Monday 2 March 2015

ASU student: I went into Syria months after Kayla Mueller


PNI asu zana syria humanitarian visit

 "You cross that fence and you're in a completely disheveled country," Alattar said. "You have refugee tents as far as your eye can see, people who fled their cities and homes. In the distance you can hear the bombing and what's going on in the cities. It's not exactly comforting but you know the work you need to do needs to be done by someone." The moment they passed through that gate, an imaginary clock started ticking. They had to be out of the country by 4 p.m., Alattar said, because that's when the bombing usually starts. "That was a big thing that was nerve-racking to me like, OK, the bombing starts at 4 so you need to get me out, but what about everyone else who stays on the other side of the border? The bombing is going to continue," Alattar said. They sped toward the sister hospital, where Alattar "saw things that you literally could see in horror movies." This Syria was "night-and-day different" from the one she had visited three years ago. The hospital, in an abandoned school, was the last near the border before Turkey. It was the only place people getting injured from bombings in nearby cities could go; Alattar said wounded resisters can't go to government hospitals because they'll be killed. Doctors, dentists and engineers who chose to stay in Syria were working at the hospital for free.A young Romanian had driven into Syria with them to visit the hospital, a blue-eyed, blonde-haired man who had delivered three truckloads of water, cleaning supplies and food into Syria the other day."When we got into hospital everybody was like 'Hide this guy! Hide this guy! Don't let him in'" Bitar said. "Everybody was scared for his life because of ISIS. Everyone knows if you are American-looking or Western-looking you are in danger."

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