We hear a lot about the Syrian women and children and what they are facing and they are not alone. Men feel literally trapped in their homes. The man I spoke to explained to me what his life is like under the Free Syrian Army and the fear a man endors at the thought of going outside. Men who once held positions to be proud of, doctors, journalists, lawyers and army personnel have been reduced to jobless people cramming into the house with their parents. 4 years of a brutal bloody civil war has men searching for a way out. They want their freedom, they want their lives back.
The man I spoke to is from Daeel. In 2012 it was declared a disaster city by Local Coordinating Committees of Syria. The constant shelling and heavy artillery along with air strikes by the regime has served to destroy the city, killing many civilians and destroying a great number of businesses. Checkpoints run by the regime are set up throughout this area and for men trying to pass through them can result in serving time in prison thus contributing to the constant feeling of isolation in ones home. There is no electricity or phones, internet service or mobile capability. According to the man I spoke to the very limited connection he could find is 15 kilometers away near the Jordanian border. Food shortages run rampant throughout this area and finding a hospital is impossible.
The pictures this man sent me show a completely devastated city. People walking through rubble on a day to day basis. Houses so rocked by explosion they are falling apart with cardboard as windows. A photo taken from this mans roof shows air strikes happening not too far from his house. For anonymity purposes I can not show you this mans home, but I can tell you his home has been completely rocked by shelling, when it rains there shelter no longer serves it’s purpose.
The videos and photos of children dying, which is an astonishing number, and cities being destroyed are real footage shot by the citizens living through the worst nightmare one could possibly face. Small rooms serve as hospitals and being a doctor is a dangerous job, if you are caught by the regime they will kill you. The men in this city are not only in fear of the physical war that plays out daily but the psychological war they are fighting within. Male journalists in this city are in a great dilemma, tell the truth and possibly die or say what you are told to say and tell the lies of the regime. Keeping your integrity means you do not keep your job.
Rocked by devastation, depression, and hunger the man I spoke to just really wants to leave. This man expressed to me that most people are not interested in political solutions or prolonged negotiations what they are wanting is a home that is safe and out of Syria. They do not want to hear guns and air planes flying so close to their homes they shake like living through daily earthquakes, these civilians have been the target and they want peace and to be free. They want what all of us desire and deserve, a life.
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