To say I am distraught would be an understatement. It would be patronizing to the 325,000 people displaced from Daraa, Syria in the past seven days. Have you heard? If not, you are not alone. When the bombing started on June 19, it was only a trickle of people fleeing, as the jets began pounding the cities with missiles; hospitals, schools and houses crumbled like crackers in the hands of a child. Was that a 4th of July celebrations we saw in Syria? No, it was white-hot phosphorus showered by planes on civilians. The kind that lovingly burns at 5,000 degrees for sixty seconds and melts through metal, flesh and bone like no other element on the planet.
The people of Daraa realized this was the end, and their end if they did not flee immediately. Last Tuesday the earliest estimates were 45,000 people fleeing, then 160,000 by Friday and at latest count well over 325,000 people. The fastest and largest displacement in Syrian history. But what are their options? To run to the north is to walk straight into the jaws of the lion. To the south lies, Jordan and Israel, two countries who have locked their doors to refugees and thrown away the keys. In Jordan’s defense, they have taken in 1,400,000 refugees at a great burden to themselves. They have also opened borders for humanitarian aid. But the situation does not change for the 325,000 IDPs. They are left to wander the hot and merciless desert like Moses in the book of exodus. Tongues dry from a lack of water, food and tears departed. Six children have been killed so far by snake and scorpion bites in the desert.
I am beyond myself with grief. There is not enough ink in my pens to write to the perpetrators of this violence…to the Security Council and governments who turn a blind eye. I suppose living is easy with eyes closed. From these weeks there are so many blind eyes, and lost limbs and broken hearts. So, they shall continue their silent exodus
About UOSSM :
UOSSM (Union des Organisations de Secours et Soins Médicaux) provides free medical aid to the people of Syria regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion or political affiliation. UOSSM international, founded by Syrian Doctors around the world, started in 2012 and operates 12 major hospitals and supports 120 clinics inside Syria. UOSSM has performed over 1,000,000 medical treatments inside Syria since inception.