The women and children waited until early morning of April 28 and then they fled in their hundreds. Most of the Syrians walked the few short kilometers from their hometown of Tall Kalakh, a cluster of low-slung cream-colored homes scattered on a gently sloping hill, toward the sleepy Lebanese village of Al-Boqia’a just across the river that demarcates the border, a two-hour drive north of Beirut
Tag Archives: protesters
Yemen’s Crisis: The Opposition Splits from the Street
On Tuesday, when Yemen’s opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties , agreed to a weekend initiative that offered immunity to President Ali Abdullah Saleh in exchange for his resignation in 30 days, street protesters throughout the country were enraged. The way the mostly young activists of the demonstrations saw it, their grassroots movement was being usurped and their voices drowned out
Assad and Reform: Damned if He Does, Doomed if He Doesn’t
Once upon a time, Syria erected a formidable barrier of fear that kept its citizens in check for decades. Today, however, authoritarian Baathist rule isn’t looking all that insurmountable anymore
Snyder v. Phelps: The Price of Free Speech
This is Matt’s day, Albert Snyder kept telling himself that March morning in 2006, hours before he laid his only son to rest. This is about Matt
‘Buy This Satellite’: Ensuring Internet and Texting Access in Egypt
When the Egyptian government blocked Internet access and mobile texting capabilities in an attempts to thwart protesters’ ability to organize, Kosta Grammatis had new ammunition to pitch his big idea: what if there was a satellite service for Internet and phone — affordable for the average Egyptian — that could not be shut off?
Non-Starter: Why Libya’s Rebels Distrust the African Union
An African delegation on a mission to end the seven-week conflict in Libya received a hostile welcome in the rebel capital of Benghazi Monday. “No Gaddafi, no sons!” hundreds of protesters shouted as they swarmed the vehicles of the Presidents of Congo, Mali, Mauritania and Uganda
Transcript: President Obama’s Remarks on Egypt
Good evening, everybody. My administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Egypt, and I know that we will be learning more tomorrow when day breaks
Egypt: Is the Military with or Against the Revolution?
When I met Awad Mahmoud el-Abedy, a 36-year-old tour guide, on Feb. 4, he was manning a pile of stones at the southern entrance to Tahrir Square and had the wild-eyed disheveled look of a freedom fighter
As U.S. Support Erodes, Yemen’s Regime Lashes Out
Even before the blasts of gunfire rang out, antigovernment protesters marching in Taiz, Yemen, knew that Monday was going to be different. They had seen the men milling ominously on the rooftops that lined the street
Boehner’s Choice: Brace for a Government Shutdown, or Cross the Tea Party
John Boehner, who often meets the press flanked by a team of deputies, took the podium alone on Thursday. With a week left before the government shuts down April 8, the House Speaker took pains to dispel rumors of a deal.