Citizens Evacuate from One of Syria’s Most Targeted Towns


Summary

On
October 13, 2013 the Syrian government and rebels called a ceasefire in
Moadamiyeh, a suburb seven miles south of Damascus, allowing residents to
evacuate. This video documents the exodus of men, women, and children, carrying
their belongings in suitcases and plastic bags as they head down the main road
out of the town.

Human
Rights Issue

In
a region wrought with conflict, it is hard to believe any one place could be
called the “
city of death,” but Moadamiyeh, has become
just that. As one of the first areas to rise up against Assad’s regime,
Moadamiyeh is among the government’s most targeted areas in Syria. Along with
several other Damascus suburbs, it was the site of the infamous August 21
st chemical
weapons attack that killed an estimated 4,000 people. But just as harmful as
attacks, citizens of Moadamiyeh have suffered a 10-month blockade on the town,
consisting of government checkpoints and snipers lining the highway, creating
an impermeable barrier keeping residents in, and aid, food, and medical
supplies out.

According
to a 
report by the
Syrian International Media Alliance (SIMA)
, at least 3,000 residents suffer from malnutrition,
the majority of them children. 
This disturbing
video
 
compiles footage from local hospitals showing children
dying of starvation.

Recently
however, government forces and rebels arranged ceasefires to allow civilians to
evacuate. One woman who left Moadamiyeh told the 
BBC, “We didn’t see a piece of
bread for nine months. We were eating leaves and grass.” Thousands of residents
have fled the town to find refuge elsewhere, though many have also 
reported
violence during their exodus
, as the ceasefire breaks down.

Behind
the Camera

Despite
the difficulty and dangers in covering the Syrian civil war, a steady stream of
videos documents the conflict in Moadamiyeh. The uploader of the above video, 
Darya Revolution, has been uploading videos on
YouTube since February 2013. While it features videos from other Damascus
suburbs, its videos from Moadamiyeh document evacuations and the aftermath of
attacks on the town. The Human Rights Channel’s 
Moadamiyeh
playlist
 
compiles videos from Darya Revolution and other
community media outlets and aggregators uploading footage of the humanitarian
crisis that the region faces.

* To watch the videos visit
the original source

Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

A self-organized civil-society initiative hosted 45 civil organization representatives this week at Kisumu, Kenya on 15–16 May to deliberate and consolidate messages to the Africities9 Summit. The Civil Society Forum [...]