For our beloved children

A group of children ages between 10-12 in Syria affected by the Arab spring in Tunisia and Egypt they were watching on TV, at school next day they innocently wrote this phrase on the blackboard: The nation wants to topple regime. Following day a group of security "intelligence" forces stormed their school and dragged the children from their classes. Families and parents begged the official in their city to release their children because they do not understand what they did and they were affected with what they were seeing on TV, the official asked for a ransom and told them that they will never see their children again…

The children were tortured, when they were released, their fragile bodies were covered with wounds and bruises, Syrians were angry, people wanted to get rid of corruption.

On May 2011, we were devastated when a 13 years old sweet boy called Hamza Al Khateeb was tortured barbarically and sent to his parents to deliver a message to people that this what will happen to them and their children if they oppose the regime. Such acts never scared people, on the contrary people were more determined to overthrow the ruling oligarchic family in Syria. Hamza's body was mutilated, covered with cigarettes burns, blue bruises, his private body part was cut and he was shot. The same was repeated and this time a 15 years old boy called Thamer was tortured to death and had drilling marks on his face, his teeth were missing. One month ago, 5 years old girl Ola Jabalawi was assassinated in her right eye savagely and her father who was trying to protect his little girl was arrested, no one heard of him. There are other children imprisoned and tortured in jails in front of their families in an attempt by the regime to break people's spirits and enslave them again.

Syrian regime recruited some teachers thugs to interrogate children in schools and extract information about their parents and families. Some teachers and supervisors even ask children what channels they see other than state TV. Since the schools started this month security forces and thugs loyal to the regime were besieging schools and shooting in the air to terrorize students and teachers in order to prevent them from protesting, these thugs do not hesitate to open their fire at children. Many parents did not send their children to school and will not till the regime toppled or the it stops its terrorist attacks. What is more disgusting is that state media accused these children of being terrorists, they said 13 years old Hamza was out to rape women!

Such practices are not acceptable and cannot be tolerated no matter what the reasons are, children should not be targeted or hurt in any way in order to get to their families. All these actions did not move UNICEF, and I do not know what they are waiting for. A shy report is not enough.

We revolted to protect our children from the savageness of this regime, this revolution is for our beloved children.