criminal ? Even in Switzerland it's not 100% safe to demonstrate against Assad's regime, so can you imagine what it's like in Syria, where no policemen can help ? Because it's even worse than what you can possibly imagine.

Go on the "Democrates Syriens" facebook page if you want to see the pictures (the video will soon be on YouTube)

First Anniversary of the Syrian Revolution

I'll write an updated article with news tomorrow, but today is time for something else. Yesterday was the official anniversary of the Syrian revolution, but it had already started in February 2011, when about 15 children had been arrested after writing revolutionnary slogans on their school's walls and had then been tortured. It's been a year of bloodshed for Syria, people finally spoke up just to realise the regime did not care about any of their lifes. Members of the International Community talk more than they act, letting Syrians die on their own ; the only moment the international medias really cared was when international journalists died. About ten thousands of Syrians dead by now (officially, because the tens of thousands that have disappeared are either dead or in jail somewhere) and no reaction, but about five international journalists dead or wounded and it's in the front page ! They're persons too, they had a life, a family, people who loved them ! We, Syrians in foreign countries, try to protest, to tell our gouvernments to finally react, but they're not listenning because we're Syrians and it's "normal" for us to care. So please, people of the whole world, speak out, tell your gouvernments this slaughter should be stopped, tell your gouvernments it's a crime to remain silent when a genocide is committed, tell your gouvernments Syrians are persons too and deserve to live, and to live free. There are about 18 millions Syrians in Syria, and as much outside Syria ; can you imagine how life in Syria was for that many people to go away ? So please, if you read this, help us, demonstrate for us, wear T-Shirts for us, shout for us because our screams are not being heard. We believe. We believe because it's the only way we can get out of this genocide, because if we stop believing and fighting it'd be over. So please stop talking about the long-term future, anylising it and trying to fix it, because what matters is now, and now people are being killed, tortured, raped, kidnapped, seriously wounded, and no one will forget that ; children grew old way too fastly this year. Syrians feel like the whole world is letting them down, so please prove them wrong ! Prove us wrong !

TO READ ! - Here is a translation of a part of an article that was published in the french newspaper "Le Figaro" :

"One of the millions of Syrian martyrs died without believing in any religion. He was shouting "We'll go to heaven, martyrs in the millions !" with the demonstrators. He was shouting because he was with them. He was shouting because he loved them, but he was not a believer. A bullet made him a martyr... But what God could have protected him, rewarded him, or could even avenge him ? He fell without any sky to extend its protection on him. He fell naked. He was not dreaming of any heaven, he was not afraid of any hell. He did not want to be a hero. He fell without any "why". He then became a source of hope for all the believers. He's dead and he reminds us that homeland doesn't have a religion, that freedom doesn't have a religion, that God doesn't have a religion."

Nothing that looks like a civil war to me.

Quotations, testimonies

My sister recently collected a lot of tweets concerning Syria, here are some of them :

1. Homs is protesting 2. Homs is stormed 3. Homs is shelled 4. Homs sacrifices 5. Homs is protesting again

Does anyone else feel sick ?

AJA : Discovery of 1150 bodies in the Military Hospital in Homs, all from Baba Amr, Al-Rastan and Tal Kalakh

So regime has sort of crushed movement in Homs, why are they still shelling ? FSA have nothing to fight back. Why is regime executing ?

It is not just an image of people in a street we don't recognize, in a town we've never been to, chanting slogans in a language we don't understand.

A year into the uprising, 10'000 deaths later and the world continues to engage in discussions with the Butcher ! Oh, Come On !

People were chanting "No to sectarianism ! Sunni and Shiaa we are all brothers !"

In 2004 the Kurds protested alone. In 1982 the Islamists protested alone. In 2012 everyone protests together.

Only in Syria, you can't spend time mourning the death of a loved one, because 10 minutes later there is another, and another and another

'In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends' Martin Luther King

My uncles wifes mum is crying to my mum. Those are her cousins, sisters, her family, killed by Assad, shown on Assad tv

Why would an army protecting a dictator slit a throat of a 4 year old girl ?

Alawites have been heavily involved in delivering aids to Homs&giving inside info from army to rebels ! The revolution isn't Sunni !

I've juste realised that 70 people killed in Syria is actually a big deal. That's how numb I've become to the casualty figures.

The children of Homs break your heart.. we no longer have children in Homs - they are all men ! What is their crime ?

Assad is preparing for another massacre in Baba Amr area, and no one is to stop him. So much for everything I learnt abt Humanity.

I hope these rumours about the use of chemical weapons are false. Because if it happens, God forbid, not even FSA can protect the people.

Homs : Baba Amr : A father takes his last breaths in the hands of his son RIP

Homs residents tell me they're too scared to bury their dead today. Body parts litter streets. Nothing & no-one moving

Double veto of Security Council Resolution on Syria a betrayal of protesters Official Amnesty statement

Syrian soldier decapitated seven-month-old boy in front of his mother after finding suspected rebel not at home

Aalaa is a child from Homs, he left his house today to buy bread to feed his family. Aalaa returned home. Dead.

Different parts of Homs are currently being bombed & shelled by Assad's forces, yet the people are still out in masses, protesting

Isn't it strange that out of dozens of undercover reporters who visited Homs the only journalist to get killed was on a Gov supervised trip ?

Don't give up Syrians. You have gone too far to fail. The night is at its darkest just before the dawn. And the dawn is coming.

Have you ever seen a grown man cry as he hears the terror in his mom's voice ? His mom is in Syria and he's abroad. He can't comfort her.

These "terrorists" are really kind. They always bomb right next to a camera crew so state TV can provide instant coverage.

How amazing. The regime blamed it on terrorists within minutes of the explosion happening. They must be amazing at inverstigations.

Your silence is killing us

Don't ask me how many protested in Homs and Idleb today... the question is : how many stayed at home.

Bashar : "Hamza Al-Khateeb was beaten up & tortured to death by mistake. Don't look at me I'm not in charge, I'm just the president."

Barbara Walters : Bashar Assad is a dictator by accident. LOL

I wish I could stop dreaming of a relative's death every night. Please someone KILL ASSAD and everything will be over.

Homs is showing the world what a brave and honourable people Syrians are. They make us so proud, so humbled by their sacreifice, courage

My family now consists of a martyr, a widow and orphans. This is an average family in Homs.

Why is Bashar in Syria being allowed to do what Gaddafi wasn't in Libya ? Tanks and troops assaulting cities and killing civilians ?????