Back in November of 2011 my cousin’s wife was driving her car with her teenage son just outside the city of Salamieh. They were stopped by armed men that told them to get out of the car hand over keys, purse, and phones. They had guns pointed at her and her son. My cousin’s wife then said to them, “I am just like you, opposition.” The men then laughed at her took the car and belongings and left her and her son behind.
A few weeks back, my friend here in the States was talking to her mom to find out her neighbor who was in her twenties was driving her car in Salamieh and was stopped by armed men. They told her to get out of the car. She told them the same thing as my cousin’s wife, “I am like you against this government.” They replied to her, “We are not opposition or pro-government.”
Syrian News Agency reported a few weeks ago, that armed men came into a restaurant just outside of Salamieh, kidnapped two people, killed two people, and stole money from everyone. I later found out that the people that were killed that day were twenty-something boys from Salamieh.
Many people have not heard about Salamieh but it’s a growing city that is in the governance of Hama. The city and the villages surrounding it are religiously diverse of different Islamic sects that inter-marry and live in peace just like the majority of Syria.
After March of 2011, Salamieh was split in half, the Communist protested and the pro-government rallied. Blood in Salamieh was not split though there were cars getting broken into by rival sides and threats. The first Salamieh blood that was split was my friend’s cousin back in September. The man drove a truck for the Government oil company; the truck was stopped by armed men and shot and killed. His funeral turn out was both pros and antis trying to blame other side.
Since last March, I personally know three kidnap victims from Salamieh; including the current victim who’s ransom is at three million Syrian pounds right now. This does not mean there has only been three, just that I know three personally.
Salamieh is now an overcrowded city, with refugees from Homs and Hama, and no real security yet. A city that hardly ever saw any crime is now overrun by thefts, kidnappings, break-ins. There are two Alawite villages next to Salamieh who have been threatened to be shot up by opposition-armed gangs. Police and security force presence is finally noticeable in the city and surrounding areas. But it does not seem to be enough. Syrian army tanks have been reported to be at the Castle just outside Salamieh on the road to Hama this week. When I spoke to my family in Salamieh they told me it was mainly a precaution. Hama and Homs are no longer safe havens for armed men and with Salamieh strategically in the middle the army is watching the roads.
But one this is clear, this city just like many other cities in Syria have been experience a crime trend. This truly has nothing to do with the reforms or the “revolution.” This is all about getting money, causing chaos, and gaining power. Yet with all of this right in front of the eyes of the citizens, they still cannot seem to unite and despite their views on the government work together to save their city or their nation.
Salamieh, just like Aleppo and Damascus, was a city that one could walk around at 3am and not worry about a thing. Now police are on their guard trying to help out the city. But the city is divided which makes keeping the city safe even more difficult.
Even if external parties were to stop their war against Syria, it will take a long time for Syria to be fixed internally. Armed men are not just going to disappear; thieves and kidnappers are not just going to stop. Citizens will continue to hate each other and blame the other side. But this selfishness needs to stop. This Arab tribal rivalry intuition needs to end. The country again needs to unite not for a government but for a nation for their lives and the lives of their future.
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