Syria. Will the killing ever end?

By Russell Chapman

i realized that the main stream media isn't giving the full picture of what is happening in syria. so i went there and met as many people as possible, from defected generals and senior members of the rebel opposition, including members of jabhat al nusra. i'm particularly interested in the reasons why many in the international community have no interest in seeing this conflict come to an end any time soon.

it isn’t a long book as I wanted to distill the essence of my experience, observation and analysis of my time in syria. it is quite hard hitting in places and hopefully thought provoking, you also find information you won't find in the media.

like many others, i also had very little experience with islam before I went to syria so i also looked into the role of Islam in what is happening along with the dangers of religious extremism.

if you enjoy having a personal insight into different cultures and understanding why syria is in such a mess then my book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Russell Chapman
• Release date: Jun 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301927531

Russell Chapman

Brief HistoryBorn in Erith Kent at the end of 1957, I moved to the Cathedral City of Canterbury at the age of five, where I attended the local grammar school.I studied mathematics at Bristol University followed by successful careers in accounting, sales and marketing.Married in 1989 to Dianne, we and our cat live in a small village in West Cornwall.My extensive travel experiences include flying on concord, cruising on the QE2, and riding on the Orient Express.AuthorI achieved a lifelong ambition, when I published my first book ‘Roads of Destiny – First Chronicle of Gaia’, in October 2014. Started writing early in 2014; sadly, it was not finished prior to myfather’s death in April that year. Although a fantasy novel, parts of story reflect my personal experiences and those of others I have known.Emotionally writing this first book proved a difficult experience, as I trawled through life’s experiences both distant and recent. Some memories were good and some amusing. Other memories were dark and depressing probably best forgotten.There are two more books in the pipeline ‘Dark Cornwall’ and ‘The Demon’s Assassin – Second Chronicle of Gaia’.Favourite BooksCoral Island by R. M. Ballantyne was the first serious book I read. During my early teenage years, encouraged by my grandfather, I read the entire works of Charles Dicken’s. I enjoy a variety of book genres, my preferences being fantasy, sci-fi and historical novels. My favourite series of fantasy books are the ‘The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson’. Others include the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Sci-fi novels there are too many great books to mention. Sharon Penman’s Plantagenet series are among my favourite historical novels.Favourite MusicMy musical interest are broad including country, heavy rock and soul. My favourite singer / songwriters include Johnny Cash, with his many dark lyrics, and Bruce Springsteen.

Book preview

Syria. Will the killing ever end?

by Russell Chapman

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Russell Chapman

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Introduction

As I write, the war in Syria has been going on for just over 2 years. Usually, when there is a revolution, such as in Libya or Egypt the revolution is over after a few months, so the question has to be raised as to why this revolution is taking so long. What is really going on inside Syria? I wanted to find out and spent the best part of 2 months in Syria as well as visiting Jordan and Lebanon to see what is really happening. One of the things that has amazed me is how incomplete are the news reports, they really only skim the surface of what is a very complex situation.

As well as looking at the daily life of the Syrian people both in Aleppo and the refugee camps, both inside Syria as well as in Jordan and Lebanon I will also go deeper into what is happening with regard to the political situation. I was given free and unfettered access to many of the leadership of the revolution, taking time to get to know them and discussing in detail what they think will be the future of Syria. Also very important is the role of Islam in Syrian society, What I saw was a society and people who value their tradition and religion and want to have a society that is open for all. I had the opportunity to get to know four Sheikhs, that is religious leaders. The main thing that came across is the fact that they have no extremist view whatsoever, in fact Syria has a history of tolerance, before the Assad regime, all the different groups, Sunni, Shia, Christian, Jew, Kurd, Druze and Alawite lived together without problem

Chapter One

After weeks of preparation, the time had come. I was going into Syria. I would cross with my good Syrian friend Abou Maen, we were both so eager to go after all the preparation we had made. The plan was to cross the border from Turkey to Syria from Kilis. While waiting for our contact Mohanned, I had time to see what what was happening at the entrance to the refugee camp on the Turkish side of the border. There was a sizeable group of Syrian refugees hanging around outside. It was not possible to get a look at the inside of the camp, you need an electronic pass to enter, so only those registered at the camp can come and go. I did have the chance to chat with one man and ask him about life inside. He told me that it is difficult, the Red Crescent deliver food every fifteen days but it is only sufficient to feed a person for ten days. I asked him how it was possible to live. He said that a lot of people do small jobs when they can, to get the money to buy extra food. I asked him what sort of jobs he did, he went quiet for a moment, looked at me, and said quietly that he smuggles cigarettes, not big time, but enough to pay to feed his family. I looked at him, and thought to myself, if I was in the same situation then I guess I would do something similar, how can you watch your family go hungry?

After about an hour Mohanned arrived, he came from the Syrian side to meet us, he was to be our contact in Aleppo, honestly I don't think there isn't anyone in the north of the country that he doesn't know, in his late twenties, very intelligent and articulate, he would become a good friend, saying that, I very nearly killed him the next day, but that will come later. Going to the Turkish border control we hit a problem, Mohanned is registered as a refugee in Turkey, he has a sister in the camp and so needs to be able to get in to see her. When he pulled out his passport he also accidentally let be seen his refugee card. The border police were never going to let him cross after seeing this, it was quite frustrating and I was wondering if we would get across with him. In the end we decided that Abou Maen and I would cross with a taxi driver and he would come across by bus. The border police are much more lax about bus passengers so after half an hour or so he arrived. The actual border crossing for me was quite a moment, going from peace into a war zone in just a few hundred meters. On either side of the fenced off road of the border crossing, the Turkish have laid out a mine field on their side, anyone trying to cross into Turkey except by the road will be either blown up or shot, they are very strict about controlling entrance into their country from Syria. Seeing the Syrian flags as we drove along, gently fluttering in the breeze, those green, white and black horizontal stripes with the three stars, telling me I was about to enter a very different world from the peace of Switzerland where I now live.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect, I tend to live by the motto 'expect the unexpected' and mentally tried to prepare myself for whatever I might see. The first stop was the Bab al Salam refugee camp which is directly at the border. Translated into English, Bab al Salam means 'gate of peace', quite ironic really! A huge sprawl of white UNHCR tents spread out before me, rubbish littering the ground. The sun was out and it was pleasantly warm, but looks are deceiving, this part of Syria had just come out of one of the hardest winters in living memory, very wet and cold and a fair amount of snow. Now the ground was dry, but I can imagine how much of a quagmire it must have been and how difficult to keep your family warm while living in a tent. People use small camping stoves for cooking, or if they are lucky, they have a small wood burner with a metal tube chimney poking out of the door. Obviously it isn't the best idea to have any sort of fire inside a tent, but what choice do the people have. There are accidents and tents catch fire. I was told that it takes about eleven seconds for a tent to catch completely on fire, also the problem is that many of these tents are very close together, so if one goes up then it will take several others with it, people die.

I must