Testimony from Sweida: Ramzi's voice in a war no one sees

While the world sets its sights on known conflict zones, a city dies in silence.
A tragedy is unfolding in the Syrian province of Sweida that you rarely read or hear about. Only through the voices of people like Ramzi, now Salesforce manager in the Netherlands, and his friend Safi, do we get a glimpse of what is really happening.

Door-to-door terror for faith

For 22 days now, Druze and Christian communities have been living under tight siege. Armed groups, and according to eyewitnesses also units of the government army, are moving from door to door. The question is always the same: "Are you Muslim?"

Those who say 'no' will be taken away, publicly humiliated, or worse

"They say they are looking for weapons," Ramzi explains. "But that is an excuse. It is only about religion. Druze and Christian people are put down as undesirable. Those who believe otherwise must disappear."

In the surrounding villages, like Shaba, the village of Ramzi's family, more than 40,000 fleeing people are now staying, with no facilities, no humanitarian aid from outside. Dozens of villages have been reduced to rubble.

A cynical collaboration

Ramzi describes a pattern as cruel as it is transparent: first ISIS fighters attack, then government soldiers march in to "restore order". It seems like a play to make the world believe the government has a grip, when in reality it is paving the way for ethnic cleansing.

Losses that cannot be quantified

For Ramzi and Safi, this is not a news story, it is their life.

A devastated existence

Safi had a small farm. Last year, with help from TwoPurpose, he bought new cows and was able to support his family again. But that life is now gone: he had to flee in a panic and leave everything behind.

A mother died of fright

His mother was already ill. When the violence reached their home, she went into fatal shock.

Brother missing

Safi's brother is missing. No one knows where he is or if he is still alive.

A father without a care

Ramzi's father has cancer. He missed his second round of chemotherapy. Now, weak and sick, he lives outside the city in deplorable conditions.

Help not coming through the walls

Ramzi tried to bring in aid supplies via Jordan. Everything was stopped. Local fundraising via Germany has been slow in coming. Meanwhile, there is at most 15 minutes of electricity a day, clean drinking water is rare, five hospitals are in ruins.

As Sky News wrote, there are rows of bodies in the city that cannot be buried because the violence never stops (Source).

Why this story needs to be told

This is not about statistics. It is about people, about Ramzi, our friend, about his immediate family and friends, heartbreaking! About fathers who have lost their children. Mothers dying of fear. Brothers disappearing. About faith being used as a weapon.

Their voices must not be lost. Share their stories. Support aid organisations. Demand safe passages for aid.