Philippine American War: Balangiga Massacre in Samar

I found these pictures about the historic Balangiga Massacre in Samar, Philippines during the Philippine American War.

The Filipinos attacked and killed 48 members of the US 9th infantry. In retaliation, Gen. Jacob H. Smith ordered the killing of all Filipino males over ten years old. Some 2,500 Filipinos were killed.

The picture above shows the American soldiers with their war booty, the church bell, which remains in the hands of the Americans.

Syrian War: An Open Letter to Father Paolo Dall'Oglio

Father Paolo Dall'Oglio is an Italian Jesuit priest who had worked in Syria and was kidnapped by ISIL last July 29, 2013. A recipient of the Peace Prize from the Italian place of Lombardy for his extraordinary work in peacebuilding, Father Paolo was a fierce advocate for peaceful democratic change in Syria. His fate in the hands of ISIL has never been definitively determined.

Following is an Open Letter by Marie Peltier addressed to Father Paolo. The letter, courtesy of Revolucion Syrienne en Francais, is a translation from French.  Father Paolo's photo is courtesy of Wikipedia.


Letter To Paolo - Marie Peltier

Syria: Raqqa Syrian Journalists Killed

I have been following news about the RBSS (Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently), a citizen's group that has been reporting on life in ISIL-occupied Raqqa, Syria. RBSS is just about the only source for reliable news in the area.  For instance RBSS reported about the failed US Special Forces raid to save American journalist James Foley and other hostages; RBSS also covered news about the Jordanian pilot who was burned to death by ISIL.

In retaliation, ISIL has been liquidating RBSS members, calling them spies. A month after RBSS began their work, Al-Moutaz Bellah Ibrahim was kidnapped and killed by ISIL. On October 30, 2015, Ibrahim Abdul Kader and his friend Fares Hammadi were stabbed and beheaded in Urfa, Turkey. On December 16, 2015, Ahmad Mohammed Al Mousa was murdered in Idlib, Syria.

Petition to Preserve Syrian Refugee Progam in US

Zaatari Camp for Syrian Refugees, Jordan

“When hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything and have nothing left but the shirts on their backs, we should not turn our backs on these refugees escaping violence in the Middle East.” ~ Bernie Sanders

Email your US Legislators to Preserve Syrian Refugee Program in the US. 

Write your legislators to support continuing the refugee program that promises refuge to 10,000 Syrians, mostly women and children who are escaping violence in their home country.

USA.gov - Government Agencies and Elected Officials

Keep in mind that the Paris Attack Terrorists were European nationals, not Syrian refugees

.

Know that all refugee applicants to the US will be vetted very, very carefully.

Remember that 10,000 refugees is a drop in the bucket given millions of them have been driven from their homes.

Middle East Refugees "Flight to Egypt"

Read also

Paris Attack 2015: Names Terrorists All European Nationals, not Syrian Refugees

Syrian Refugees: A snapshot of the crisis

Syria Crisis Facts - World Vision

• The Syrian Passport Found at the Paris Attacks #Pa...
• Paris Attacks: Did Facebook Favor Paris Over Beiru...
• Syrilution Creative Arts: Art for Healing
• Prayer for World Peace #parisattacks
• Tags: Syria, Syrian, war, refugees, US, refugee program, petition, #syrianrefugees
• This is all for now,
• Cecilia
• 
  

Syrilution Creative Arts: Art for Healing

The art in this site, Syrilution Creative Arts, is healing. The site is dedicated to promote creative arts related to the events in Syria. Some beautiful work in there.




Read also
Review Salam Neighbor
Our European Cruise: Low Water Level of the Danube and Refugee Crisis

• Prayer for World Peace #parisattacks
• Paris, I Am Very Sorry! #parisattacks
• The Indian Festival of Lights or Diwali
• Tags: Syria, Middle East, #Syria, Syrilution Creative Arts, healing, art, war
• This is all for now,
• Cecilia
• 
  

Sexual Violence Against Women During War

When I visited Berlin last year I found the city gray and dreary, with an edge, as if the ghosts of World War II still hovered about.

I experienced this edgy feeling once again when I watched A Woman in Berlin, a 2009  movie directed by Max Farberbock. Based on a diary by a woman journalist, the movie documents the last days of World War II when Berlin fell to the Soviet Army. The movie is well-done but dark and tense. Several times I threatened to stop watching it because of its relentless lack of cheer, but the history was fascinating.

Heartbreaking!!! - Syrian Boy Drowned

Heartbreaking!!!

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."  ~Matthew 25: 40


Read also
Father Recounts How He Tried to Save Drowned Boys and Wife

Syrian Revolutionary Poem

Song to Lift Your Spirit - "Better than a Hellelujah"

Prayers for Peace in Syria, Iraq, the Middle East

Feastday of Our Lady of Velankani on September 8

Tags: Syria, Middle East, Iraq, #syria, boy drowned, syrian refugees


This is all for now,
Cecilia

JERUSALEM - #3

I will be lazy here and post an excerpt of an email sent to a friend about Israel primarily:

"I will admit I had a bit of apprehension about going to the Middle East, given the political situation. I was worried for Lauren, not for me because he's the one who looks like the "enemy." Surprisingly he didn't get any flack really. You will have heard about the Muslim-American young student who had a difficult time at checkpoints (in Israel)? She and 3 other American students attending Cairo University were in Jerusalem, and we were together to visit Bethlehem. Now these kids entered Israel via land and didn't get their passports stamped; they got a piece of paper, which in the case of Sahara, had been taken away at some point, so she had no entry record. At the Bethlehem border there was a lot of excitement over this, with the young-woman-with-an-uzi checkpoint guard calling her superiors etc. After a lot of la-de-dah they allowed her/us to go to Bethlehem. We didn't have trouble returning to Jerusalem. But these young kids joined a Political Tour and we learned that they had difficulty returning to Jerusalem; their Palistinian tour guide had to travel far to another check point to get that kid back into Jerusalem.

When we were in the Old City during Passover (we lucked out) there were numerous military people with uzis; and there were the checkpoints on the way to Nazareth and Masada. The soldiers are so young, and at the checkpoints and at the airport security, there are many young women. They were arrogant and made little attempt to be polite - I guess this is what power does. In the Tel Aviv airport on our way out, someone cut in front of us and when Lauren asked about this, this woman said, "I'm security and I can do anything."

I kept thinking that there was a reversal of roles there, where the abused is now the abuser. The Palistinians are clearly second-class citizens and I can imagine that they must need to have their IDs and documents in strict order at all times, in case they are quizzed. We stayed in a Palistinian hotel and used a Palistinian tour agency; they were fine. The Palistinian tour guide was an angry man and he went on about the shelling that killed children.

Too many stories really. I'll try and blog them bit by bit.

So, yes, I enjoyed the visit to both Egypt and Israel. It was safer than I imagined, but in Egypt we were insulated; our group had an armed guard. The tourist sites were great. The political situation is disturbing. I think the US is now the modern day Romans."

(more later)