There have been, over nearly eight years of war in Syria, certain images that stand out from a sea of snapshots capturing the devastating toll of the conflict. The Syrian war is one of the most well-documented conflicts of recent times and it would be too easy to become inured to the scale of suffering and loss, lost in the tide of pictures. But every now and again, a moment caught on camera reminds us of the individual heartbreak triggered by a war that has claimed half a million lives.
There was, in 2014, the Caesar cache, a stash of tens of thousands of photos smuggled out of the country by a military policeman tasked with photographing the bodies of numerous victims killed in Bashar Al Assad’s dungeons. The pictures of the wounded, the tortured and the murdered were identified by family members and drove home the true tyranny of Syria’s police state.
Then there was Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who tried to escape by sea; the haunting image of his body washed ashore three years ago encapsulated the cruelty of a world turning its back on refugees and initially sparked a huge surge in donations and promises of action. And there were the white shrouds of the children of Eastern Ghouta, hundreds of whom were suffocated to death by sarin gas in one of many chemical attacks on civilians.
The atrocities have been so numerous, the civilian casualties so widespread, that it is hard not to stumble on photographs of heartrending suffering, capturing the moment when lives and dreams are shattered and destroyed.
But there is one other factor that unites the three examples above: nothing happened as a result. Despite the cache of 55,000 photos demonstrating the brutality shown to regime prisoners, Mr Al Assad has yet to be charged with war crimes. Three years on from Aylan Kurdi’s drowning, Syrian children are still making potentially lethal crossings by sea, only now they are also from Lebanon; their future looks bleaker than ever. And despite talk from the international community of red lines being crossed, little action was taken after the chemical attacks, save for tokenistic airstrikes.
To those images we can now add one more: the picture, widely circulated on social media, of the body of Raed Fares, the Syrian activist and journalist known for his work running a radio station in the town of Kafranbel and crafting humorous posters in English condemning the failure of the world to stop the bloodbath in Syria, which went viral. There he was, having survived so many close calls, finally at rest. There were more hearts broken as the flame of the Syrian revolution flickered, battered by the storm winds from a dictator on one side and a cohort of militants on the other.
Fares once said of the Syrians killed in the conflict: “We are humans, not insects.” But the most heartbreaking thing to me, as I gazed upon that last image of him, was the knowledge that, while we might have an inkling who did it, the killers, like so many in Syria, will not face justice. Whoever gave the order or fired the missiles that killed Ghouta’s children, whoever starved the residents of Madaya and Aleppo, or bombed hospitals in Idlib, or beheaded civilians in Raqqa, or shot Fares, will probably never stand in a court of law.
As the regime of Mr Al Assad reclaimed vast swathes of Syria this year, land once filled with rebels in the early years of the conflict was back within his grasp. After surrendering, those rebels faced two choices – live in exile in Idlib, which will eventually suffer the same fate as other provinces, or stay and be “reconciled” with the government.
Tens of thousands chose not to abandon their homes and stayed in Ghouta and Daraa. Little is known of how they fare – how many have been detained and disappeared, or drafted into Mr Al Assad’s military, or simply left to live their lives.
Those areas have become black holes of information and networks of activists who once fed evidence of atrocities to UN investigators have steadily vanished with the advancing troops.
Rather than be held accountable for the violence, or face demands for scrutiny by the international community, Mr Al Assad will flex his ability to force a military solution on his foes. Nobody will therefore be answerable for the inhumane sieges in which children were starved to death or families were forced to live on cooked leaves and spiced water.
It is this profound impunity of the Assad regime and its backers that allowed it earlier this year to begin disclosing the deaths of thousands of arbitrarily detained individuals, who were arrested by the government’s security services between 2011 and 2014. The government began updating the civil registry entries of civilians whose cause of death was noted as “heart attack” or “heatstroke” while in detention. The UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria estimates that tens of thousands of people above the age of 15 have been randomly detained and disappeared by the regime in a systematic campaign to terrorise its own people.
Last week, the commission called on the Syrian regime to disclose the fates of detainees nationwide, saying there would be no peace in Syria without justice for the victims and their families. This is unlikely to give Mr Al Assad sleepless nights. The regime had so few qualms about its summary killing of detainees that it barely disguised their deaths with mass-produced medical certificates, caring little that by doing so it was tacitly acknowledging what really happened to those prisoners.
Fares once said: “Revolution is an idea and weapons cannot kill an idea.” Perhaps. But if you kill all hope of justice, all hope that the sacrifices made were worth it and the debts will be repaid – what then is left?
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Sweet%20Tooth
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RESULTS
5pm: Sweihan – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Shamakh, Fernando Jara (jockey), Jean-Claude Picout (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Shamkha – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Daad, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
6pm: Shakbout City – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Ghayyar, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Gold Silver, Sandro Paiva, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Masdar City – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Khalifa City – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Ranchero, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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ARGYLLE
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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