A R A B I C A ارابيكا

SYRIA, STATE OF SIEGE
*Al Jazeera broadcast footage from an empty Jisr al-Shughour. The camera rolls through deserted streets of the northern Syrian town, and then shows aerial footage of hundreds of people literally heading for the hills to escape a military encirclement. The network does not have a presence in the town, but is relying on video clips taken by Syrians on the ground.

*The opposition is calling for more protests Friday as Syria's Interior Ministry issued a direct warning to citizens not to participate "for their own safety." Here, an Abu Ghraib-style trophy video of Syrian soldiers kicking, stepping on, harrassing and humiliating men who are blindfolded, tied up and face down on the ground. Then the soldiers gather for a picture while standing on top of one of the men. "You're cooperating with Israel," says one of the soldiers while kicking a blindfolded man in the side.

*In this "citizen's report" posted by the Syrian Revolution Facebook group, a man interviews dozens of men, women and children who have fled Jisr al-Shughour. "They have left everything behind," the interviewer says, adding that they are outside the town and close to the Turkish border.

*Question to the group: "Why are you here?"

Answer: "We are under siege by the army, intelligence services and thugs," says one man. "And the thugs are wearing civilian clothes."

Answer: "No electricity, no water," says one woman.

Answer: "The hospitals are not open, and there is nowhere for the wounded to go. If they find someone wounded, they'll kill him," says the man. "There is no bread, no milk for babies."

Question: "Why is this happening to you, why is this happening to the Syrian people?"

Answer (in unison): "We're asking for freedom and dignity."

Under the clip, one commenter writes, "may God poison your soul, Bashar – you and your band of thugs."

A HEAVY PRICE
*A photograph is circulating of 19 caskets containing the bodies of Egyptians killed during the revolution, who have finally been identified. The killers "will pay a heavy price," writes the administrator of the "We are all Khalid Said" facebook group. "The death penalty for Mubarak," writes one commenter below the image.

June 9, 2011

photo credit: illustir