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Images of life and death from Syria
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Content
Images of Life and Death from Syria
By
Diana Nemeh
A thesis presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
Copyright 2014 Diana Nemeh
ii
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Michael Parks, Sandy Tolan, and Bill Yahraus for their help.
iii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iv
Chapter One: Introduction 1
Chapter Two: Entering Syria 3
Chapter Three: Darkoush Bombing 4
Chapter Four: Internally Displaced People 6
Chapter Five: A Christian Village 8
Chapter Six: The Way Out 9
Bibliography 10
iv
Abstract
The following documentary is a journalistic broadcast piece that presents
human stories from the ongoing war in Syria. For about a year, the Northern part
of the country has been under the control of the armed opposition. The proxy war
in Syria gave rise to the most tragic humanitarian disaster of our century. Camp
Sheikh Wadi Issa, where one thousand and five hundred families live in tents
overlooking the Orontes River, is a perfect example of the impact of war on
civilian lives. More so, life in the camp reflects the continuous struggle of Syria's
children, where they lack access to food, drinking water, and basic first aid
supplies. A tragic event unfolds upon my arrival to a town called Darkoush,
where a car bomb claims a number of innocent lives and leaves many injured.
The hospital in Darkoush, setup by Africa's largest relief organization, Gift of the
Givers, reaches more than one hundred thousand people in the Idleb region
providing treatment and operation procedures on daily basis. The piece
documents the presence of The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Al-Qaeda
affiliated group in Darkoush at the day of the bombing attack. Four million forced
to flee the country, the exiting options through the Syrian Turkish border could be
strenuous and life threatening. In this broadcast piece, I was able to document
some of the common routes and methods refugees use to get through the border
by crossing the Orontes river.
1
Chapter One
Introduction
What started as a peaceful protest in Syria back in 2011 against the regime of
Bashar Al-Assad, part of the Arab Spring, has grown into a full blown civil war that
claimed over one hundred thousand lives, displaced more than six million internally, and
left more than three million refugees dispersed in neighboring countries.
Back in 2012, the northern part of the country bordering Turkey was liberated
from the Syrian government forces after a series of fierce fighting between the Syrian
military and rebel forces from the Free Syrian Army. Syria is listed as the number one
danger zone for journalist and aid workers in the world. Recently, I was able to visit the
northern part of the country, specifically, the Idleb region and report on the situation of
current events taking place. More so, with a focus on the Internally displaced people.
Antakya, Turkey –
Hours before entering Syria, I get a phone call from my fixer
informing me that the town I was supposed to enter has witnessed a car bomb at 8:30
a.m. Most of the internally displaced were victims of airstrikes launched by the Syrian
government. Clashes on the ground also pose a threat to families and their children,
leaving them displaced.
The camp Sheikh Wadi Issa for the internally displaced, lacks the basic means for
survival, such drinking water, food, and first aid supplies. The children suffered different
illnesses, and almost all are stripped off of their basic right of education. On my
assignment, I was able to document and report the strenuous journey most Syrians had to
take in order to flee into Turkey.
The clashes between different factions on Syrian ground forced thousands of
Christians to relocate. For the few left in the Idleb region, such as in both villages Al-
2
Yakoubia and Quneia, locals receive daily threats from unknown factions on the ground.
In the midst of chaos and lack of law and order, the northern part has become notorious
for hundreds of kidnapping cases reported by locals from unknown factions on the
ground.
3
Chapter Two
Entering Syria
The Syrian Uprising grew out of the Arab Spring of 2011 with the beating and torture of
thirteen children, who called for the fall of the Bashr Al-Assad regime. Since then, it has
grown into a full-blown civil war, claiming the lives of an estimate one hundred thousand
people and leaving four million homeless.
Northern Syria, held by a mix of foreign Islamist rebel groups is one for the most
dangerous parts of the country. Jihadist groups have warned western aid workers and
journalists that they are subject to kidnapping an execution.
Recently, Syrian journalist Diana Nemeh crossed the Turkish border into Northern
Syria to investigate the conditions of thousands of displaced people there, especially
children. Here is her report.
As we approach the city of Darkoush, we do not know what to expect. Just last
October; six Red Cross aid workers disappeared on a mission to deliver aid in the North.
We heard it was relatively calm in Darkoush, but when we arrived, ready to cross, our
guide Hassan tells me there had been a car bomb that had gone off in the center killing 33
people and injuring 147, all of them civilians. “It happened around 8:30 a.m. this
morning. A peak time of the day at the local market.”
(Sheikh, 2013) We were not sure
whether to go in, but we decided we would.
4
Chapter Three
Darkoush Bombing
Checkpoint after checkpoint, we passed through eighteen of them before reaching
the town. We had to hide our cameras. But, the turbans and accents of the fighters at all
checkpoints showed they were clearly from Saudi, Iraq, or other Gulf countries. Like this
ma man the car, or the black flags notoriously used by Al-Qaeda as a symbol of their
presence on the ground. Later that day, locals from Darkoush confirmed to me that these
checkpoints belonged to the ISIS –
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an Al-Qaeda
affiliated group as in this YOUTUTBE video. There was hardly any presence of the Free
Syrian Army brigades we had expected. Like many Syrians, our driver Abdullah suffered
a great loss. “My grandson got injured from an airstrike that hit their house in Aleppo.
The child had open sores all over her body. We struggled to get him medication, it was
expensive. The Doctors said the child has developed skin cancer. We raised money on
Facebook to send him abroad. And A day before his flight to Germany, he died.”
(Abdullah, 2013)
We reach Darkoush. It is utter chaos. The car bomb had created a wave that left
no building intact within a hundred meter radius. No one claimed responsibility for the
attack. A young man digs frantically, believing someone may be trapped underneath. He
found only pieces of the body. “Is this what the Arab country and the west wants? Where
are the Muslims to help us?”
(Hazem, 2013) “About 30 martyrs died from the bomb
blast. There are approximately 60 missing.”
(Abou Ayman, 2013)
Hours after the incident, the hospital floor was still covered with bodies. For most
there was no hope, their injuries were too severe.
Those who might survive were taken to Turkey across the border for treatment.
5
The doctors tell me it will be a long night in the operating rooms. Dr. Ahmad Ghandour,
a 36-year-old surgeon, returned to Darkoush after it came under the control of the armed
opposition.
One third of Dr. Ahmad’s patients are children. Unfortunately, some could not be
saved. Like this local Darkoush worker, who is undergoing constructive surgery. His son
was not among the survivors of that morning’s bomb blast. “We have many
specializations, such as urology, as orthopedic, as vascular, as general surgeon and
general surgery, this hospital not as field hospital. One week he will forget all his pain,
just one pain will stay that he lost his son.”
(Ghandour, 2013)
These images uploaded by activists on YOUTUBE around the country document
cases of children’s death. Torn apart by air strikes from the regime forces, slaughtered in
massacres, and killed by mortar shells. Or, even starved to death as suggested in this
YOUTUBE footage. The starvation reports emerged from besieged areas and people
trapped in clash zones, like the Damascus suburb of Al-Muadamiya. According to the
United Nations and the world food program. “Each day that passes, without the parties
upholding their most basic obligation, results in more lives lost, more people displaced.
Fighting continues to intensify across the country and its impact on civilians continues to
grow each day. Estimated 2.5 million people are trapped in hard to reach areas have not
been reached for almost a year.”
(Amos, 2013)
6
Chapter Four
Internally Displaced People
The doctor offers to take us to a nearby camp for the displaced. Donations of meat
will be taken to the camp Wadi Issa valley, 20 miles south of Darkoush. The displaced
are in dire condition, the doctor says, especially the children.
Sheikh Wadi Issa overlooks the Orontes River. Dr. Ahamd says the area is
relatively safe. It is protected from air strikes by high cliff walls, even though it lies about
a few kilometers away from a recent major battle site. These tents on each side of the
river are the only home for fifteen hundred Syrians seeking refuge from clash zones.
Before the war, these families lived in towns. Their children attended schools. They and
their parents owned land and houses. Now, here they are forced to lead a nomadic life.
The camp manager tells me how difficult it is to even provide basic assistance
such as food, drinking water, and first aid supplies. Inside the tents conditions are
miserable. Bugs crawl on the tent floor. “There are people here who can not even afford
to buy bread. Now, since it is olive harvest season, the women leave their children here to
go pick up olives. They are forced to do so in order to earn some money and feed their
children.”
(Abdullah, 2013)
Inside the tents conditions are miserable, bugs crawl on tent floor. The pillows are
infested with fleas. At night, the children tell me they fight over blankets. “Look all I
have to wear is these pants, no new clothes for the Eid. I do not even have slippers. We
need some footwear. And we miss our school.”
I ask the children “Are you all siblings?”
“Yes.”
I ask them “How do you spend the day here?”
“We work, like picking tree
branches for the fire. And we collect water.”
(Raghad, 2013)
The only source of water is this river that runs through the valley. The kids drink
7
straight from it. Children are barefoot and some hardly with any clothes. Almost all are
suffering from skin ailments and chronic intestinal infections from drinking straight out
of the river. Abeer shies away from showing her face to me. She then agrees for me to
film her. “I don’t know what happened. I never had such lesions on my face before.
Suddenly, I got them two days ago.”
(Abeer, 2013) Before the war, Abeer was in 11
th
grade, but she keeps up hope that one day she will go back to school again.
The source of their drinking water and ailments keeps rising. Soon, it may force
them to move again. But, for some people here, this river is a lifeline. “When I was about
to start school in 6
th
grade, and airstrike by the Assad Forces hit out home. They hit us
with two explosive barrels. So, we got out and we left our home town.”
(Najem, 2013)
Najem spends his days transferring people from one side to the other. He receives
pennies in pay, earning an equivalent of one dollar a day. He is 13 years old. The weight
strains his body. He pulls the float up and down the river more than a 100 times a day. I
ask him “Is the float too heavy for you?”
Najem says, “Sometimes my hands get sore that
it hurts so much.”
“What do you feel like doing the most?”
Najem says, “I want to go back
to our house. It is better for us. It has been three years since we left home. Once, we
stayed in Armanaz. After that, we moved again. We also stayed in Ayn –Al Zarka. And
then we moved to Darkoush, then here.”
I ask him “Why did you have to move so often?”
Najem says, “Every time clashes broke out, we had to leave.”
I ask him “What do you
want to become when you grow up? Najem says “When I grow up, I want to be a big man
and carry my rifle, so I can defend myself.”
(Najem, 2013)
8
Chapter Five
A Christian Village
Before exiting Syria, we visited a place where there are no children left. A village
known to be inhabited by Syria’s Christian minority. All that is left are empty houses,
churches, and a monastery. Standup “
This is one of the last monasteries still functioning
in the Idleb Province. According to the rebels, it has been liberated about a year ago from
the regime forces. However, people here have told that they are facing an everyday
challenge by staying in this region as Christians. Recent kidnappings of people and the
lack of humanitarian resources are the challenges that face them every day.”
The Abbot
is afraid to speak on camera. He tells me we are caught in the crossfire and targeted by
Al-Qaeda affiliated groups. Few months ago, a local rebel was able to negotiate their
departure from the village. He tells me at first, the locals refused to see this civil war as a
religious conflict. Now, that is changing. Like this GRAFFITI scrawled on the church
wall, the slogan proclaims that Islam is the only religion. The situation is chaotic; those
who kidnap are not caught, or held accountable.
9
Chapter Six
Exiting Syria
Like the two million Syrians who fled the country to save their lives, half of them
children, it is our turn tonight to exit. But, since we entered illegally through
humanitarian pathways setup by activists, Dr. Ahmad tells me we have to cross the river
in a metal float shaped like a barrel. He assures me it will be quick, under cover of
darkness. He transported hundreds of his patients himself across the border in this barrel.
We turn our thermo cameras on, and scrunch down to the bottom of the float to avoid
being seen. We could be shot at by the Turkish patrols at any second. There is no time for
thinking or hesitating. For us, or for anyone fleeing Northern Syria, that is the only way
out.
10
Bibliography
Abdullah Ahmad, Interview by Diana Nemeh, Idleb province, October 6, 2013.
Abdullah Ahmad. Interview by Diana Nemeh, Idleb province, October 7, 2013.
Abeer Al-Ahmad, Interview by Diana Nemeh, Shiekh Wadi Issa, Syria, October
7, 2013.
Ahmad Ghandour, interview by Diana Nemeh, Darkoush, Syria, October 9, 2013.
Abou Ayman, interview by Diana Nemeh, Darkoush, Syria, October 6, 2013.
BBC News Middle East, “Syria: The story of the conflict.”
BBC, March 14, 2014,
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868.
Father Elias, interview by Diana Nemeh, Al Qunaiya village, Syria, October 9,
2013.
Hassan Shiekh, interview with Diana Nemeh, Darkoush, October 6, 2013.
Hazem, interview with Diana Nemeh, Darkoush, Syria, October 6, 2013.
Karunesh. “Alibaba,”
from Budha Bar II. MP3 file. Downloaded October 15,
2013. iTunes.
Najem, interview with Diana Nemeh, Shiekh Wadi Issa, Syria, October 7, 2013.
OCHAfilms, “UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos briefs the Security Council
on Syria.”
Video clip, accessed, January, 1, 3014. YouTube. www.Youtube.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=B9dQ9IdhXj8.
Omar Faruk Tekbilek. “I Love You”
from Budha Bar II. MP3 file. Downloaded
October, 15, 2013. iTunes.
Raghad Al Abdullah, interview by Diana Nemeh, Shiekh Wadi Issa, Syria,
October 7, 2013.
SNN Shaam English News, “Syria Damascus rural City Children Starve to
Death.”
Video clip, accessed December, 29, 2013. YouTube. www.Youtube.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKmw6xT2WjU.
11
“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”
Video clip, accessed December 29, 2013.
YouTube. repost March 02, 2014. Accessed, January 1, 2014. YouTube.
www.Youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN63kL4KhyI.
Truthloader. “Syria chemical weapons –
Sarin gas attack near Damascus?”
video
clip, accessed December, 29, 2014. YouTube. www.Youtube.com,
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home?page=statistics.
UNHCR, “Number of Syrian refugees tops 2 million mark with more on the way.”
UNHCR, September 3, 2013, http://www.unhcr.org/522495669.html.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
The following documentary is a journalistic broadcast piece that presents human stories from the ongoing war in Syria. For about a year, the Northern part of the country has been under the control of the armed opposition. The proxy war in Syria gave rise to the most tragic humanitarian disaster of our century. Camp Sheikh Wadi Issa, where one thousand and five hundred families live in tents overlooking the Orontes River, is a perfect example of the impact of war on civilian lives. More so, life in the camp reflects the continuous struggle of Syria's children, where they lack access to food, drinking water, and basic first aid supplies. A tragic event unfolds upon my arrival to a town called Darkoush, where a car bomb claims a number of innocent lives and leaves many injured. The hospital in Darkoush, setup by Africa's largest relief organization, Gift of the Givers, reaches more than one hundred thousand people in the Idleb region providing treatment and operation procedures on daily basis. The piece documents the presence of The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Al‐Qaeda affiliated group in Darkoush at the day of the bombing attack. Four million forced to flee the country, the exiting options through the Syrian Turkish border could be strenuous and life threatening. In this broadcast piece, I was able to document some of the common routes and methods refugees use to get through the border by crossing the Orontes river.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Nemeh, Diana
(author)
Core Title
Images of life and death from Syria
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Specialized Journalism
Publication Date
04/07/2014
Defense Date
04/04/2014
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Civil War,conflict,internally displaced people,North,OAI-PMH Harvest,Refugees,reporting,Syria,War
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Parks, Michael (
committee chair
), Tolan, Sandy (
committee member
), Yahraus, Bill (
committee member
)
Creator Email
diananemeh@yahoo.com,nemeh@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-373161
Unique identifier
UC11296451
Identifier
etd-NemehDiana-2324.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-373161 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-NemehDiana-2324.pdf
Dmrecord
373161
Document Type
Thesis
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Nemeh, Diana
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
internally displaced people
reporting