The Syrian people’s ability to adapt and survive appears to be what angers Assad the most and causes him to retaliate with more bombs, more destruction and more lives so heartlessly being stolen from our midst.
It is difficult to look at the devastated city of Aleppo now and imagine what it could be like in the future, or even what it must have been like in its illustrious past.
The current reality is just far too harsh and brutal.
But in the midst of the devastation found in the liberated areas of Aleppo, we are also finding delightful scenes that were once only found in the rural countryside.
A boy named Tawfiq explained in a video he took about how chickens, roosters and sheep are coexisting in the streets of Bustan al-Qasr and al-Shaar − neighborhoods that were once business districts inside the city of Aleppo.
Before the bombs even began to drop on Bustan al-Qasr it was a major target of the Assad regime.
In 2013, Bustan al-Qasr, which was the last remaining crossing point between the rebel and regime-held sides of Aleppo, was under constant attack by regime snipers who targeted only civilians. The majority of their victims were children.
In the video, Tawfiq, a young boy with wisdom beyond his years, shows how chickens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys and rabbits are all living together in a common area sharing the same food.
“Here’s the Pharaoh spotted chicken. Look at those beautiful ducks and geese. Everything we have in Aleppo. We are under siege, yet we still have everything,” he says.
Just like Aleppo has always been home to people of all nationalities, religions and sects, Tawfiq points out that the animals continue to show human beings the proper way of living in harmony and surviving under the most difficult conditions.
“This is Aleppo,” he says. “These are chickens and roosters eating together and they don’t care. Don’t tell me again that we are under siege.”
“Look… look… even the rabbits are growing. Their mother died but still they are surviving.”
Mohamad Dahhan, who lives in the al-Shaar neighborhood, told Orient Net: “Even the life of animals in Aleppo is difficult.”
“They lack the least standards of living, eating and drinking. Many of them are ill due to the bad condition of the atmosphere and the inhalation of materials in the air caused by weapons and explosions.”
“Chickens and sheep are so friendly with people and they feel secure when we are next to them,” Dahhan added.
“Birds and rabbits are eating their food together. We feel that these peaceful animals and birds are part of us. We will protect them as part of our family.”
Once again the humanity of besieged Syrians stands in stark contrast to the brutality of the butcher of Damascus who continues to display for the world the childish arrogance and sense of entitlement that drives his genocidal campaign against civilians in Syria.
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