24

Voices of the Syrian People

by Andre Vltchek, first published by New Eastern Outlook

Children playing in Damascus, until now the only Syrian city untouched by war. Photo credits throughout: various Syrian individuals who are happy to share them with the world.


The attack against Syria – this proud and independent country – has just taken place.
Three countries with zero moral mandate to judge or punish anybody; three countries already responsible for hundreds of millions of human lives lost on all continents for centuries, showered Syria with their missiles.
They tried to scare to death Syria, and to break its determination, but they failed. Most of the Syrian people stood proudly by their government.
71 out of 103 of the Western missiles were shot down, and the rest fell on the empty facilities, which have nothing to do with a ‘production or storage of the chemical weapons’. To begin with, Syria has no chemical weapons program and no chemical weapons factories, as well as no warehouses, so nothing could really fall on something that does not exist.
This was yet another gross violation of the international law, but again, the West has been violating the international laws for decades and centuries, brutalizing the entire Planet. Therefore, no one is surprised. Many people are angry, even outraged, but surprised – no.
The Russian forces are now on combat alert, while the massive Chinese fleet has left its ports, staging firing drill and exercises near Taiwan, in what many see as a clear warning to the West, and expression of support and solidarity with Russia and Syria.

*

The Syrian Ambassador to the U.N., Dr. Bashar Jaafari, accused the US, UK, and France of blatantly violating the UN Charter. As reported by Syria’s SANA news agency, he declared:

I would clarify here that the history of these three states is built on using lies and fabricated stories to wage wars in order to occupy states, seize their resources, and change governments in them by force.”

Russia is clearly indignant. As reported by RT:

While none of the cruise missiles launched by the US and its allies reached the Russian air defense zones, the strikes sparked outrage in Moscow.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the US-led strikes hit a war-ravaged country “that has been trying to survive terrorist aggression for many years.” In a statement posted on Facebook, she compared the invasion to the start of the 2003 Iraq War, which was based on claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction.”

China opposed the strikes. According to Press TV, it called for ‘return to the framework of international law’:

Chinese Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Saturday that Beijing was “opposed to the use of force” following the tripartite aerial assaults against Syria and called for a “return to the framework of international law.
We consistently oppose the use of force in international relations, and advocate respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries,” she said in a statement.”

The voices of protest are mounting, all over the world.

*

The most important, however, is the reaction of the Syrian people. Confronted with tremendous danger, they are demonstrating both courage and resolve to protect their motherland.
Vanessa Beeley, an editor of the 21st Century Wire, and a veteran correspondent, who has been bravely covering the Syrian war for several years, expressed her admiration for the people of Syria. For this report, she stated:

Syrian people are celebrating a historic victory in a battle that threatened to take the entire world to war.
This is a victory for Syria using antiquated equipment and missiles that cost a fraction of those US, UK and French ‘Tomahawks’, at $1.4 million each – they repelled a concerted attack from three of most aggressive and powerful neocon nations. The damage was severely limited. This was a costly failure for the imperialists and a show of courageous defiance by Syria in the face of asymmetric force.”

Yes, truly costly (both financially, but above all, morally) and embarrassing failure!

*

I asked several Syrian citizens from all walks of life to comment on the recent attacks against their country:
From Ms Fida Bashour, an economist from Damascus:

I was scared when I woke up but now things are better. I went out to the city center in the morning and just came back home. Things are actually fine and yes, we will win!”

From Mr Essa Tahhan, an engineer from Aleppo:

The people of Aleppo, and other Syrian governorates condemn the American attack on Syria … Americans claim that they believe chemical weapons were used in Duma …That was a justification for the attack. This morning people gathered in Saadallah Jabri Square to condemn this assault … and they support the Syrian army, which confronted it. Before the attack, people had already been inventing jokes against President Trump, just to have fun… For example, a university student wrote on his Facebook page: ‘Will you Trump beat Syria tomorrow? Because I have an exam to take tomorrow at my university … so if you plan to attack, I should not study and instead prepare myself for you.'”

From Dr Hiam Bashour. She is a medical doctor working and living in Damascus:

I am very angry after the night of horror that we had to live through. It all makes me feel furious… After seven years of lies being spread against Syria. In spite of everything, Syrian people are resilient and will continue to love the country, fight for the country, and unite for the country.
Tens of thousands of caricatures are now making fun of the situations. They have been going around on the social media and through the WhatsApp groups, for the past three or four days. These drawings clearly reflect the irony of this war. We know, we realize how sad all this is, but it is an innovative way of the Syrian people to cope with this irony, sadness and brutality.”

Mr Fadi Loufti, a hairdresser in Damascus:

I was awoken at 4am hearing a very loud sound of an explosion. My house was shaking terribly. I immediately checked FaceBook and realized that we were under attack. Trump is such a fool to think he can destroy us. He can attack us again and again, but we will not surrender.”

Two Syrian students in Damascus expressed their support for the government, as well as for the Syrian armed forces:
Ms Rana a 21 years old woman from Damascus:

We were horrified when we heard the explosions last night, but we have faith in our army and in our leadership and as we all know now, the Syrian army succeeded in shooting down most of the missiles. We consider this to be our victory. And we see it as a humiliation of the attackers “

Mr Majd, a male student from Homs, commented:

Today is a day off for most Syrians but we are all out in force, to show our support to the army and to our government. We do not fear their missiles and we will always shoot them down if they come. Syria has gone through through a horrible war for the last seven years, and now this latest attack would definitely not manage to break our spirit.”

The following simple but powerful analyses, based on pure logic, were shared with me by a close friend; a young Syrian intellectual, who prefers to remain anonymous:

One of the biggest lies both France and the United States are busy spreading, is that they targeted a chemical weapon research facility and a warehouse designated for storing these weapons. The research facility is located inside the city of Damascus, and if it would really be a facility for producing chemical weapons, then we should have seen a lot of people being killed after the attack, due to the leakage of those chemical materials. But no one died from any leakage, which clearly proves that the West lied.
Also, the warehouse the West targeted is located in the surroundings of the city of Homs, also in the midst of a heavily populated area, but no one died from the leakage there either. Again, it proves that the warehouse was not what the West claims it was.”

*

Instead of falling on their knees, (as the West expected them to do), just a few hours after the attack Syrian people flooded the squares, parks and avenues, dancing on the streets, waving their national flag and celebrating.
In many places, Syrian and Russian flags were flying side by side. They still are. And they always will.
Syria! It is a nation that does not know how to beg, a nation of brave men, women, and children. It will not be defeated, and its victory may soon become the first nail in the coffin of the Western expansionism and imperialism.

Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are his tribute to “The Great October Socialist Revolution” a revolutionary novel “Aurora” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”. View his other books here. Watch Rwanda Gambit, his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “On Western Terrorism”. Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter.

SUPPORT OFFGUARDIAN

If you enjoy OffG's content, please help us make our monthly fund-raising goal and keep the site alive.

For other ways to donate, including direct-transfer bank details click HERE.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

24 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
rtj1211
rtj1211
Apr 16, 2018 12:53 PM

Well, the voices of Syria have not reached Andrew Marr at the BBC. This may be as he has his MI6 earplugs in, but innocent until proven guilty, I say…
I would very much like him to be interviewed by Syrians, as he spends his life never having to be interrogated himself.
I would like those Syrians to explain to him why they support Bashar al Assad as President of Syria. I would like them to explain to him the realities of civil war and what fighting UK/US-backed Jihadis entails.
I would like them to tell him that they understand suffering in a way he never will, but they still support Bashar al Assad being President of their country, a country Mr Marr is not a citizen of, pays no taxes in, does not reside in, does not speak the native languages…..
If they do not support Assad in their hearts, I am sure they will slip him notes to be read upon return to London.
But until proven otherwise, I believe Syrians who say they wish the status quo to remain in office….

summitflyer
summitflyer
Apr 16, 2018 1:46 AM

My heart is with Syria .I send you my love.Stay strong , you will win this war of propaganda from the West .

Harry Law
Harry Law
Apr 15, 2018 4:15 PM

Because of sanctions Iran has to home produce its own military equipment, Iran hopes its Bavar 373 anti aircraft system is operational by March 2018. I hope Hezbollah and Syria also receive these systems ASAP. Why not, Russia has promised Turkey and Saudi Arabia the S400 system? The Iranian Bavar system is an improved version of the Russian S300.
“Iran began to design the Bavar-373 system after Russia suspended delivery in 2010 of at least five S-300s under a 2007 contract. The first images of the system were released by the Iranian presidency in August 2016.The system uses up to three different missiles to hit targets at various altitudes. Iran’s defense minister Hossein Dehghan said in 2016 that it is designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones. “We did not intend to make an Iranian version of the S-300 – we wanted to build an Iranian system, and we built it,” Dehghan said.According to Janes, Bavar-373 is “clearly a unique Iranian system that appears to reflect extensive investment in its ability to develop phased array radars.” Now you see why the US/Israel want to cancel the nuclear agreement, so they can sanction and eventually regime change Iran.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 12:30 AM
Reply to  Harry Law

If Israel attacked Lebanon, in the usual cowardly fashion from the air, expected to inflict the Dahiya Doctrine of total, merciless, destruction on the country, and their gutless pilots were shot from the skies, as Hezbollah’s missile rained down, flights out of Israel would be jammed with those fleeing back to the ‘Promised Lands’ of Crown Heights, Golders Green and Dover Heights.

Google Talpiot Program
Google Talpiot Program
Apr 16, 2018 11:28 AM

Israel has F35s now and is far stronger technologically than it was in 2006.
Israel could deal with Hezbollah with a click of its fingers. That’s just the plain truth of it now.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 11:37 PM

Hasbara tripe-racist and arrogant.

vexarb
vexarb
Apr 18, 2018 10:51 PM

Talpiot. The F35 that Israel said had to be taken out of service because it hit a bird? Or the F35 that US pilots call the Flying Lemon?

Penny Trottier
Penny Trottier
Apr 15, 2018 3:54 PM

So sad hope you do not think all Canadians agree with their government’s decision. I have called BS all along and besides not our business. Sorry Syrians.

mohandeer
mohandeer
Apr 15, 2018 3:38 PM

Reblogged this on Worldtruth.

Penny Trottier
Penny Trottier
Apr 15, 2018 3:55 PM
Reply to  mohandeer

I have been posting all along that any interference by Americans or others is wrong.

Passerby
Passerby
Apr 15, 2018 3:28 PM

“This is a victory for Syria using antiquated equipment”
I strongly doubt that Syria took out most of those missiles; do not forget that Iraq and Serbia were unable to stop Tomahawk waves using similar equipment.
It was all a probing action: Russia got to test some secret toys and US satelittes and were all over the place studying the electromagnetic field in Syria, looking for new types of EW and ECM.

Harry Law
Harry Law
Apr 15, 2018 2:42 PM

Not only must the peoples voices be heard, Putin must now realize that “the West” is out not only to get him, but Iran as well, starting with the low hanging fruit Syria and Hezbollah. The West managed for many years to pursued Russia to do its bidding by refusing to let them arm Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon on spurious ‘balance of power principles and sanctions while at the same time supplying hundreds of billions of dollars worth of arms to Israel and the GCC countries. Laughingly supplying Lebanon for instance with a couple of training aircraft [like Sopwith camels fitted with a gun which when fired produced a flag with bang written on it] now the gloves must come off, supply the S300/400 to all your allies and anything else they need, because the west will keep coming, its in their nature. According to Wikileaks the Saudi plan is to “WikiLeaks Secret Cable: “Overthrow The Syrian Regime, But Play Nice With Russia”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-14/wikileaks-secret-cable-overthrow-syrian-regime-play-nice-russia
Everyone knows why Israel has teamed up with Saudi Arabia and vice versa, both want the axis of resistance destroyed, until both are put in their place there will never be peace. I’m sure Russia know they have no partners with the US/UK and that they [the US/UK] only recognise and respect the use of force, as was apparent when they realised the Russians meant business last week.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 12:35 AM
Reply to  Harry Law

Of course. Extirpating the Evil Wahhabist death-cult and arresting all the Sordid Arabian parasite princelings would liberate the Arabian people. It would remove a very great Evil from the world. And forcing Israel to live in peace with its neighbours, along the 1947 borders, with the expelled Palestinians returned home, would allow Israel to continue to exist, whereas its brutal, racist, terrorist arrogance only guarantees its eventual destruction. In any case peace will be required for the region to find some way to cope with the ecological collapse that is already impacting the region so very badly.

Big B
Big B
Apr 15, 2018 2:38 PM

The West has lost the moral highground it never had: but in hegemonic primacy days it could impose through a bellicose humanitarian imperialism. Who would contend that pre-2015, when the RF returned to the world stage (somewhat prematurely for them, not a minute too late for Syria) Damascus would have been another Fallujah? So Russia-China have re-instated a post-primacy accountability to Syria: which is the focal point, but also to a broader geopolitical scene. They have, in effect, restored a meta-democracy to world politics: which can be no bad thing, considering the slump into superannuity of the (always imperial) UN.
The greatest philosopher of the old Cold War dialectic was Alexander Zinoviev. One of his many themes was that East-West democracy died in 1991; with the fall of the former Soviet Union. This allowed a 25 year window for American hegemony; a chance the PNACers seized and galvanised for with their very own “Pearl Harbour” – 9/11. The resulting false flag manufactured GWOT had rather lost its momentum with fifteen years of perpetual pre-emptive war. It became an unjustifiable and unnecessary expense: maintaining a trillion dollar budget to fight no more than a few hundred thousand (and I’m being generous) stipended Jihadists. [And it is to be noted that the political vacuum of a two-headed war party was the ideological seed bed for Trumpism. #MAGA: just how is that working out?]
It is interesting to note that in the run-up to the RF Syrian intervention: America and Russia were getting on fine …with the Clinton/Lavrov “Russia Reset”; some rather large ‘donations’ from Renaissance Capital Management to Billary’s money-laundering, influence hire-purchase scheme, and uncharitable Foundation; and the yet to be fully investigated, but seemingly dodgy as hell purchase of Uranium One by Rosatom. So the return to Russophobia was not inevitable: it was an ideological decision [made not by the people, the Many, but by the Few. This would constitute a ‘supra-ideology’ in Zinoviev’s terms: an ideology that determines the ideology.]
But I digress. The new Cold War has added a no doubt unintended dimension of curbing America’s biggest bully in the playground hegemony. And boy did they stamp their feet, and throw a Twitter initialised temper tantrum at Damascus and Homs this weekend. And the ex-colonial, desperate to be imperial again Macron and May eagerly joined in …so desperate were they to earn the epithet ‘war criminal’. That this seems to have been a very expensive firework night is not the point. This should be seen as an act of cowardice and desperation, a braggadocio act of capitulation, and perhaps a return to some sort of Cold War dialectical balance? They, FUKUSA, can no longer act as they please: what we have just witnessed was a drama queen reaction to a dynamic shift in power from West to East. Whether that can sustain a post-primacy homeostasis remains to be seen: a dynamic imbalance is more likely. The nascent multi-polar world has just taken its early steps toward maturity?
Not to be complacent: the Putin demonisation program underlying recent events, will continue unabated. But it is, IMO, meant to be a slowburner: an accusation here, a sporting indiscretion there, “another” state sanctioned CW assassination on foreign soil (in the Home Counties “killing fields”?), here [Glushkov next?]; another CW attack by “Animal Assad”, for whom Putin bears responsibility, there; etc. It is longterm consensus building, not a cassus belli. The undeclared war is ideo-cultural and informational: he who controls the inputs to the informational cyber-space controls the mind, so to speak. As such, it is a simulated war against a reverse-blame demonised ‘external’ foe. Well, FUKUSA showed it had no real appetite for regime change, still less for an unsimulated real life war. And the desperation with which the ideologues want to portray Russia as the sole reason for the decline of ALL Western standards, supposedly under attack from without, but in terminal decline because of ideological decisions (to solely benefit the Few; at the expense of the Many) is a mirage. We have little to fear from the authoritarian “dictators” from the abroad; in the form of Putin: everything to fear from a rising crypto-Fascist dictatorship back home. And we, not the Russians, are their real undeclared enemy.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 12:43 AM
Reply to  Big B

The attack by the Zionist Mafias on Corbyn and Labour fits that thesis well, I think. That a gigantic mass movement that recruited more members than any other Party in Europe can be destroyed by a concerted campaign of lying intimidation, by the hard Right elite of the Jewish community, Blairite traitors within, and a fakestream media filthy in mendacity and hypocrisy almost beyond belief sends a clear message. You ‘little people’ are mere ‘human dust’, ‘two-legged animals’ who do not count besides the ‘Gods Upon the Earth’ of the various elites who control the money power, the ONLY REAL power in all capitalist kakastocracies. The UK public are little but Palestinians or Syrians or Libyans, Iraqis, Lebanese etc in the Bosses’s eyes. They obey, remain silent, consume what little they can, then die-anything else is ‘antisemitic’, ‘anti-American’, ‘treason’ or ‘ treachery’ to their Masters.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Apr 16, 2018 4:58 AM
Reply to  Big B

But . . . but . . . what if the idea is . . . oh . . . I don’t know . . . say to strengthen “the position of both Assad and Putin, because [the US, UK, and France] have given them the basis for rallying their own people around them against an external threat?”[1]
Would then the missile attack not also have had the self-same appearance, namely, of seemingly showing that FUKUSA “. . . had no real appetite for regime change, still less for an unsimulated real life war,” while maintaining the illusion that FUKUSA is the mortal enemy of both Syria and Russia and, of course, Iran?
I just read this in an article published by Al Jazeera:
Quote begins:
Despite the pathos with which US President Donald Trump announced the military operation, its result turned out to be less than modest. Putting aside the contradictory reports on how many missiles struck their intended targets, they did not cause any military casualties and failed to inflict any serious damage on Syrian military infrastructure. Compared to the recent Israeli air raid on the T-4 base, the result of the April 14 strikes seems rather insignificant.
In this sense, the US, UK and French strikes were no different from the military action in April 2017, when after the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province, the US bombed regime-operated Shayrat airfield.
The difference this year was that Washington blamed not only the Syrian regime for the chemical attack but also its patron, Moscow. This gave the situation a higher degree of tension, increasing speculations about a direct clash between the US and Russia.
Direct confrontation was predictably avoided, and the whole operation seemed to be no more than a “performance”.
Assad was content
The party that stood to benefit the most from this situation was the Syrian regime and its allies. There was no change in the balance of power on the ground as a result of the strikes and forces loyal to the Syrian regime suffered no losses. [my emphasis — N.P.]
A few hours after the strikes, Bashar al-Assad entered social media politics by posting a video of himself purportedly arriving triumphantly at his workplace in Damascus. Local and foreign media then showed scenes of Syrians celebrating in the streets.
Assad seemed to weather the media speculation storm quite well, too. Last year, the US attacks on Shayrat military base took people by surprise and left the international media speculating on the possibility of more serious US military actions against the regime. This year, after the “perfectly executed” strikes – as Trump described them – it became clear that there is nothing much behind the White House rhetoric except populism.
To Assad, it is clear that the US doesn’t have any strategy to resolve the Syrian conflict and is not even able to employ an effective mechanism to preclude the use of chemical weapons.
Quote ends.
What in all of this seems to be obvious but that I am not seeing?
The Russians fire cruise missiles into Syria, and it helps the Syrian government; The U.S. and Co. fire cruise missiles into Syria, and — wouldn’t you know it — it also helps the Syrian government, and “did not cause any military casualties and failed to inflict any serious damage on Syrian military infrastructure.”
Are the Americans really that weak, incompetent and intimidated?
Or do all of the capitalist states having interests in the Middle East not have a common interest in keeping groups of seemingly restive someones under control?
And doesn’t the restiveness appear to be general throughout the entire region. How are things in Yemen? What Iran? What about in Iraq? And Libya? How’s that working out?
I wonder which is the scarier prospect: losing complete control over the masses of the Middle East or not getting a piece of the economic pie that everyone has already agreed upon behind the scenes, at the level of oligarchical negotiations?

Betrayed planet.
Betrayed planet.
Apr 15, 2018 1:33 PM

It is now the responsibility of the citizens of the U.K., France and the US to demonstrate collectively, courageously and peacefully like the brave Syrians , that we will no longer stand for lies, corruption and subjugation of the truth. I am fully aware that this is an extremely tall order considering the propaganda, addiction, poverty and despair we are currently experiencing under the authoritarian May and Trump regimes.
It was astonishing to wake up today and see the polls showing Corbyn, ( always on the right side of history in his 40 odd years as an MP) on a downward slope. This is I now believe another coup by the authoritarian machine now running the U.K., many of the pollsters are of Tory origin. Where is the collective outrage on behalf of the Syrian people, where is the courage the U.K. once demonstrated against the Nazis? As my now deceased father who treated the casualties WW2 in London used to say, “up in Nellies room behind the clock”.
It is becoming obvious even to those who take little interest in global affairs that the criminality is entirely with the West in their frantic and frankly insane drive to prevent the coming petro dollar economic collapse. They are now capable of anything unless we the people say no more.

rtj1211
rtj1211
Apr 15, 2018 3:38 PM

Opinion polls are 90% fabricated: you decide what result to get then go out and get it. The predetermined narrative was ‘Strong May sees poll bounce’: the polls merely rubberstamp that.

eastangle
eastangle
Apr 15, 2018 10:13 PM
Reply to  rtj1211

YouGov – the home of propaganda:-
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/984832675302330369

summitflyer
summitflyer
Apr 16, 2018 1:48 AM
Reply to  eastangle

Making news the way you would like it to be.

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 11:23 AM
Reply to  eastangle

The question is typically effing moronic. The war was won by ‘the Soviets’, ie Russians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Khazaks, Jews, Georgians etc. For the Right scumbags, the word ‘Soviet’ is VERBOTEN. It scares them!

Neil Youngson
Neil Youngson
Apr 15, 2018 5:21 PM

Opinion polls said Clinton would have a comfortable victory against Trump, and that the Remainers would win the Brexit vote. The polling companies are now part of the propaganda machine, trying to convince everyone that the people support the establishment – we don’t! I believe that the Tories are in for a shock at the next election, and they know it, which is why they try at every opportunity to denigrate Colbyn.
To the Syrian people I say stand firm, there are a growing number of people in the west who know that this is a proxy war being fought by the imperialist and morally bankrupt neocons. We stand with you!

Mulga Mumblebrain
Mulga Mumblebrain
Apr 16, 2018 12:45 AM

Corbyn is sliding because some idiots have been fooled by the jingo campaign, and because others are undoubtedly outraged by his cowardly refusal to act decisively against the swine attacking him and Labour.

Fair dinkum
Fair dinkum
Apr 15, 2018 12:14 PM

The people speak, the leaders spruik.
”Twas ever thus.