'This book has been written in an attempt to turn a collective gaze towards a crisis we have all too readily turned our back upon.'
[Introduction, page i]
'There were even "like" pages for certain units fighting in the FSA. They were just people, the same age as me, some younger, why shouldn't they have Facebook and actively use it? Rather than hearing of a neighbour's breakfast choices, you would instead read about recent movements of troops in the area, or the number of martyrs that had passed that day. In the revolution people were not killed, they were martyred. This was because everyone was fighting and dying for a cause.'
[pp 8-9]
'Assad and his military regularly use barrel bombs throughout the country. They are comprised of barrels packed with explosives and sometimes shrapnel and/or oil, and are dropped from helicopters. Barrel bombs are highly inaccurate, and in built-up urban areas kill indiscriminately. The Syrian Nation[al] Council predicts that over 20,000 people have been killed by them, and despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to their usage earlier this year, incidents involving barrel bombs have only increased. Many believe Assad has intensified such attacks whilst the world's attention has been focused on the threat of ISIS.'
[pp 9-10]
‘After a few hours, the bombing fell silent. I was told that Assad’s forces were specifically bombing at that time, with that intensity, because people would be going to Mosque. At 12.30, on Friday’s, people go and pray and if a bomb were to hit its target, it would maximise casualties.
For Muslims, such an action is a moral and religious outrage. A Mosque is considered holy, and even in times of war it would be assumed to be a place of refuge and safety.’
[p17]
‘Since the start of the conflict in Syria, Turkey, and their current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have passionately called for régime change, and action to be taken by the West and its allies..’
[p24]
'Despite the tragedy and the danger that was all around, there was something rather beautiful about all of it, something quite romantic. It was you and your closest friends, seemingly against the world, fighting for your freedom and willing to do anything to get it. The war itself was hated, but you could feel the connection these people had.'
[p42]
‘My eyes were drawn to a piece of paper with a drawing on either side. On the front was a drawing of a smiling woman playing a drum and surrounded by instruments. On the reverse was a young girl with vibrant red hair sitting contentedly either side of what appeared to be a pair of strawberries. Drawings of happier times, when children did not have to worry about being bombed by Assad’s forces.’
[p56]
‘For Assad and right-wing media outlets in the West, the sight of bearded Muslim men forming militias and attacking government forces appears to tick all the boxes that would justify the use of the label terrorist. But these people are farmers who have taken up arms after years of oppression. Bombed, tortured, and forced from their homes, these people want to be free from the grasp of the dictator that has ruled their lives for decades.’
[pp65-66]
‘The discussion of terrorism prompted the Police commander to remove a phone from his pocket. He said he wanted to show me the terrorism that the state was using against the people of Syria. On the phone, he had a video that showed a man tied up and being attacked, tortured, and subsequently killed by one of Assad’s soldiers wielding a chainsaw.’
[p67]
'As we crossed into Free Syrian territory we entered a chaotic scene. The sight of various groups of camouflage-clad military men greeted us, an abundance of roadside shops and stalls were present, and a host of makeshift refugee camps had been established.
A man offered us a ride into Azaz. He and Abdulrahman spoke as we slowly drove into the city passing destroyed buildings, burnt out tanks and cars, and upturned lorries. Almost everything in the city appeared to be rubble, at least in the districts we were visiting. Outside of war films, I have never seen never seen devastation like it.
A child was playing amongst the rubble of a building where just a few months previously as many as 75 people had been killed. Where once there was a thriving, bustling community, now there was only devastation. The concrete jungle, which had been home to so many, had become a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape. There was no glory, and no glamour to be found.'
[pp 88-89]
‘We sat and drank chai, and ate fresh oranges from their garden. Basel told me that the man was born in 1937. His father had previously fought for the house, and he refused to leave, even if Assad’s tanks were quite literally at his front door. All alone, in their house on top of that hill, the couple was resisting Assad in their own personal way.’
[pp132-133]
‘This group of soldiers were the first line of defence, and miles away from any other FSA fighters. They had no tanks, no military vehicles, and very little in the way of home comforts.’
[p135]
‘The media only shows you what they want you to see, so you have to turn to eyewitnesses and first-hand accounts. When these eyewitness accounts show deliberate targeting of civilians, the practice of torture, the use of barrel bombs, and evidence of communities being starved of food and water, you begin to get a better understanding of what is going on. When such accounts number in the hundreds and thousands, it becomes abundantly clear that what the Syrian government says is happening is, in fact, far from the reality.’
[p144]
‘In a shameful example of giving a platform to Assad, the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen visited Damascus in February 2015 to conduct an interview. Despite numerous questions, on a range of topics, not once is Assad confronted and his version of events challenged.’
[p190]
‘Though I do not believe military intervention to be the right course of action, I do believe some sort of intervention is required. It could take the form of a no fly zone, it could mean creating humanitarian corridors, or it could mean creating buffer zones where citizens can relocate to, safe in the knowledge they will not be caught up in any fighting. Ultimately the fight for freedom belongs to Syrians. As Mikheil Saakashvili states: “The main forces of change come from within society. Some support from abroad is nice. But nobody can come from abroad and do your own job.” ‘
[pp194-5]
