I have no doubt you will be aware of the current unrest in Syria. However, what you may not be fully aware of it that on May the 25th, a massacre took place in Houla. According to The Economist 'UN observers who surveyed the scene the next day counted 108 dead, including 49 children. The massacre was one of the bloodiest yet in a civil war that has cost an estimated 12,000 lives since unrest started in March last year.'
More shocking was the way in which those men, women and children died. They 'were not killed by random shelling. The UN revealed that they were murdered one by one. The militia came in the night armed with knives and guns, and the young victims were executed with a bullet to the head or a knife to the throat.
One photograph shows a cherubic baby girl, no older than 2, with a tiny gold ear-stud. She is wrapped in a white shroud. Half her skull has been hacked or blown away. A saucer of bone juts from a bloody gash in what remains of her head.' (The Times 30.05.12)
I'm sure you will agree that this is appalling, shocking, sickening even. I am ashamed to admit that I couldn't read the full article in The Times. I was crying after the first two paragraphs and felt sick to my stomach. I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to read about such horrific suffering. Yet it is happening and it the slaughter of innocent children in Syria will continue to happen unless more action is taken to stop the killing.
Save the Children are calling for 'an immediate and legally binding Resolution to Protect Children that carries the full force of international law.'. Agencies such as Save the Children need access into Syria, to help protect children and help those who have suffered physically and emotionally due to the violence.
If you want to help, you can sign the Save the Children petition here. You can also write a blog post and link up at BritMums. You can also retweet links to blog posts, and tweets you see using the hashtags #Syria #StoptheKilling and #tippingpoint. it might not seem like much, but if we all shout together, our voice will be heard.
