Damascus Trade Fair and Festival of the Cross Mark the Return of Peace to Much of Syria

A Maaloula fire spinner during the annual September Festival of the Holy Cross in Maaloula, Syria. Eva Bartlett | In Gaza

Eva Bartlett attends the Damascus International Trade fair and the annual Maaloula Festival of the Cross to see how Syrians in areas liberated from jihadi rule are defiantly celebrating their new found freedoms.

September 24, 2018, Mint Press News

by Eva Bartlett

DAMASCUS and MAALOULA, SYRIA — (Report) In April 2018 I returned to Syria, visiting recently-liberated areas in eastern Ghouta and also travelling to the southern village of Hadar — which at the time was under continual bombardment by terrorists just to the south, with the assistance of Israel and its observation towers over the region.

My focus last April and May was highlighting this media-neglected issue, but also going to the site of the concocted and yet-unproven allegations of a chemical weapons attack. Indeed, as I wrote, no one at the hospital in question, nor the people of Douma I spoke with on the street, believed a chemical attack had occurred. Instead, they were more concerned with detailing the horrors and starvation they had lived under the rule of Jaysh al-Islam and other terrorist factions.

So, the focus of my last visit to Syria, which has been warred upon for the last seven years, was in highlighting the crimes of the terrorist factions against civilians, but also the crimes of the Western and regional nations promoting war propaganda and baseless accusations against Syria and its allies.

In early September, I returned to Syria for more uplifting reasons: to attend two important annual events that in recent years were interrupted due to terrorism: The annual Damascus International Trade Fair and Maaloula’s annual Holy Cross Festival.

Addressing The Rebel’s Distorted and Lying Report on The Toronto (2018) Al Quds Day Protest

 

On Al Quds Day in Toronto, Canadians from many faiths and backgrounds came out in solidarity with Palestinians who have been and continue to be brutally oppressed by Israel. Notably, in recent months elite Israeli army snipers have gunned down unarmed Palestinian protesters, including medics, photographers, children.

Corporate media describes these as ‘clashes’ and thrusts blame on Palestinians, who are protesting for their basic human rights.

See my: Israeli violence against Palestinians will never end as a result of UN & US hypocrisy

The pro-Zionist channel, The Rebel, issued a distorted report on the peaceful Toronto protest, a protest which included numerous informative speeches–speeches not included in The Rebel’s report.

This video is my correction to some of the most egregious statements and lies of The Rebel’s report.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the myth of sectarianism in Syria

In his latest interview, with RT’s Murad Gazdiev, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed the question of whether Sunnis are oppressed in Syria, as corporate and Gulf media so often allege. President Assad replied:

“…the first narrative when it started, internationally–mainly in the West of course–and within Syria, in some mainstream media’s in our region and in the West, their plan was to create this rift within the society that will make things easier for them when you have such a civil war, kind of civil war, between sects or ethnicities. And it failed.

 

Now, they keep using the same narrative at least to encourage some fanatics in different places in the world to come and defend their brothers in this area, cause that’s how they imagine that there is conflict between sects. So, because of their narrow-minded way of thinking, maybe or their ignorance, they came here just to support their brothers.

 

Now, if I’m going to tell you this is right or wrong, your audience doesn’t know me, they don’t have any idea maybe about my credibility. I’ll tell you, you know Syria very well, it’s better to go and see the reality on the ground.

 

If there’s such a narrative, let’s say, in reality sects killing another sect, Syria should be divided now according to sectarian line.

 

…Now, in Damascus, in Aleppo, in Homs, in every area under the Syrian government control you will see every spectrum of the Syrian society with no exceptions. This reality will debunk this narrative. I mean yeah how could they live with each other while the government is killing them, according the sectarian basis? It doesn’t work.”

 

 

President Assad’s words prompted me to reflect on the secular Syria I have seen on eight trips to the country, since first visiting in April 2014. Below, I share related articles, posts, photos and short clips, just a glimpse of secular Syria, where faiths are respected and where most Syrians, if asked about their faith, reply “ana Souri”, I am Syrian.

Elijah J. Magnier: Developments in Ghouta, Afrin, and Corporate Media’s Shameful Reporting on Syria

On March 11, 2018, I was joined again by courageous journalist and analyst, Elijah J. Magnier, who was in Syria. He addressed developments in eastern Ghouta and in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin–where Turkey has been waging an illegal month and a half-long bombardment operation, killing hundreds of Syrian civilians.

Episode #221 – ‘Trouble Over There’ with host Patrick Henningsen & guest Eva Bartlett

February 11, 2018, 21st Century Wire

“This week the SUNDAY WIRE broadcasts LIVE as host Patrick Henningsen discusses this week’s top stories from the US, Europe and beyond. In the first hour we’ll cover the this week’s frightening trifecta: the the downing of an Israeli jet by Syria Army, the US airstrike in Syria which killed roughly 100 Syrian coalition forces, and the shoot-down a Russian fighter jet by terrorists in Idlib, Syria. We’ll also cast a protruding eyeball on Adam Schiff’s struggling ‘Russian Collusion‘ investigation in Washington and flesh out the latest.

Later in the first hour we will be joined by special guest, independent journalist Eva Bartlett, to discuss her recent UK tour, as well as breaking events in Syria, the sate of the western mainstream media and its role in fomenting conflict…”

Listen to “Episode #221 – ‘Trouble Over There’ with host Patrick Henningsen & guest Eva Bartlett” on Spreaker

Syria Interviews with Sean Stone on Watching the Hawks

Two parts to an interview done with Sean Stone on Watching the Hawks in October, 2016.

-Putting a Human Face to Suffering in Syria w/ Eva Bartlett, Oct 18, 2016, Watching the Hawks (shared on their Facebook page)

-A Different Perspective on Syria w/ Eva Bartlett, Oct 20, 2016, Watching the Hawks (shared on their Facebook page)

Please Support My Syrian Voices Book Project

*photo: Resilience of Syrians, Old City of Homs, December 2015.

As many readers will know, I have visited Syria four times, between April 2014 and December 2015—independently on a journalist’s visa and as part of two peace delegations. When in Syria as a writer, I visited key places—including liberated Homs and Ma’loula, terror-bombed regions of Homs, and the Yarmouk district, which has been focus of slick propaganda by anti-Syria corporate media and so-called human rights groups—and have conducted numerous interviews, with Syrian political and religious leaders, as well as Syrian civilians.

I have taken many photographs and videos, collected numerous personal testimonies, undertaken my own research and investigations, visited hospitals and refugee centres, and—in every area that I visited—have conversed with Syrians about what they feel is the cause of the problems in Syria, the solution, and on their insistence for Syria’s sovereignty, and on their support for the Syrian Arab Army and their president.

In the months since my last trip, I have been transcribing interviews and testimonies and writing articles based on them, writing about my personal impressions based on my visits to Syria, and challenging the latest corporate media lies and propaganda campaigns.

I will be returning to Syria, as soon as possible, and for that I must ask for financial assistance to make this trip possible. [see:  Syrian Voices Book Project on GoFundMe ]

Why am I compelled to go to Syria?

In order to write a book that prioritizes Syrian voices from Syria: truths from some of the most highly-misrepresented, lied about or plainly ignored areas of Syria.

To do justice to the full spectrum of the stories of Syrians as told by them, it is essential that I visit areas I not previously been to, areas that have been liberated since I was last there and areas that are enduring especially egregious suffering—such as in Aleppo under terrorist bombs.