Tag: Genocide

150 Syrian refugees ‘disappear’ in Greece

150 Syrian refugees ‘disappear’ in Greece | Europe | World Bulletin.

Sweden and, to a certain extent, Germany have set a good example for how Europe should deal with Syria’s refugees arriving onto her shores. Bulgaria, Italy and Greece are setting a bad one. The United States, reflecting the thinking of her President, remains of a few minds about the situation. Meanwhile, hundreds of Syrians die every day and thousands join the ranks of refugees as the world turns its back, insistently, as if by doing so the problem would just disappear. On this Christmas Days, let me just say: “Fuck You World.”

What makes Syria’s ‘barrel bombs’ so scary

What makes Syria’s ‘barrel bombs’ so scary.

In his comment on the use of the term “Barrel Bombs,” Eliot Higgins, AKA Brown Moses, says via Twitter: “It’s like calling it a ‘barrel bomb’ makes it some special extra powerful bomb, when it’s basically a piece of crap.” My reply, also via Twitter was: This “piece of crap” has killed 87 children in one week, who gives a damn how crude they are? I have no doubt where Eliot’s sympathies lie, but sometimes experts lose sight of what’s really at stake. It’s the on-the-ground activists who first coined the term Barrel Bomb, and its use is causing terror, mass dislocation and mayhem all over rebel-held areas. This crude device has proven quite effective in bringing down buildings on top of their inhabitants killing hundreds, including scores of children. Its use shows how determined Assad and his backers, domestic and foreign, are in seeing their genocidal venture through.

Syria, South Sudan & The Genocides Yet To Come

I have been arguing for months now that the Syrian genocide and the way the Obama Administration has (mis)handled it are bound to inspire similar developments across the region and far beyond. I believe that the situation in South Sudan promises to be a case in point. Yes, the potential for such tragic developments there is inherent and organic, but this can be said of myriad instances across the world, which is exactly why the Administration needed to quickly contain developments in Syria and not allow them to devolve to where they are now. Apathy in the face of mass atrocities and genocide cannot but inspire more of the same. Before Obama leaves office, we will probably have a dozen such conflicts unfolding simultaneously.

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