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Haleb Diary: Abdo, Yousef and the Armenians
hetq
12:44, August 14, 2012
By Vahakn Keshishian
Abdo lives in the Skkari district. The name of this street has been in
the news of late. It's a street that no one outside the area had ever
heard of before recent events exploded in Syria.
Skkari seems to be the next target of the opposition armed forces
after retreating from some areas they had controlled in Haleb of late.
They need a new base from which to launch their attacks against
government forces.
Abdo rushes back home to his eight member family. He's heard that the
Syrian Army is about to enter Skkari. It's a news blackout in Haleb.
Nobody really knows for sure where the official army is or the `Free
Syrian Army'
Their locations are all based on where the shooting is coming from and
the white plumes of bomb blasts. So, according to were the shots are
coming from and the bomb blast echoes, you either flee your house or
run back to it.
This morning there was news that the official army had recaptured the
Aleppo Citadel after days of heavy shelling. (It is considered to be
one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the
Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium
BC). Located smack dab in the center, the fortress remains the most
strategic position overlooking the entire city and is ideal for
artillery shelling.
From the fort General Soubhi speaks to the the losses inflicted
on the `terrorists' and that they have regained control of the city.
But it doesn't talk about the outlying districts. All Haleb residents
know that these areas are being controlled by opposition groups who,
despite being splintered, are united in their anti-official army
stance.
In fact the `Free Syrian Army' is a catch all phrase under which a
number of disparate groups operate; for example, Islam Victory and the
Union of the Devotees.
Some of these groups have international links and, in addition to
weapons, also receive their manpower from the outside. Others are
purely local groups that have been set-up to defend this or that
village.
Naturally, in those areas where such local groups operate and enjoy
the support of the local residents, no missile or helicopter gunship
can break the ranks of the opposition.
The opposite picture operates in areas where the weapons come from the
outside and foreign interests are at play. There, the regime can let
loose with firepower on towns and villages alike.
Abdo's family decides to leave Skkari for a village on the outskirts
of Haleb. The grandfather has been trying to convince the family to
relocate for a month now. They hesitated since the family is so large
and tried to tough it out in Skkari. Today, they decided to leave. The
sound of the bombs and bullets had become so intense that it was
impossible to stay.
Yousef works in Der Zor at a bakery. He's not from the city proper and
belongs to a large clan. Most of the family live in the villages. It's
located some 25 kilometres from Haleb and has a population of 5,000.
About 100 are armed and they take their orders from the village elder
who lives some 50 kilometres to the southeast, towards the Iraqi
border.
The armed villagers don't get involved in the larger political game.
One of them, who related all this to Yousef, said that he had been
made an offer to fight in Haleb for money but that he had refused
since the village head forbade it.
Abdo from Haleb and Yousef from Der Zor both know about the Armenians.
Abdo says the Armenians aren't deeply connected to what's going on and
that they can easily leave the country if warranted.
I should note here that a few weeks ago a bus headed for Armenia was
stopped by some armed militant a few kilometres from the Turkish
border. The militants entered the bus and seeing there were Armenians
on board on the way to Armenia, they let it continue on.
However, after getting off the bus, one of the militants remarked -
`fleeing is being half a man'
So what should the Armenians do? Stay or flee? Flee to Armenia, Lebanon?
If they stay in Haleb should they arm themselves? What's the `manly'
thing to do?
While some Armenian leaders have more or less made up their minds some
are opposed to Armenians leaving Haleb while others are more
interested in exploiting the situation for political gain.
Nonetheless, the Middle East is too small of a place to hide from one
another. Who should go where?
Yousef says he has many Armenian friends and confesses that before
graduating from school he hadn't heard of Armenians. Gradually, he
learnt that they are Christians and had gone been subjected to
genocide.
But Yousef still wasn't sure about their political leanings. `Are the
Armenians with Bashar or against him, he asked.
From: A. Papazian
hetq
12:44, August 14, 2012
By Vahakn Keshishian
Abdo lives in the Skkari district. The name of this street has been in
the news of late. It's a street that no one outside the area had ever
heard of before recent events exploded in Syria.
Skkari seems to be the next target of the opposition armed forces
after retreating from some areas they had controlled in Haleb of late.
They need a new base from which to launch their attacks against
government forces.
Abdo rushes back home to his eight member family. He's heard that the
Syrian Army is about to enter Skkari. It's a news blackout in Haleb.
Nobody really knows for sure where the official army is or the `Free
Syrian Army'
Their locations are all based on where the shooting is coming from and
the white plumes of bomb blasts. So, according to were the shots are
coming from and the bomb blast echoes, you either flee your house or
run back to it.
This morning there was news that the official army had recaptured the
Aleppo Citadel after days of heavy shelling. (It is considered to be
one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the
Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium
BC). Located smack dab in the center, the fortress remains the most
strategic position overlooking the entire city and is ideal for
artillery shelling.
From the fort General Soubhi speaks to the the losses inflicted
on the `terrorists' and that they have regained control of the city.
But it doesn't talk about the outlying districts. All Haleb residents
know that these areas are being controlled by opposition groups who,
despite being splintered, are united in their anti-official army
stance.
In fact the `Free Syrian Army' is a catch all phrase under which a
number of disparate groups operate; for example, Islam Victory and the
Union of the Devotees.
Some of these groups have international links and, in addition to
weapons, also receive their manpower from the outside. Others are
purely local groups that have been set-up to defend this or that
village.
Naturally, in those areas where such local groups operate and enjoy
the support of the local residents, no missile or helicopter gunship
can break the ranks of the opposition.
The opposite picture operates in areas where the weapons come from the
outside and foreign interests are at play. There, the regime can let
loose with firepower on towns and villages alike.
Abdo's family decides to leave Skkari for a village on the outskirts
of Haleb. The grandfather has been trying to convince the family to
relocate for a month now. They hesitated since the family is so large
and tried to tough it out in Skkari. Today, they decided to leave. The
sound of the bombs and bullets had become so intense that it was
impossible to stay.
Yousef works in Der Zor at a bakery. He's not from the city proper and
belongs to a large clan. Most of the family live in the villages. It's
located some 25 kilometres from Haleb and has a population of 5,000.
About 100 are armed and they take their orders from the village elder
who lives some 50 kilometres to the southeast, towards the Iraqi
border.
The armed villagers don't get involved in the larger political game.
One of them, who related all this to Yousef, said that he had been
made an offer to fight in Haleb for money but that he had refused
since the village head forbade it.
Abdo from Haleb and Yousef from Der Zor both know about the Armenians.
Abdo says the Armenians aren't deeply connected to what's going on and
that they can easily leave the country if warranted.
I should note here that a few weeks ago a bus headed for Armenia was
stopped by some armed militant a few kilometres from the Turkish
border. The militants entered the bus and seeing there were Armenians
on board on the way to Armenia, they let it continue on.
However, after getting off the bus, one of the militants remarked -
`fleeing is being half a man'
So what should the Armenians do? Stay or flee? Flee to Armenia, Lebanon?
If they stay in Haleb should they arm themselves? What's the `manly'
thing to do?
While some Armenian leaders have more or less made up their minds some
are opposed to Armenians leaving Haleb while others are more
interested in exploiting the situation for political gain.
Nonetheless, the Middle East is too small of a place to hide from one
another. Who should go where?
Yousef says he has many Armenian friends and confesses that before
graduating from school he hadn't heard of Armenians. Gradually, he
learnt that they are Christians and had gone been subjected to
genocide.
But Yousef still wasn't sure about their political leanings. `Are the
Armenians with Bashar or against him, he asked.
From: A. Papazian