Fiquei impressionado ao ler o artigo de capa da última edição da revista TIME, “Voices from the rubble”. São vários relatos de pessoas que têm vivido a “agonia” de Ghoutar oriental. Deixo aqui alguns excertos:

Eyad, 27, pai

“We were underground for six days, sharing a basement shelter with 70 other people. You feel the dampness in your bones. The smell of so many people is horrible. You don’t even know which smell belongs to you.”

Nivin, 28, professor

“I left all the news groups that circulate updated lists of those who have been killed. My heart couldn’t take it anymore. But in spite of myself, I read the names of Najah and Lina. I refused to believe that those were my students.”

Taaqi, 30, trabalhador humanitário

“I volunteer for a group called Molham Team. One day a woman came to me, but she was so shy that she wouldn’t make eye contact. She told me that her husband was injured and they hadn’t eaten for two days. Her son was so hungry that she caught him eating his own feces.”

Hamzi, 24, paramédico

"When you’re rescuing someone, you have two minutes max. The regime usually bombs the same area twice in a row, aiming to hit rescue workers with the second strike.Most of our medical facilities are no longer operating. We’re running out of crucial things, like anesthetics. We aren’t able to do much for deep wounds, so we end up amputating entire limbs. Last September, a tiny 3-year-old came into the emergency room with an acute outbreak of herpes. He needed a certain medication that we didn’t have. We sent his name to the Red Cross, which asked the government to permit his immediate evacuation from Ghouta. There was no response. I’ll never forget the day that he passed away."