Dear Larry,
"They killed my sons, the dearest things I had, and then they desecrated their bodies by setting them on fire. How can a mother endure such pain?” A woman in Sarmin, Syria - March 20121
This is first hand testimony gathered by Amnesty International researcher Donatella Rovera who, at great personal risk, secretly travelled into the north of Syria in defiance of the Syrian government’s refusal to let us in.
She told me of hearing the same stories again and again of systematic, cold-blooded attacks on civilians, including children, by government security forces and their militias. Of men and boys executed, often found with gunshots in their heads and their hands tied behind their backs. Of people who only knew their loved ones were dead when they found their bodies burning in the streets.
This cannot go on. Please support our work to end the atrocities in Syria
Some of the atrocities she uncovered include:
- Near Jebel al-Zawiyah, a 54 year old father of eight shot in the legs and arms and trapped in a small stone building to burn alive1
- Near Jebel al-Oustani, three children aged 8, 11 and 14 shot dead as they herded sheep. A relative told us: “Little Juma’a, eight years old, was shot in the throat and in the palms of both hands; he was holding his hands up when he was shot”2
To end the cold-blooded killing in Syria, we need timely, credible evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed. Evidence we can use to hold those who commit grave human rights abuses to account, and to push for international action – including a referral to the International Criminal Court.
This is why we continue to call for more UN monitors with a specific human rights mandate to both deter and verify human rights abuses. And it’s why Donatella took the risk of going undercover to gather the harrowing testimony of ordinary Syrians to corroborate what we’ve been told by brave activists and citizen journalists.
Remember, the work of brave researchers like Donatella is only possible because of your support. Please donate now to help us expose crimes against humanity in Syria
As long as the Syrian security forces think they can get away with it, the death toll – now at least 10,000 – will continue to rise and we’ll hear more stories of men, women and children slaughtered, their bodies burned and their loved ones left traumatised. Donate now to end the killing in Syria
Thank you,
Kristyan Benedict
Crisis Response Campaign Manager
Amnesty International UK
Under 18? Please take action insteadWe are not asking you to donate. Instead, please take our updated action calling for international action: Russia must act to help stop the bloodshed in Syria
Read about Donatella’s mission into SyriaFind out more about Donatella’s mission into Syria and see photos, videos and read the first hand testimony she uncovered in towns and villages around Aleppo and Idlib. Read our blog: Deadly Reprisals
1 Deadly reprisals: Deliberate killings and other abuses by Syria’s armed forces (Amnesty International, June 2012), p. 7
2 Deadly reprisals, p.30
3 Deadly reprisals, p.25
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Another urgent plea from avaaz
Dear friends,
 18 million people are desperate for food in Africa’s drought-struck Sahel, but urgent appeals for help are being met with deafening silence by governments worldwide. Senegalese musician Baaba Maal has started a petition to get the US, Japan, France and Germany to pledge their fair share of aid. Let’s join him -- sign the urgent petition below and sound the massive alarm needed to shake these leaders into action:  |
The UN says millions of lives could be destroyed unless $1.5 billion in aid is channeled in immediately, but governments have pledged less than half the required sum. The countries who can make all the difference are the US, Japan, France and Germany, but they’re stalling -- that's why I started a petition on Avaaz's Community Petitions website to appeal to the world for help.
In days, world leaders will gather in Brussels to discuss the Sahel -- if they decide right there and then to pledge their fair share, we can avert disaster. Sign this urgent petition now -- Avaaz, Africans Act 4 Africa, and Oxfam will deliver it in a coordinated stunt when we reach 1 million signatures:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_grain_sacks_are_empty/?bNxfadb&v=15195
Terrible drought, political unrest, and sky high food prices have wreaked havoc on an area the size of the US, stretching from Senegal in the west all the way to Sudan in the east. People here are doing everything they can to survive, but the crisis has hit so hard that it’s difficult to stay hopeful. I’ve seen women and children trying to grow food in patches of land that are bone dry. They know that people are talking about what is happening in the Sahel, but they don’t know if aid will ever arrive.
The UN has only received 43 percent of the $1.5 billion needed -- it’s a shortfall of gargantuan proportions. But this gap must be filled, and can be filled by the world’s richest countries, if there’s political will. We don't have much time to avert mass suffering, and I'm determined to speak on behalf of the people here until they get the help they need.
The world has turned a blind eye to crises like this before, but this time we can make the difference between life and death by forcing our governments to respond. Sign this urgent petition now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_grain_sacks_are_empty/?bNxfadb&v=15195
Avaaz members have come together time and time again to respond to natural disasters, saving thousands of lives by ensuring that crucial aid was delivered to Burma, Haiti, Somalia and Pakistan. We have the power to force our leaders to stop idling away in the face of a crisis we can prevent. Let's stand together now to demand that the world respond to the pleas of the millions living in the vast Sahel region.
With hope and determination,
Baaba Maal, with the Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
A distress call from Africa's Sahel: Millions might starve (CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/africa/sahel-hunger/index.html
UN: 18 Million in West Africa to Go Hungry in 2012 (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/un-18-million-west-africa-hungry-2012-142100935.html
Meeting of like minds can save the hungry millions in Sahel (Sydney Morning Herald)
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/meeting-of-like-minds-can-save-the-hungry-millions-in-sahel-20120529-1zgm8.html
Baaba Maal: people in the Sahel region need food and water now (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/25/baaba-maal-sahel-food-water
Coming weeks critical to tackle Sahel hunger – U.N. humanitarian chief (AlertNet)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/coming-weeks-critical-to-tackle-sahel-hunger-un-humanitarian-chief
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Avaaz.org is a 14-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 19 countries on 6 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
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