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Jul 01, 2016
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Amateur Actors Dramatize the Story of the Syrian Revolution in Traditional Storyteller Style from the Venue of the War's Worst Chemical Attack

#5673 | 07:16
Source: Alaan TV (UAE)

"Ghouta Storyteller" is an 18-episode TV serial that aired during the month of Ramadhan - June and July 2016 - on Alaan TV, a channel broadcasting from the UAE. In the show, a hakawati -a traditional, Damascus-style storyteller - narrates an account of the Syrian revolution from the rebels' perspective. The story begins with the demonstrations at the onset of the Syrian crisis, and continues to describe prominent stages in its development, such as the emergence of the Free Syrian Army, the barrel bombs attacks by the regime, and the long siege. A special emphasis is given to the August 21, 2013 chemical attack on East Ghouta, where the show was filmed. The narration ends with a futuristic episode, describing post-Assad Syria, after the current president left the country, having been deserted by his Russian and Iranian allies. The two protagonists of the show are the storyteller, played by Amer Al-Shami, and Abu Maher Saleh, who leads the singing, which includes abuse of the regime and its allies.


Following are excerpts


Chorus: "Oh storyteller of our Ghouta, please tell us what's new with the Syrian revolution, oh storyteller of our Ghouta."


Storyteller: "Abu Maher here will sing us a song, telling of our pain in East Ghouta."


Chorus Leader: "I greet you, oh heroic men! I greet you, oh heroic men! Our song will speak on behalf of the Syrian revolution."


Chorus:"Abu Maher here will sing us a song, telling of our pain in East Ghouta."


[...]


Chorus Leader: "Once upon a time, my people, there was a weary people, living in a country ruled by favoritism - everywhere, even in the marketplace stalls. It lived under a government full of bribery and corruption, which was perpetrating crimes against the people. The people's lives were all black. But let me tell you something in all honesty, even if it hurts."


Crowd: "Go ahead."


Chorus Leader: "That people lived in security. Once, the people decided to demand reform, thinking that perhaps this would end all the stories of bribery and corruption, and that the people could live a decent life, and get rid of the evil officials."


[...]


Chorus: "Accursed be the President, accursed be the President, from Saturday until Thursdsay. Accursed be the President, accursed be the President, from Saturday until Thursday."


Chorus Leader: "The people are confused by Bashar the lowlife, the people are confused by Bashar the lowlife. His [regime] bombed, killed, laid siege, and wreaked havoc."


Chorus: "Accursed be the President, accursed be the President, from Saturday until Thursday."


>Chorus Leader: "Mufti [of Syria] Hassoun and crazy Mamoun [Rahma, imam of Umayyad Mosque] - may Allah curse whoever loves the President."


Chorus: "Accursed be the President, accursed be the President, from Saturday until Thursday."


Chorus Leader: "Nasrallah, his feathers all plucked, is the most despicable thing I have ever set eyes upon. Nasrallah, his feathers all plucked, is the most despicable thing I have ever set eyes upon, and we shall put that lowlife Lavrov in a garbage bag."


Chorus: "Accursed be the President, accursed be the President, from Saturday until Thursday."


[...]


Storyteller: "Dear friends, there used to be a military unit here. It was stationed in the middle of town, near the civilians. This proximity was a devilish idea. Hafez [Al-Assad] planted it there, under the pretext of defending the town from the Israelis. From whom?"


Crowd: "From the Israelis..."


Storyteller: "This was the worst calamity, I'm sad to say. The unit started putting up roadblocks. What was it doing?"


Crowd: "Putting up roadblocks..."


Storyteller: "They began arresting people everywhere, placing them under their inspection. A week or two later, they would release them and send them home, after inflicting all types of torture upon them. They were tortured for things they did and did not do."


[...]


Storyteller: "One of those nights - as the storytellers say... I shall never forget this... It was half past one, or a little later. The people hoped for the best following the initiative of that Lakhdar Brahimi. Out of boredom, they went to the rooftops to spend the night there. All of a sudden, they heard a distant 'boom.'"


Crowd: "Allah Akbar."


[...]


Storyteller: "14 missiles landed in the middle of town. One landed near 'Ein Tarma. A few people who were awake said: 'What's that smell?' There was something strange. The rest of the people were fast asleep and didn't feel a thing."


Crowd Member: "Dear God, what was that smell?"


Storyteller: "Then a voice cried: 'Everybody wake up! The regime has shelled us from Qasyoun with sarin gas! Do you know what sarin gas is? Sarin gas, Abu Samer, is a chemical weapon. Yes sir, a chemical weapon. That's right, Abu Ali. Achhhhh... He attacked the people with chemical weapons. It was all premeditated by the international community, because anyone who sends airplanes, shoots mortars, and uses artillery is bound to attack with chemical weapons. It's peanuts for him."


[...]


Storyteller: "The people who were asleep were awoken by the noise. Before they had the chance to step out of their homes, they dropped dead. It was August 21. It was as hot as hell, there was no air. In those hours, the people were disoriented. If they wanted to walk to the right, you'd see them turn to the left. The medical teams consisted of professionals, but they themselves were perplexed because this was a new and strange thing - nothing like shelling and shooting. Maher and his doctors hastened to treat the wounded. They washed their faces with cola or gave them atropine shots. May you never have to witness such a thing. When they entered the homes, they saw people dead in their beds. Children were slowly dying, and foam was coming out of their mouths. You should have seen the rows of martyrs lying in the hospitals. There were thousands of casualties in this treacherous attack. At the end of the massacre, the number of martyrs was estimated at 1,500."


[...]


Storyteller: "The last thing I'd like to say to Bashar and his ilk is that you cannot enslave people, for they were born free from their mothers' wombs."


[...]

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