While walking in old Damascus yesterday, a boy wanted to practise his English with me. He was so charming I asked if I could film he and his friends.

His words, and his friend’s song burst, were spontaneous.

Something for viewers to keep in mind: these kids, age 12, lived under terrorist mortars for years. Precisely this area of Damascus, where we met, was heavily targeted over the years. Yet, look at the love and hope they retain!

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Some of my articles on the mortar terrorism they lived through:

 

The Terrorism We Support in Syria: A First-hand Account of the Use of Mortars against Civilians [ 2014]

mortars and nostalgia for the past [2014]

not only mortars, but gunfire, too, on Damascus [2014]

children injured by “rebel” shelling of Manar school, Damascus [2014]

University Hospital, Damascus: Meeting Victims of Western-backed Mortar and Rocket Terrorism [2015]

On the terrorist mortar attack on Qamar al-Sham restaurant which killed at least 10, including an infant [2016]

UN Feigns Outrage Over Ghouta While Terrorist Rockets Rain Down on Damascus [2018]