7 Questions That Syrian Mom Trapped in Besieged Town Answered on Reddit
The latest updates out of the besieged Syrian town.
— -- As part of our ongoing communications with a mother trapped with her family in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, there was a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' session held this afternoon, allowing people from all over the globe to hear from inside the situation.
Here are a selection of some of the exchanges. To see the full AMA, click here.
I'm so sorry you're trapped. How do you keep your family sane and calm?
The reality is my children have forgotten what it means to be calm and comforted since this inhumane campaign was launched against our town. They are petrified by any little sound they hear.
It is soon five years since the civil war in Syria started. Could you describe these years from your perspective?
This topic always brings out tears before words.
Three years ago I lost my father to a tragic accident. Four months and 10 days after that, we lost the one who had become like father to us, my eldest brother. He was killed in a car bomb.
I was pregnant at the time and thought I would miscarry I was so distressed.
Our tears barely dry from one wound and then another wound is inflicted.
This July, my youngest brother was killed. He had taken up arms when the siege was enforced but only in self defense, to protect the people of the town from the armed attacks we've been subjected to. The post he was guarding with his friends was shelled. His friends got hit. After he rescued the first one, when he got back to get his other friend, a sniper shot him dead.
I'm sorry to hear the pain in your story. What are your thoughts about the future?
Our outlook on the future is very limited. We only think about one thing and that is when will the siege be lifted are we going to live to see that moment or are we going to die in these dire circumstances. We used to, in the past, plan and dream and seek a future for our children. We used to discuss a bright future for our children but now all we say is "if the siege is lifted, we are going to do this," or "if the siege is lifted, we are going to go there." We no longer plan for the future.
What will you and other people in Madaya do if and when the siege is lifted? Do people there have somewhere else they can go?
Everyone only dreams of one thing now, and that is to leave Syria. And that is because of the suffering they have gone through and because everyone in Syria and in the international community has let them down. No one has championed us-- they have left us alone, exposed to the fangs of oppressors as they tear away at our children's flesh. Without anyone lifting a finger.
When you are out on the street, does the Syrian government military intermingle with you? What are those interactions like?
Government forces are not in the town. They are at the entrances of the town. If someone tries to go to them and requests to be allowed to leave town, they order him to go back into town. If the people refuse to go back in, they become aggressive and have hurt people and those who attempt to sneak out of the town are either shot by snipers or they step on landmines.
What will you and other people in Madaya do if and when the siege is lifted? Do people there have somewhere else they can go?
Everyone only dreams of one thing now, and that is to leave Syria. And that is because of the suffering they have gone through and because everyone in Syria and in the international community has let them down. No one has championed us-- they have left us alone, exposed to the fangs of oppressors as they tear away at our children's flesh. Without anyone lifting a finger.
Does Madaya Mom think that international NGOs are effective?
International aid groups are not as effective as they could be, in my opinion as a mother who has lived through this suffering, because they were not able to deliver aid at the right time. They were very late and that led to many people starving to death including women and children.
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