I hate violence, but this regime seems incapable of understanding any other language. But, perhaps there is still time for a last ditch effort to avoid sanctions and violence. Perhaps there is still a chance for quiet diplomacy to work. Continue reading “My two heretical bits!”
Author: Ammar
A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.
The Heretic’s Son!
My son, Mouhannad (14), is afraid of the 9th Grade exams: he’s afraid he won’t pass. Yet, his father is too busy courting “death by media,” among other means, to give him the attention he deserves.
Mouhannad is, in many ways, a typical product of the Syrian school system, a system based mainly on rote memorization with minimal interest in developing analytical skills. As a result, Mouhannad knows all the rules of Arabic and English grammar and all the rules of math, but, and no matter how many private tutors we assign, he does not know how to apply them. He simply does not know how to analyze. Continue reading “The Heretic’s Son!”
Death By Media
My death-wish seems to be rearing its ugly little head again. I am simply giving too many interviews and statements to journalists who seem to be flocking in droves to my doorstep these days. One told me that the word is out that I am simply committing “death by media.” I asked him what that meant, he said that my outrageous statements on developments in Syria, and my frank opinions with regard to its leaders are simply going to get me in major trouble soon. Continue reading “Death By Media”
Assad wins street victory but not the war
“This is a dictatorship without a dictator,” a Damascus-based Western diplomat said. Ammar Abdulhamid, a human rights activist, agreed: “It’s a mafia. The capo di tutti capi has died but Michael Corleone [the tough son in the Godfather] is missing and Fredo [the weak son] is in charge.” … Abdulhamid, who has avoided prison so far, said: “It [the regime] is going to come crashing down. They are wishful dreamers if they think they can carry on. They are relics. They have lost their survival skills.”
