What it means to be Syrian

What it means to be Syrian
By Zahra, Tasneem, Doaa

What makes a person relate to their cultural heritage? Is it the way they dress? The food they eat? Or the way they speak? What makes ME Syrian? My parents are from Syria, does that make me Syrian? I eat Syrian food, does that make me Syrian? I have never seen my land, nor witnessed its atmosphere. I was born in Emirates and raised in New Zealand, am I a Syrian Emirate? Am I an Emirate Kiwi? Or am I a Syrian kiwi? Imagine being distraught about your own cultural background and when asked, there’s always a long, awkward pause before replying to the question.

I, and hundreds of thousands of Syrians around the world, feel this way only because one of our relatives spoke up demanding democracy and freedom in the 80s! That's what happens in Syria, if one member of the family speaks up then the whole family is in trouble. For in the Syrian government, this is considered as a big and unforgivable sin to speak up against the regime in any way. Hence, this makes me accountable for it even before I was born and will have to pay the price until my very last breath. In such situations, with all this injustice and violence, a Revolution is indeed the only solution to free Syrians from this suffocating regime.

The Syrian Revolution, you might be thinking that it's just a part of the 'Arab Uprising' and nothing new. I wonder if a 3 month infant being abducted is something new. I wonder if a mother being shot by security forces is something new. An uprising that began with 13 year old kids writing pro-democracy statements on their school boards, for which they were captured and tortured in the most inhumane methods, it even cost two children their lives. In this situation, what would you do as a parent? What would your response be? Would you demand freedom or would you settle for reforms?

Let me paint a picture for you. You are in your deepest sleep, dreaming about freedom and democracy after being deprived of it for decades, and it’s almost reality, but of course the reality is waking to the sound of aimless shooting, tanks destroying anything in their path and demolishing homes. You realise that the reality is also home invasions by soldiers who are meant to honour and protect the Syrian nation but instead they use every method possible to intimidate and humiliate the Syrian dignity. The city of Hama has become a ghost town in the past few weeks. Bashar has ordered his soldiers to bring tanks, machine guns, and 1000s of soldiers to stop anyone who dares to protest. This has meant that hundreds of lives have been lost in a matter of 14 days. Bashar has also ordered that all communication be stopped in Hama! No one in the world is able to call relatives, family, and loved ones to make sure that they are OK! Every day, I watch as my father's eyes fill with tears while trying to contact his brother whom lives in Hama, but to no avail! All we get is an automated answer machine to “call again later". Days pass by, with no word from loved ones, and our hearts are torn apart worrying about them and their safety. This is what the Al Ba'ath party want to accomplish, they want to not only demolish the Syrian's lives, but also destroy their spirit.

However the people of Syria will not stand idly by and watch their homes and lives being destroyed. They have a mission, and that mission is to bring down Bashar AlAssad’s brutal and violent regime, and to make Syria the peaceful and serene place it used to be before the Assads took power. So for all those out there, reading this simple but heartfelt article, I hope that you will also support us, so that we may support our constantly declining families in Syria.

Zahra, Tasneem, Doaa
Syrian Solidarity New Zealand