On February 2nd, 1982, our beautiful city of Hama was massacred by Syrian dictator Hafez Al-Assad. The massacre lasted 26 days, murdering 40,000 Hamwis with 15,000 disappeared - likley taken to Assad's torture prisons. 100,000 Hamwis were expelled from their hometown, never to return.
The massacre was led by Rifaat Al-Assad, Hafez's brother, who laid siege to the city with 12,000 troops. Rifaat was responding to a Muslim Brotherhood resistance which fought against Assad's dictatorship - a brutal regime that came to power through a violent military coup in 1971, ending Syria's decades of democracy.
Rifaat butchered Hama. There was no distinction made between militants and civilians - bombs were dropped on mosques, residential buildings, schools, and hospitals. Stories are still told of men, women, and children being dragged to the street to be gunned down, raped, and burnt alive. Rifaat's soldiers were given free rein to mercilessly commit countless war crimes and terrorize the city.
The Hama massacre will never be forgiven. But in Syria, speaking of the massacre results in forced disappearances - a common practice by the Assad regime. Those who disappear are usually taken to a government torture prison or sold into human trafficking. The names of those disappeared are never to be spoken of again, lest those who speaks of them disappear as well.
Noria stands loudly against the atrocities committed in Hama. We have the privilege of the diaspora, the ability to speak out against the Assad dictatorship without repercussion. It is our responsibility to carry the history of our city and seek accountability no matter what.
