{"id":20487,"date":"2014-02-01T04:26:52","date_gmt":"2014-02-01T09:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=20487"},"modified":"2014-02-05T18:30:36","modified_gmt":"2014-02-05T23:30:36","slug":"starvation-a-twisted-example-of-the-assad-regimes-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/starvation-a-twisted-example-of-the-assad-regimes-terrorism\/","title":{"rendered":"Starvation: a Twisted Example of the Assad Regime’s Terrorism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"starvation

Images of people who allegedly starved to death in the Yarmouk neighborhood of Damascus<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

by Matthew Barber<\/p>\n

A fabulous documentary about the situation of children in Syria is being shown on Canadian and British television. The documentary, “Children on the Frontline<\/strong>,”\u00a0 will be available for viewing for a limited time online, but unfortunately only for viewers in Canada<\/a><\/strong> or the UK<\/a>.<\/strong> The documentary contains enlightening\u00a0footage of life inside war-torn neighborhoods of Aleppo, and interviews with a number of children who talk about their experiences living on the frontline of the Syrian war. One little girl talks about how she searches for salvageable scrap metal that she brings home to her father who makes bombs. She describes, as though it is perfectly ordinary, seeing the head of a man split open when a bomb in their workshop was accidentally detonated. Another girl, about 5 years old, relays\u00a0a dream of being surrounded by a circle of snipers who begin opening fire on her. “They hit me here, here, here,” she says, touching her body in the places where she dreamed the bullets hit. The scene that brought tears to my eyes was seeing several sisters searching through abandoned homes, looking for weapons. The harsh juxtaposition of the world of children and the world of war is\u00a0depicted so clearly: One of the girls\u00a0is carrying a gun and they are discussing finding weapons, when suddenly they become distracted by a stash of little toys and stuffed animals they discover. The gun is laid aside as colorful little bears and plastic balls are examined. Their older sister then won’t allow them to remove the items from the house, because “it would be stealing” from the people who own the house. The mother of the girls explains on camera that she won’t allow her children to loot anything from any home, whether it had belonged to regime-aligned people or not.<\/p>\n

A well-known activist named Aboude is also profiled, who lives in Aleppo and is 13 years old. He began taking\u00a0the courageous stance to criticize the government openly, at school, two years ago when he was only 11. No one put him up to this; his parents were against his involvement in activism, but he has been leading protests ever since. The documentary also examines the plight of the area that is now threatened by al-Qaida-linked Islamists who punish even the most stalwart revolutionaries for “un-Islamic” behaviors. The area in which the documentary was filmed is an FSA stronghold at the edge of rebel territory, directly adjacent to regime positions. Though sniper fire is a serious threat, one of the fighters explains that\u00a0“being close to your enemy is the safest place to be,” because aerial bombardment is unlikely on the frontline where rebel positions are so close to regime forces. In addition to daily confrontations with regime forces,\u00a0the people of the area now\u00a0have to contend with the threat of kidnappings by al-Qaida rebels who target even the most\u00a0committed activists who pioneered dissent in the early days of the uprising. Those who follow events in the country have known for a while that this has been a growing problem, but there are still plenty of FSA-controlled areas that are\u00a0feeling increasingly\u00a0hampered by the oppressive involvement of ISIS members\u00a0who are more interested in imposing their own religious norms than in uniting with rebel forces to provide defense. (A significant example of this occurred this week when Raed Fares<\/strong>, the man behind the famous protest artwork that comes out of Kafranbel, was shot<\/a>\u2014likely by ISIS\u2014but survived\u00a0the assassination attempt.)<\/p>\n

[Update: the video was made available for now on Youtube: http:\/\/youtu.be\/rYWiOsvBRTk ]<\/p>\n

Something evident in the area depicted in the documentary, still controlled by FSA forces, is that food is available. Other areas of resistance that become surrounded or captured by the regime do not remain so fortunate.<\/p>\n

Over the past month or more,\u00a0a high number of\u00a0photos and narrated accounts\u00a0have emerged that present evidence of horrific levels of suffering, due to starvation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Starvation is a weapon of torture employed against the regime’s opponents; it is\u00a0less about any military strategy but more about collectively punishing political enemies and breaking the will of those who defy the state. Starvation in Syria has been taking place in two contexts: 1)<\/strong> opposition areas that fall under regime control and are subsequently blockaded, food supplies being prevented from entering these districts, and\u00a02)<\/strong> prisoners in custody who are not fed by their captors.<\/p>\n

Over\u00a0the course of the\u00a0Geneva peace talks<\/a>, the regime’s narrative was\u00a0unsurprising. It highlighted instances of terrorism\u00a0committed by jihadists\u00a0and then\u00a0portrayed itself as trying to combat the terror problem. Even as we near the beginning of the 4th year of the conflict, regime figures at the talks would not acknowledge that their opponents were Syrian or\u00a0that a great portion of the\u00a0Syrian population does not\u00a0recognize Assad\u00a0as president. They portrayed their own narrative as “the Syrian side” or “the Syrian story” implying that contrary views were not Syrian. For regime\u00a0proponents and\u00a0members of the Ba’athist cult of unreality,\u00a0a Syrian is not someone\u00a0originating within the geographical bounds of the historical place called Syria; to be a Syrian, one must embrace and\u00a0endorse the rule of the current state, as defined by the rulers.<\/p>\n

The Guardian reports<\/a> that during the Geneva talks this past week, nearly 1,900 people have been killed in Syria. Allegations of blockades that result in starvation continue, reportedly occurring in\u00a0multiple locations within the country. In addition to the accounts of starvation, Human Rights Watch yesterday released a detailed report on the Syrian regime’s systematic use of punitive housing demolition<\/strong>\u2014the destruction of entire neighborhoods\u2014over the last two years. The report can be accessed here: “Razed to the Ground<\/strong><\/a>.”<\/p>\n

After\u00a0hearing the tired\u00a0yet predictably\u00a0deceitful language propagated by regime figures at the Geneva talks, it is important to remember that yes, terrorism has been rampant among many Syrian rebel factions\u2014typical in asymmetrical warfare, and in this conflict often directed at sectarian targets\u2014but nevertheless, no single player in the conflict\u00a0has utilized\u00a0terrorism as\u00a0widely\u00a0as the Syrian regime.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The places currently under siege in Syria that we could identify\u00a0(that may experience\u00a0the risk of a lack of food or from where reports of the absence of food have been received) are: Babila, Beit Sahem, Duma, Harasta, Zamalaka,\u00a0Deir al-Asafir, Mukhayam\u00a0Yarmook, Yelda, al-Mo’adamia,\u00a0Daraya,\u00a0Qabuun, Jobar, Berzeh, Homs, Homs al-Qadima, al-Qasour, al-Qarabiss, Jorat al-Shayah, al-Waer, Rastan,\u00a0Telbissa, Hola,\u00a0al-Dar al-Kabira, Qal’at al-Hosn,\u00a0Zara.<\/p>\n

The following are a few of the examples of\u00a0starvation\u00a0that have been circulating recently.<\/p>\n

An old man from Rif Dimashq (Damascus countryside or suburbs)\u00a0cries while talking\u00a0about <\/a>the imposed blockade\u00a0and the\u00a0inability to find food.<\/p>\n

Starvation in the Yarmouk Palestinian neighborhood of Damascus, showing recently deceased emaciated body and an emaciated man still alive:<\/p>\n