By I have always had trouble explaining where I came from. Every time I would be asked, I would simply answer “Syria.” The response would be, “Yeah, but where in Syria?”
After struggling to explain the small, mountainous village and seeing a blank face, I would finally say, “It’s on the outskirts of Damascus.” Then I would see a light bulb — but I wish they would understand the significance of my beautiful town, that is used as a vacation spot for many Saudis and other Middle-Easterners.
It is 2016 now, and my small little town has more fame than ever — but it is nothing short of a nightmare. I wish the word Madaya would still bring back blank faces but instead, I see sad pitying eyes stare back at me.
Madaya is a town in Syria that is currently under siege. In January, videos of starved children went viral and through social media, there was enough pressure to force the government to allow aide and food supplies into the blockaded town. Since Jan. 6, these food supplies have fallen short and diminished and cases of Meningitis and a variety of unattended illnesses are appearing.
It is 2016 now, and my small little town has more fame than ever — but it is nothing short of a nightmare. I wish the word Madaya would still bring back blank faces but instead, I see sad pitying eyes stare back at me.
Recently a girl by the name of Ghina was shot in her femur and for 12 days was forced to take dangerous drugs to stop her screaming in agony.
According to Mohammad Alaa Ghanam, the senior political advisor of the Syrian American Council in Washington D.C., “It took the office of de Mistura, the HNC and the media to get her out — that took forever.” Another 22-year-old female, suffered from high fevers that cause her to lose her eyesight.
Their cases were mentioned before Hillary Clinton in Scranton, Pa., by the Syrian American Medical Society. Along with these girls, there is a young boy by the name of Yamaan Alaa Eziddeen, who is suffering from a serious case of meningitis. The 11-year-old boy has little to no medical assistance available and has been featured on a variety of Arabic news outlets to bring attention to his dire case.
This case naturally hits home because of the setting in Madaya, Syria, but this is the most personal case to me because this little boy happens to be my cousin. His uncanny resemblance to my younger brother is ironic considering the luxuries that surround my brother versus the situation that he is stuck in.
A dark reality is the greater value placed on American lives when there is an unfortunate loss. Headlines that will instantly cause an uproar are those that include “American Citizen,” — then describe the atrocity that occurred. And although it may be more rare for these atrocities to occur in America, they should not be trivialized if they occur in a war zone nonetheless.
Every innocent life that is lost causes an equal hurt to all of humanity, and the uproar should be just as loud for these children stuck in the hunger and despair in Madaya.
A dark reality is the greater value placed on American lives when there is an unfortunate loss. Headlines that will instantly cause an uproar are those that include “American Citizen,” — then describe the atrocity that occurred.
As Americans, living in utmost comfort and safety, we might find it difficult to relate to their situations. But their stories should stick with us and we should exhaust all methods to get these stories heard.
For those who trivialize the importance and impact of social media, this story is for you. We have been tweeting, e-mailing the highest of all ranks, and writing articles just like this one.
And today Yamaan and 17 others were evacuated from Madaya to the nearest hospital where they will be given immediate medical attention. This always brings to mind the people that criticize “social justice warriors” on the internet and scold them to get off and “do something.”
The only thing is, we are doing something and it is quite grand. The pen is mightier than the sword but I write to you from the modern pen. Many futuristic novels criticize technology by creating a narrative in which the government controls the people through technology.
However technology, when used the right way, fragments this power and distributes it to every person and gives them the ability to say something. Today, we took this fragmented power and joined it to make one loud voice calling for the safety of these kids. And by God, we were successful.
We are the modern voices and through these platforms, we have the power.
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Written by Gazal Jabir.