This podcast was recorded at 2:30 am Tokyo Time. It may be hard for people who sit as the ethnic majority and consider themselves as the identity itself to be defined. It was totally fortunate that our time both met with our schedule, and we could start recording just several hours ago. After I heard Suzan Quitaz’s story of being recognized as a Kurd for the first time at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, I had a lot to think over what the word " minority means, and also what the word minority means to people who don’t belong to the majority.
On August 3rd, what I heard from Zayd was more than painful. I was expecting what was happening in Suwayda to be horrific. However, what if the horrifying incident is happening told by a person you're acquainted with?
I’m not mixing and asking Nervanah to speak on my behalf of. However, in reality, Israel is the only nation that is supporting and bringing humanitarian aid to Suwayda. And, as many people expect, this is one of the fastest and direct urgent solutions for people in Suwayda.
I told Nerverna how devastating the story Zayd, the very person from Suwayda, told me, and a volunteer translator Maya, about the devastation and, most importantly, how this siege started on July 13th. As I said, where is the international media condemning the ethnic cleansing posed by the central government of Syria? What does it mean by “Answer what I want to hear. What does it mean by Syria” mean? Is there any answer to resort to for the Druze left?
Beyond that, Nerverna told me what is happening in universities in Damascus today. At this moment. The Druze, Bedouins, Alawaits, and all the ethnic minorities are denied entry into the university and banned from accessing the lectures.
It’s not just social media. However, Syrian intel services are now collecting information based on how the students look, their accents, and presumably the list of names from the universities, and also from social media.
Approximately 3,000 people were slaughtered during these 30 days, and 1,000 people were taken hostage. The corpses have started decomposing, causing enormous smells. To the ethnic minorities like Druze, it’s devastating that 3,000 people were slaughtered just because they’re Druze. Even though it wasn’t the ethnic minority, the number counts, looking at Gaza. Why isn’t the world paying attention to the brutal murder by HTS, which is still happening now?
In addition to the brutal slaughter, 1,000 Druze were kidnapped and they have been in the concentration camps to be abused as sex slaves and for other purposes. Obviously, the southern and northern parts of Syria, and the whereabouts of those who were kidnapped to the northern part of Syria, are totally uncertain.
Jews are the ethnic minority of the Middle East. So are the Druze. Right now, the Druze most definitely need international protection so that they survive this crisis of extermination. The siege that started on July 13th wasn’t about the struggle between the two ethnic groups. It was a staged siege that was caused mainly of the sectarian issue.
This is the year 2025. The world is only paying attention to the ethnic majority with millions in population. Neverna’s desperate wish is that there is a peaceful path for Syria so that everyone is able to survive. In terms of everyone, she’s talking about the ethnic minorities that exist in Syria, including Christians.
Please listen to our conversation on my podcast “Hannah Klein’s Time.” Israeli Druze are desperate to save the lives of their families. Thoughts and condolences aren’t enough. The international community must move forward so that the brutal massacre is stopped.
I’ll update on the situation in Suwayda in a timely manner.
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