Yaman Marwah knew embedding himself with Syrian rebels would be dangerous, but he did not predict narrowly escaping a bombing.
Marwah, 18, studying his third year of economics and law at Carleton, traveled to Syria Oct. 25 to document the civil war and provide humanitarian aid.
On Nov. 3, Marwah was sitting in an Internet café in Binnish, Syria, communicating with various news organizations, when he heard what he thought was a bombing and rushed to see what happened.
“I found out the noise was a fighter jet, and just when I arrived to the door of the building, that’s when it hit,” Marwah said. “I was thrown back into the café, but I only suffered minor injuries. I had no idea what to do so I just started taking pictures.”
Two people lost their lives, and at least 50 others were injured in what Marwah described as a massacre at the hands of the Syrian government.
Syria has experienced decades of tensions between parts of the population and the ruling regime, according to Ruby Dagher, a PhD student at Carleton who specializes in international affairs in the Middle East.
Dagher said with the difficult economic situation in Syria, the visible abuse of state revenues by the Syrian government, and the revolutions in the rest of the Middle East, Syria is currently a volatile environment.
“The people and the fractured political opposition felt that they had the momentum to change the situation,” Dagher said.
Marwah spent 10 days in Syria, accompanied by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main opposition to the Syrian government, attending rallies and delivering food and water to refugee camps, while documenting his experiences to share with Canadians.
Marwah said the people of Binnish welcomed his cause.
“Whenever I opened my camera lens, every one runs towards the camera,” Marwah said. “They want their story told.”
However, Marwah said the Syrian government did not seem to share the welcoming sentiment.
“[The FSA] said the bombs were probably for us, for the media. I was there as a Syrian-Canadian journalist and the government didn’t want me to send their picture to the people outside,” Marwah said.
The government of Syria has had a history of controlling the media and the images that are released, Dagher said.
According to Marwah, Syria is in dire need of activists like himself. While Binnish is free from the Syrian regime, there are no laws ruling its people.
“I saw a seven-year-old driving a car,” Marwah said with a chuckle. “He was a good driver.”
