Rebel Mother Resisted until the End before Fleeing Syria to Lebanon
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The wife and mother of Syrian rebels, Fadia refused to leave her war-torn country until the very last minute despite the violence ravaging her home city, the capital Damascus.
But she finally made the decision to go, pushed by her son who feared for her safety if the United States decided to launch military strikes against President Bashar Assad's regime over a suspected poison gas attack.
"Leave. I'm staying here," he told his mother in a final meeting after Fadia had spent seven days having to negotiate with rebels in the war-ravaged Barzeh district of the Syrian capital.
So the 36-year-old, accompanied by her two youngest children, joined the wave of desperate refugees entering Lebanon, Syria's neighbor that is bearing the biggest brunt of this humanitarian disaster.
The United Nations said Tuesday that more than two million Syrians have fled the bloody violence in their country -- eight times more than a year ago -- and 716,000 of these are now in Lebanon.
And with the looming threat of a U.S.-led strike against the country as U.S. President Barack Obama lobbies Congress for approval that could come as early as next week, the stream of refugees shows no signs of abating.
The sheer number of people fleeing Syria is a problem for Lebanon, which refuses to set up camps for fear that the refugees will settle permanently.
Sitting in a tiny charity center in Masnaa, the border crossing with Syria, Fadia recalled with tears in her eyes the loved ones she left behind: her father, her 18-year-old daughter, her two grandsons and the rebel child.
"I held onto him, I didn't want to let go of him," she said, describing the moment she bid him farewell.
"But it had become intolerable, especially for my two youngest children.
"Women are raped, innocent people are massacred. We would choke on the putrid whiffs coming from decomposing bodies," she said.
Her district in Damascus had been almost completely deserted of inhabitants amid fighting between armed forces and rebels.
Married when she was 14 and the mother of four children, her eldest son Tareq fights with the Ahrar al-Sham rebel group.
Her husband was the first to take up arms, but he was wounded in the leg and smuggled into Lebanon where he is slowly recovering.
The only one among the new arrivals who accepted to talk to Agence France Presse, Fadia looked resigned, her lost-looking 11-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son clinging onto her black coat.
The other refugees who came to fetch a basic basket of supplies at the welcome center clammed up straight away at any attempt to engage them in conversation.
"They're scared because the Syrian regime has networks in Lebanon and... they fear for their families left in the country," one humanitarian worker said, refusing to reveal his name.
For Fadia, the prospect of a U.S.-led strike on the country was the last straw after suffering for several years in a brutal armed conflict that began in March 2011 with a rebellion against the Assad regime.
"It was an additional reason to leave the country, on top of hunger, of fear and deprivation," she said.
Omar Mohammed al-Louays, who heads up the charity's welcome center, said his team used to help around 40 to 60 Syrian families a day before the suspected poison gas attack hit Damascus suburbs on August 21, allegedly killing hundreds.
"Since then, the number ranges between 80 and 120 families a day," he said, adding that most refugees pass through his center, which belongs to a Lebanese charity financed by Qatari benefactors.
05 September 2013, 20:51
510
allah ykoun ma'ik .....in a few years it will be all worth it...what you suffer now, your children will reap later .....freedom is not free....
05 September 2013, 21:52
511
Get the hell out of Lebanon. FSA-Al Qaeda terrorists and their families are NOT welcome in Lebanon and you are a drain on Lebanon's economy and society.
06 September 2013, 00:44
40
The roar, you have no idea how many 14 year old shia girls and younger there is that have been "sold" in to marriage in lebanon, iraq and iran. Many alawites in syria were married at a very young age as well. So i dont get why you focus on "this sect" and ignore others who do/have done the same. Not long ago, christians as well would marry very young, it still happens in the middleeast and elsewhere among the poor so instead of being a bigoted fool, how about seeing things from its true perspective. Even virgin mary was about 12 years when she gave birth to jesus. Have you ever read the old testament and its views on young girls? Blaming this on one sect is ignorant since it occurs within many religions, sects and cultures. You know this but you saw an opportunity to take a cheap shot at muslims.
05 September 2013, 23:53
84
unfortunately, the times haven't caught up with part of the world. It isn't uncommon to hear of 12 year olds being married, although that has trend has decreased dramatically the last dozen years or so. it is still sad though. :(
06 September 2013, 00:53
103
The roar attacks Islam. What a shameful behaviour. By attacking this poor woman, he's also attacking the holy virgin Mary, mother of God daughter of Joachim and Anna who married Joseph (who was muuuuuch older) between the age of 12 and 14.
The roar is disrespectful of other's traditions. I don't encourage such things, but it is important not to judge and to respect others.
06 September 2013, 01:19
410
benzona, please do show me in the Bible where you have this information?
Unless you are referring to a pseudepigraphical book called the "gospel of James"? That books is widely rejected as a fabricated 2nd century writing, which has not been written by who it claims to be, and very obviously rejected by the early church fathers (since it is not part of the Canon of the Bible). Sadly, people still use it as if it is authoritative. Some of the Catholic theology is based on passages in that book.
Please, read the Bible. There is no mention of Mary's age, or who her parents were.
06 September 2013, 01:39
93
True, or not, it was the tradition back then to get married around that age. I'm not going to follow the Vatican blindly. If you do, you're free to do so. You may or may not know that the current physical representation of Christ is totally inaccurate. He looks European..... Yet people back then had short hair and beards.
Anyway, all of this is irrelevant. I was saying that the roar was being disrespectful and intolerant towards Islam. It's a shame to have such 'lebanese' among us. He said I quote «you wouldn't waste a spit on this sect». What do you think of this?
06 September 2013, 01:23
48
The Roar, normally I agree with all your posts but please brother, not really fair to tarnish a whole sect over one families stupidity to marry their daughter at age 14. We should remember that it is very common in the west, Australia included, where 14 year girls are prone to consuming alcohol at a young age and to participate in sexual activity and in many cases with parent knowledge. Is it fair to chastise the whole western community, I would think not. Having said that, I think it is time that the Sunni sect does begin to address the wahabi influence that is tarnishing them. For the critics, yes I know my shia sect needs to look in the mirror as well regarding some issues.
06 September 2013, 11:04
24
what a silly comment banikharoof! nobody is preventing refugees from escaping conflict zones.
06 September 2013, 11:12
24
regarding the article, i find it cheesy and misleading.
first, rebels have mothers, but soldiers do too, and all the civilians who were slaughtered by the takfiris and alqaeda had mothers and children too. this article make no reference to them or to the tens of thousands of Kurds who had to flee to escape massacres.
second why say the "resisted until the end" ? that would imply she died resisting. actually she resisted until she fled
third, if she is escaping hunger, war, rape, why did she leave behind "her 18-year-old daughter, her two grandsons" !?!?
all this sounds like cheesy propaganda to humanize rebels, who are nothing more than a bunch of fanatical murderers, rapists and looters.
06 September 2013, 14:23
41
Mowaten, just be honest, are the syrian army soldiers not fanatical murderers, rapists and looters? How can you forget all the lebanese that have been murdered or raped by the assadist soldiers? Supporting the assad clan and his army is worse than supporting the rebels since assads filth have comitted tens of thousands more crimes.
06 September 2013, 14:25
41
Also did it ever occur to you that her daughter is married and stayed with her husband?
06 September 2013, 15:21
23
what's you logic here? are you saying that alleged crimes 30 years ago justify the present ones by the rebels?
and if the daughter is married, does that make her less susceptible to rape than an old woman? are the two grandsons less susceptible to murder and hunger? if she "resisted to end" and "fled" because it became unbearable, how come her young daughter and two toddlers can bear it?
06 September 2013, 18:14
03
cityboy...all the sects needs to stay at home ...I refuse to be identified by my religion which should a private matter between me and what I believe in....for most of us , our religion is inherited as our name and our ancestors....realizing that most muslims in traq and syria and lebanon were in fact CHRISTIANS before the FATAH of the prophet , isn't that so? some of our ancestors decided to join islam - mostly because thay wanted to keep their head on their shoulders- and other escaped to the mountains because they could or because they lived there...so religion is mostly inherited and the earlier we learn that we should appreciate GOD without adding sunnis, shia's , maronite.orthodox ....to it , the better it would be. I doubt GOD cares much of what sect you are ......
