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Sunday 21 August 2016

Little Omran among The Destruction of the World / Ed Sanders: Against "the enormous organized cowardice" of the war machine

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Little Omran among The Destruction of the World. In Arabic Omran means: the solid structure
: image via Moustafa Jacoub @JacoubM, 19 August 2016


The front pages of newspapers of the world: image via Murad Shawakh @MuradShawakh, 19 August 2016


[Aleppo under bombardment]: image via zakaria abdelkafi @zakria_alkafi, 19 August 2016

24 hours of targeting #Aleppo by all weapon (cluster-navi-barrels-mortar-Phosphorus-Napalm) bombs 1st time Aleppo with empty streets: tweet via Bakri Zeneldeen @BakriZen, 20 August 2016


[Aleppo under bombardment]: image via zakaria abdelkafi @zakria_alkafi, 31 July 2016


Ed Sanders: Poem from Jail: Against "the enormous organized cowardice"

And at my ear
was the whirr
of wings,
"red wing,
black wing,
black wing
        shot with crimson,"
and the Bird Flock
stared to my eye,
and always the Birds
flap overhead
       shrieking
       like a "berserk
       tobacco auction":
Pains! Neverbirth! Dieness!

*

And we have
seen the men
farting around
in Geneva,
and the governments
have not clasped
one another
as lovers,
confronting
each other
in nakedness
No, they have
not halted hate.
Yes, it is true:
Death shall assume
the continuum.

*


Whom do  we
blame, O Traveler...
        O Traveler
let us blame
the cowardly,
& those in charge
of war,
the economists
& the profiteers,
& the hidden
men in the
military,
& all those who
profit by Death.
And let us place blame
upon
"the enormous
organized cowardice."

Ed Sanders: Poem from Jail, Montville State Jail, Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-24, 1961, "having attempted to board the Polaris missile submarine the Ethan Allen, as a witness for peace" (excerpts)


a hand without face cards,
the enormous organized cowardice
Ezra Pound, Canto XC

                  and in the boughs now are voices
grey wing, black wing, black wing shot with crimson
Ezra Pound, Canto XC




[Untitled]: image via Hozaifa Dahmaan @hozaifadahmaan, 18 August 2016


[Omran Daqneesh]: image via Hozaifa Dahmaan @hozaifadahmaan, 17 August 2016



The criminals are bombing this Aleppo neighborhood with phosphorus, which is forbidden internationally!: image via Hozaifa Dahmaan @hozaifadahmaan, 17 August 2016

Triste: Little Omran among The Destruction of the World


[Untitled]: image via Hozaifa Dahmaan @hozaifadahmaan, 20 August 2016


#Omran #OmranDaqneesh: image via Moustafa Jacoub @JacoubM, 19 August 2016


[Untitled]: image via baraa al halabi @baraaalhalabi, 16 August 2016

 
[Untitled]: image via baraa al halabi @baraaalhalabi, 17 August 2016

Today is 3 years since #Assad killed over 1400 people using chemical weapons, and since #Obama decided #Syrian people can continue dying: tweet via baraa al halabi @baraaalhalabi, 17 August 2016

Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh sits in an ambulance waiting for treatment. Picture: Aleppo Media Center via AP

Five-year-old Omran Daqneesh sits in an ambulance waiting for treatment: image by Aleppo Media Center via AP, 17 August 2016

Daqneesh after receiving treatment. Picture: Aleppo Media Center

Omran Daqneesh, after receiving treatment: image by Aleppo Media Center, 17 August 2016

A girl walks along a deserted street in Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria. Picture: REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail

A girl walks along a deserted street in Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo: photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters via AP, 18 August 2016

Two bodies wrapped in cloth are laid out in front of a makeshift hospital in the Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, following air raids that targeted rebel-held areas in the northern city. Picture: AFP/THAER MOHAMMED

Two bodies wrapped in cloth are laid out in front of a makeshift hospital in the Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, following air raids that targeted rebel-held areas in the northern city: photo by Thaer Mohammed/AFP, 18 August 2016 

A resident of the Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo, inspects the damage caused by air raids. Picture: AFP/THAER MOHAMMED

A resident of the Tariq al-Bab neighbourhood of Aleppo inspects the damage caused by air raids: photo by Thaer Mohammed/AFP, 18 August 2016


The remains of the Daqneesh family's neighbourhood

The remains of the Daqneesh family's neighbourhood. They lived in the building on the left of the picture.: photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters, 18 August 2016


Ambulances full of children. 3 killed,17 wounded in another #AssadPutin massacre in #Aleppo
: image via Julian Röpcke @JulianRoecke, 17 August 2016



Savaşın kirli yüzü... Ümran'ın fotoğrafını çeken bakın kim çıktı
: image via cumhuriyet @cumhuriyetgzt, 19 August 2016



"It's sad, so sad It's a sad, sad situation And it's getting more and more absurd" #Omran #Aleppo. @BarackObama
: image via Mohammed Tomihi Verified account @MohammedTomaihi, 18 August 2016



Syrians are sharing this photo featuring 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, asking why the world hasn't acted in #Aleppo
: image via Eliza Mackintosh Verified account @elizamackintosh, 18 August 2016  City of London, London


 Enough is enough. The bombing of Aleppo must stop. Join us to protect all children in war.: image via Save the Children Verified account @savethechildrenuk, 18 August 2016


The doctor who treated Omran Daqneesh in #Aleppo: he was "silent, in shock and didn't cry"
: image via BBC Newshour @BBCNewshour, 18 August 2016



If @realDonaldTrumpgets elected, this boy would be refused US entry. Really think about that for a second. #Aleppo: image via Andy Oare @andyoare, 18 August 2016
 
 
His name is Omran. He is 5yr old. He has known NOTHING but war his ENTIRE life. Imagine he was YOUR child. #Aleppo: image via Anna Ahronheim @AAhronheim, 18 August 2016


"But it's someone's else's country, someone else's war, someone else's kid..."
#Aleppo #CivilianDeathToll: image via Guz Khan @GuzKhanOfficial, 17 August 2016



This picture of a wounded Syrian boy captures just a fragment of the horrors of #Aleppo: image via Raf Sanchez Verified account @rafsanchez, 17 August 2016


Look carefully into his eyes. he is silent, but he tells you a lot. From under rubble .. #Aleppo today
: image via Luna Wafta @luna_alabdalla, 17 August 2016 



His name is Omran Daqneesh and he is 5. Here he is after treatment by some extraordinarily brave doctors in #Aleppo: image via Raf Sanchez Verified account @rafsanchez, 17 August 2016


One of the lucky children
A Syrian refugee child sleeps on his father's arms while waiting at a resting point to board a bus in Greece. One of the lucky children who escaped Syria. Picture: AP/Muhammed Muheisen

A Syrian refugee child sleeps on his father's arms while waiting at a resting point to board a bus in Greece. One of the lucky children who escaped Syria.: photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP, 18 August 2016


AFGHANISTAN - An Afghan child carries a can of water on the outskirts of Herat. By @Arefkarimi #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 20 August 2016


A child's shoe is seen in the debris of a bomb attack on a wedding party in #Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey
: image via AFP news agency @AFP, 20 August 2016



PHILIPPINES - A man prepares his makeshift raft in his house erected at banks of Pasig River in Manila. By @herime23
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 19 August 2016



NEPAL - A masked youth participates in the Neku Jatra-Mataya festival in Patan near Kathmandu. By @PrakashAFP #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 August 2016



SYRIA - A wounded Syrian child lies in a hospital bed in the northeastern city of Qamishli. By @Delilsouleman #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 20 August 2016


World in focus – best photos for August 20, 2016

Women in canoes collect weeds on Dal lake in Srinagar as the city remains under curfew following weeks of violence in Kashmir
: photo by Cathal McNaughton / Reuters, 20 August 2016


World in focus – best photos for August 20, 2016

A dinghy overcrowded by African migrants is seen drifting off the Libyan coast in Mediterranean Sea
: photo by Giorgos Moutafis / Reuters, 20 August 2016


World in focus – best photos for August 19, 2016

A lightning storm moves through Atlanta before the Atlanta Braves play the Washington Nationals in a baseball game: photo by Curtis Compton / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, 19 August 2016 

World in focus – best photos for August 19, 2016

A girl peers from her house as a member of the security forces patrols a street in Srinagar, Kashmir
: photo by Cathal McNaughton / Reuters, 19 August 2016


World in focus – best photos for August 19, 2016

Migrants and refugees fleeing Libya are rescued by members of a Spanish NGO in Mediterranean Sea, about 25 miles north of Sabratha, Libya
: photo by Emilio Morenatti / AP, 19 August 2016 



BREAKING: The #Aquarius has just rescued all those travelling on this rubber boat including 35 women and 2 kids
: image via MSF Sea @MSF_Sea, 19 August 2016



Half of the #people rescued from this boat yesterday were unaccompanied children
: image via MSF Sea @MSF_Sea, 19 August 2016


'You can't just walk away'


Remains of cluster bombs dropped on Almaqash neighborhoods in Sa’ada #Yemen #500Days_ForgottenWar
: image via Rosa72 SaveYemen @Rasa171a, 16 August 2016


This was drawn by a Syrian girl now trapped in a camp in #Greece. See what we see - no child should draw this!
: image via MSF Sea @MSF_Sea, 19 August 2016


In 2004 this stadium hosted the baseball during the #Athens Olympics. In 2016 it hosts 100s of #refugee families.: image via MSF Sea @MSF_Sea, 19 August 2016


#Afghanistan: “Intensification and proximity of fighting is limiting access to the hospital”
: image via MSF International @MSF, 15 August 2016

 

 ‘You Can’t Just Walk Away' Why @paulaphoto Keeps Photographing #Afghanistan: image via Photojournalism @photojurnalink, 15 August 2016



‘You Can’t Just Walk Away' Why @paulaphoto Keeps Photographing #Afghanistan: image via Photojournalism @photojurnalink, 15 August 2016



‘You Can’t Just Walk Away' Why @paulaphoto Keeps Photographing #Afghanistan: image via Photojournalism @photojurnalink, 15 August 2016



‘You Can’t Just Walk Away' Why @paulaphoto Keeps Photographing #Afghanistan: image via Photojournalism @photojurnalink, 15 August 2016



@MSF is still surveying damage of Abs hospital and will launch its own internal investigation into the attack #Yemen
: image via MSF Yemen @msf_yemen, 17 August 2016

 


A Saudi-led coalition air strike hits an @MSF hospital in Yemen: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 16 August 2016



 A Saudi-led coalition air strike hits an @MSF hospital in Yemen: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 16 August 2016




 A Saudi-led coalition air strike hits an @MSF hospital in Yemen: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 16 August 2016



 A Saudi-led coalition air strike hits an @MSF hospital in Yemen: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 16 August 2016


 
People look at a crater caused by a Saudi-led coalition air strike in the yard of a hospital operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres in the Abs district of Hajja province, Yemen. The airstrike reportedly killed 11 and wounded another 19 people.: photo by Abduljabbar Zeyad / Reuters, 16 August 2016

4 comments:

Mose23 said...

Death shall assume/ the continuum

...as one might assume a persona, a mask.

With the proliferation of Omran's image, his face is lost to a currency of all too easy pity. We can all do "feelings" as if they were real. What a world.



TC said...

Duncan,

You may have seen this piece by David Nott, the Welsh-born vascular surgeon and surgical consultant from the Midlands who has done volunteer work for two decades in war zones, Bosnia, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iraq and more recently Syria. He's been in and out of Aleppo several times since 2013.

Quoting here:

__

The picture of this little boy must be a turning point in this war. It must not be looked at and forgotten within 24 hours. I have pictures on my phone and in my computer of all the cases that I dealt with when I was in Aleppo. These images are far worse than the image of Omran. They are of dead and dying children. I have given lectures showing these pictures and have had people in the audience crying. Why has the world become heartless?

...in 2013. Aleppo was a very moderate city. The rebel side was controlled by the Free Syrian Army. It was promised help by the west and was expecting humanitarian aid and equipment to overthrow the Assad regime. Most of my time was spent teaching the surgeons how to perform very difficult trauma surgery following gunshot wounds and fragmentation wounds from Syrian jet airstrikes. On average we would treat about 12 to 14 gunshot wounds a day, and we had excellent backup support on the intensive care unit from intensive physicians in Washington manning the ventilators by Skype.

I was protected by the Aleppo city medical council, who looked after me like a parent looks after a child. I was the only westerner in Aleppo then, as Isis had control of the north and made it very difficult to cross checkpoints. There were no reporters in Aleppo, so I came home and talked of the horrors I had seen as snipers from the Syrian regime played games with women and children’s lives.

TC said...

[David Nott continues:]

When I returned to Aleppo in September 2014, Syrian jets were still flying low level around the city shooting at anybody using rockets, but worse were the Syrian helicopters dropping barrel bombs containing around 500kg of TNT indiscriminately on densely populated areas. Ambulances would bring in hordes of patients and each day would be a mass casualty event.

All people living in non-regime areas were classified as terrorists. I, as a humanitarian just going to operate and save lives, would have also been looked on as a terrorist and would have been jailed and tortured and most likely killed – as was Abbas Khan, my British orthopaedic colleague who volunteered in the same hospital as I did. October 2014 was a particularly awful period, not just for the residents of Aleppo but also for the western hostages, including journalists and humanitarians, who were facing being beheaded by Isis.

At the time I was probably about 30 miles away from where Alan Henning, who was delivering an ambulance to Aleppo, had the most terrible fate inflicted on him. It was just too dangerous for journalists to go in, and thus the horror was kept off the world’s radar. This allowed the Syrian regime to perpetuate the worst atrocities unhindered.

The intervention by Russia in September 2015 was made at the request of a beleaguered Assad regime. Assad’s forces have been falling apart ever since the conflict began and have had to be propped up by militias from Iran and Hezbollah. It suited Russia to be involved. By standing up to the west he has become a global player and is challenging the monopoly of the influence in the Middle East which had been held by the US for decades.

The Syrian and Russian regimes did not appreciate the effect it would have on galvanising the opposition fighters. This has led to a significant increase in heavy Russian and Syrian airstrikes. This is always cyclical; the more the opposition gains, the heavier the response, and this is what we are seeing now. The picture of Omran epitomises the horror that can be broadcast on our television screens. It is significantly better than many of the pictures of children coming out from Aleppo but should still shame world leaders. Hopefully this will galvanise the west to finally stop sitting back and being passive observers. This war is different because it is our war. The refugees that have poured into Europe are there because we have not done anything to stop the suffering. If we wait for another five years, there will be one million people killed and 20 million refugees.

The sticking point is whether Assad stays or goes. He has to go. The refugees who have left the country will not return unless he has gone. There is no alternative.

The British government has a new prime minister who is as steely as Sir John Major, who created a no-fly zone when the Kurds were being attacked by Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons. Theresa May must show some leadership. The first thing that must happen is to demand a no-fly zone for Syrian helicopters to stop them dropping their barrel bombs. The international community must get behind her and force this action.

TC said...

(Of course, speaking strictly for myself, from my unique vantage of opinion, I fear that the idea of an "international community" getting "behind her to force this action", however high-sounding, in fact implies the activation of a number of imponderables along with a number of impossibles... and all these imponderables and impossibles would anyway of course and in fact involve extreme "force", i.e. more arms and munitions, more attacking "coalitions", more profits for the war profiteers, more clout for the generals, and more more more of all that dismal bloody real world business of owning, dominating, engineering everywhere and... just saying... and then too... and so on and on.)