Abdulaziz and Muhammad Sukar. Two cousins from Syria that have made it to Jordan and escaped the dangers raging in Syria at the moment. There are thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan located either in refugee camps or around in the various cities. These two shabab are part of a center that helps other people who have arrived from Syria in whatever needs they have. I wish I could be more involved in the actual humanitarian work with the refugees here but because of how the laws are in Jordan we are actually rather limited in what we are allowed to do. However... I have been able to talk to these two guys, who are roughly about the same age as me, and listened to what they have to say about the revolution in Syria.
I think in general, despite the fact that I have been lucky enough to travel a lot in my life, that I have more or less been rather sheltered. The news hasn't really been a very large part of my life and although I have known logically that the things I see on the news are real it hasn't really penetrated much deeper than that.
I remember reading about the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the American Revolution and it was fascinating history, but it was history and impersonal. Everything became a lot more real to me when the revolution in Egypt happened. I watched the news and recognized streets I had been walking down only a month before, I saw buildings I had passed and a square full of protesters that I had taken a taxi to almost weekly. And I worried about my friends there. There were people involved that I knew and it wasn't just the news and now looking back at it I don't feel I am remembering an unattached history.
Being here and talking to people from Syria is once again making things more real for me. While talking to Abdulaziz and Muhammad about mundane things like hobbies and interests we got into the topic of music and they told me about one of their favorite songs of the moment. They are more the typical Dubstep and Rap kind of guys but this song was more traditionally Arabic. It is called "Ya Haif" (O Shame) and was the first song written and published about the Syrian Revolution.
They translated the lyrics to me eagerly but also very somberly and it was obvious that the song really meant alot to them. They explained that when the song was first played on the opposition channel many of the people listening to the song cried, and as they translated the words I could understand why.
It tells about the first attack in Syria that was the trigger for the uprising that spread throughout the country. It started in a little village close to the border of Jordan. A group of kids, all about 10 years of age, were caught writing anti-government slogans on a wall and taken into custody. According to the two Syrians the stories about exactly what happened to the kids differs but they told the version they believed of how the kids were tortured for days, despite the plea of the parents that they were too young to have understood exactly what they were doing. When the parents asked the police (loyal to the Assad Regime) to return their children they responded that if they didn't know how to get new children the men could send their wives to them and the police would show them. These details aren't mentioned in the song but it talks about people turning on their brothers and betraying trust and killing without feeling. Whether or not the above story is true or it has been exaggerated in an attempt of opposition propaganda I do believe that the situation in Syria has been bad and the government has treated its people poorly. I have no idea how the revolution will end and if it will make a difference but I do hope my friends Abdulaziz and Muhammad can get their lives back, finish the studies and be reunited with their families in an area where they don't have to fear for their lives.
I think in general, despite the fact that I have been lucky enough to travel a lot in my life, that I have more or less been rather sheltered. The news hasn't really been a very large part of my life and although I have known logically that the things I see on the news are real it hasn't really penetrated much deeper than that.
I remember reading about the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the American Revolution and it was fascinating history, but it was history and impersonal. Everything became a lot more real to me when the revolution in Egypt happened. I watched the news and recognized streets I had been walking down only a month before, I saw buildings I had passed and a square full of protesters that I had taken a taxi to almost weekly. And I worried about my friends there. There were people involved that I knew and it wasn't just the news and now looking back at it I don't feel I am remembering an unattached history.
Being here and talking to people from Syria is once again making things more real for me. While talking to Abdulaziz and Muhammad about mundane things like hobbies and interests we got into the topic of music and they told me about one of their favorite songs of the moment. They are more the typical Dubstep and Rap kind of guys but this song was more traditionally Arabic. It is called "Ya Haif" (O Shame) and was the first song written and published about the Syrian Revolution.
They translated the lyrics to me eagerly but also very somberly and it was obvious that the song really meant alot to them. They explained that when the song was first played on the opposition channel many of the people listening to the song cried, and as they translated the words I could understand why.
It tells about the first attack in Syria that was the trigger for the uprising that spread throughout the country. It started in a little village close to the border of Jordan. A group of kids, all about 10 years of age, were caught writing anti-government slogans on a wall and taken into custody. According to the two Syrians the stories about exactly what happened to the kids differs but they told the version they believed of how the kids were tortured for days, despite the plea of the parents that they were too young to have understood exactly what they were doing. When the parents asked the police (loyal to the Assad Regime) to return their children they responded that if they didn't know how to get new children the men could send their wives to them and the police would show them. These details aren't mentioned in the song but it talks about people turning on their brothers and betraying trust and killing without feeling. Whether or not the above story is true or it has been exaggerated in an attempt of opposition propaganda I do believe that the situation in Syria has been bad and the government has treated its people poorly. I have no idea how the revolution will end and if it will make a difference but I do hope my friends Abdulaziz and Muhammad can get their lives back, finish the studies and be reunited with their families in an area where they don't have to fear for their lives.
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