Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa posted this statement on his Facebook page. Translation, with slight editing, Lina Sinjab:
“Dictators bring invaders; this is an indisputable fact. Invaders never brought freedom to people, and this is another fact that we shouldn’t forget. But what we should say at this very crucial moment of our lives and the life of our revolution is that the dictators are not the only ones who brought invaders, but that they contributed to that a group of politicians and revolution-traders who sold our blood — once to Qatar and once to Saudi and once to organizations that I don’t know their nature — without the slightest sense of shame. Imagine Samir Nashar and Zuheir Salem representing this great revolution — how strange!
“Do you want to know my position?
“I am against the US military intervention and I have my reasons, I , the son of this revolution, whether you like it or not.
“In a situation like ours, blood-traders and the Coalition should all admit that they are partners with the dictators, and they are just a copy of them and not a copy nor representative of the honesty of our revolution.
“I will say no more,
“You have to stand before the mirror, you who got paid for our blood, before you say facts we know about the fascist dictator and sectarian regime. But you should be neither fascist, dictator, nor sectarian if you want to be part of our revolution.
“Listen carefully:
“Tell me when did the invaders bring freedom?
“At the end I will never be in favour of any American intervention in our area, because I know them very well. They could have defended the values from day one of our revolution and could have helped us, but they waited till the country was destroyed.
“The fall of the regime will satisfy me, but I don’t want our revolution to be incomplete after all this blood. This is not a letter for history but a farewell letter to all my friends if I die. If I die amidst this shelling or for any other reason, I want my friends to bury me in an unknown grave that only my friends and my beloved will know its address.”
Also, from Syrian-British novelist Robin Yassin-Kassab, on “Intervention?”
“If the US-led West wished to invade and occupy Syria, or to engineer regime change from afar, it would have taken advantage of the two-and-a-half-year chaos in Syria to intervene long before now.” (More.)
Writers–speaking truth to power.
absolutely i agree with you i don’t like the invaders interference in our land , because they will destroy everything
I made a few corrections that I thought improved the flow and meaning of the piece for the English reader. Please review:
“Dictators bring invaders; this is an indisputable fact. Invaders never brought freedom to people, and this is another fact that we shouldn’t forget. But what we should say at this very crucial moment of our lives and the life of our revolution is that the dictators are not the only ones who brought invaders, but that others contributed to that; that group of politicians and revolution-traders who sold our blood — to Qatar, and to Saudi Arabia, and to organizations that I don’t know their nature — without the slightest sense of shame. Imagine Samir Nashar and Zuheir Salem representing this great revolution — how strange!
Do you want to know my position?
I am against the US military intervention and I have my reasons, I , the son of this revolution, whether you like it or not.
In a situation like ours, the blood-traders and the Coalition should all admit that they are partners with the dictators, and they are just a copy of them, and not a copy nor representative of the honesty of our revolution.
I will say no more.
You have to stand before the mirror, you who got paid for our blood, before you reference facts we all know about the fascist dictator and sectarian regime. But you should be neither fascist, dictator, nor sectarian if you want to be part of our revolution.
Listen carefully:
Tell me when did the invaders bring freedom?
At the end I will never be in favor of any American intervention in our area, because I know them very well. They could have defended the values from day one of our revolution and could have helped us, but they waited till the country was destroyed.
The fall of the regime will satisfy me, but I don’t want our revolution to be incomplete after all this blood. This is not a letter for history but a farewell letter to all my friends if I die. If I die amidst this shelling or for any other reason, I want my friends to bury me in an unknown grave that only my friends and my beloved will know its address.”
Japan, Germany and South Korea, all ruled by dictators, were liberated by the invaders. Now please explain to me how these countries, who have the top 5 economies in the world are in any way not free.
Japan and Germany were both occupied for decades, in Germany’s case the country was broken apart for almost half a century and with Japan they are to this day occupied by the American military and prohibited from having their own. South Korea is more complicated but it was not “liberation” so much as a proxy war between the Communists and Capitalists that likely would have ended sooner and with less disruption without foreign intervention.
don’t get me wrong though i’m sure you know better than an actual Syrian revolutionary what’s best for Syria
Even though they were occupied for decades, they had tremendous growth under occupation. Japan chooses to not have a military officially, yet they are heavily expanding their “defense forces” with the rise of china. My point in citing these countries is to disprove the statement by the author ” Invaders never brought freedom to people, and this is another fact that we shouldn’t forget.”
Interesting example. If you’ve read the art of war, the key here is the people consent or the common sense sentiment, or the Moral Law, the Tao, or Dao in Chinese. Germany and Japan lost a war they started first and thus occupied. The US treated them with respect, offered them help and a place in the world, they understand that and is still grateful now despite of 9/11 and the lies the US leads them to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The case with Korea is almost the same, but the wars was between two Korea and started in the cold war. With Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, … the US and its allies were aggressors based on lies and killing of their own people in the event of 9/11 (see WTC7). There can’t be winning with such bad start.
The best sign of respect is in the human hitory like HROSHIMA and NAGSAKI.
Specially the japanies are thankfull for this to the americans. They will remember it for EVER
True. Under occupation, respect is well, required.
Japan and Germany, so-so, South Korea – not at all. South Korea was a dictatorship until it was forced from power by mass mobilization of unions, students and social movements in 1980s. The US didn’t free South Korea. The South Koreans freed themselves (but there are still bases and no peace with the North) from a US sponsored dictatorship. Also, S. Korea is not a top 5 economy. Get your facts straight. Your examples are exhausted at the end of WW2, 68 years ago. Not one US invasion since 1945 has produced a stable democracy.
War is so wrong =( Honestly, I think the U.S is being retarded. Dont we teach our kids fighting is wrong? Why cant adults practice what they preach? I am scared too that this war will reach me in Canada.. Because our military is intervening. Just want to go on vacation somewhere else for a couple years.
War is hell no doubt about it but not always wrong if done for the right reasons. World War 2 is a perfect example.The Allies, including the U.S. and Canada fought to preserve World wide freedom from those that sought to occupy countries and enslave their populace. People that were born in freedom and never had to protect themselves or others are like the ostrich that puts his/her head in the sand to escape. You ought to be thank full your alive instead worrying where to go on vacation .
The US fought to preserve world wide freedom!?
Come off it! Black people in the US didn’t even have the freedom to choose where to sit on a bus, where to live or drink from the same fountain as a white person.
And don’t forget it took a few years to get involved in WW2. This was after US companies had supplied Hitler with supplies. The US got involved because they saw their won financial interests threatened.
And it should be noted that the bulk of the fighting was done on the Eastern Front with horrific casualties, far in excess of the West.
Lastly, Hitler got his eugenics idea from the US. The deplorable way people of European decent treated Native Americans and enslaved Africans just highlights the hypocrisy of the US and their ‘Freedom.’
That’s why the present threats from Obama and Kerry are sick when the US have used chemical weapons(napalm,depleted uranium, white phosphorous, nuclear weapons).
No to Assad and No to imperial bombs.
Support the people of Syria to determine their own future.
Now your showing your racism and lack of historic knowledge. Blacks where sold as slaves by other Blacks in their own country. Even though changes have been slow in America, they are vastly improving and a far sight better than what is still going on in Africa today. Do you really think the world would be better off if America and her allies had not stopped the aggression?
His reply was rebutted
“Support the people of Syria to determine their own future.”
Thats absolutly important. Because the Opposition in Syria is to be about to fragment
I absolutely agree with your sentiment, but please refrain from using the word ‘retarded.’ This is an extreme insult to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
great idea. Since the west did not intervene so far, now it must not… since there have been so many casualties, now you must kill them all using gas… Khaled, you are a champion of logic, if not of anti-mericanism (the regime was working well, on that, right?)