Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA-With each day that passes, the Syrian army’s battlefield victories continue to roll on, clawing back control of terrorism-fatigued towns and villages and returning families anguished by being away from home.
The Syrian army is celebrating the 69th anniversary of its foundation. Analysts suggest that the war against Syria would have debilitated the strongest of armies, even bringing about their downfall and disintegration. The Syrian army, to the contrary, has been putting up epic resistance and holding its ground thanks to its patriotic fervor and the support of the Syrian people.
Let alone theories and comparisons: only the Syrian soldiers are privy to the travails of the battlefield, recounting details of courage and patriotism that have made them a household name.
Ghazi Hassan, who suffered stabs of pain over three months after he was injured while defending Aleppo Central Prison, continued to provide moral support for his comrades in arms, encouraging them to go ahead in their mission.
“Three months before the siege [of Aleppo Central Prison] was broken, I sustained an injury to my left thigh and a bone fracture, and due to the siege’s circumstances, I did not get the necessary treatment, but my comrades were there for me,” he recalls.
Despite his pain, Ghazi would not let his family in on his injury, preferring to spare them the worry. When they called, he would only relay to them news about his brother, who was among the Syrian troops who liberated Aleppo’s prison.
“When the prison was liberated, I asked Ghazi to pose for the camera so that I can see him as the TV was reporting live from inside the prison. He declined, though, and we only came to know about his injury when he arrived at the university hospital in Aleppo.”
Mother of martyr Ali Nasser Sulaiman reminisces about her only son, who headed to the battlefield driven by his love for his country. She takes a trip down the memory lane back to his childhood, recalling how he was pampered and received considerable attention as the only child would.
“My pleas for him to stay with me went unheeded. He was my only son and I was so fond of him. He left for Daraa soon after events there broke out, and he returned eventually… a martyr!” she says, with tears pooling in her eyes.
Hassan Saleh, who was paralyzed after he was injured during one of the confrontations with armed groups, regrets that he cannot go back to the battlefield.
“I once asked a friend of mine who visited me after I was injured to take me with him to fight. Although I was paralyzed in the lower part of my body but I still can use my hands and carry a weapon… I am not afraid of fighting terrorists,” he said.
Hardly a house in Syria escaped the woes of war, but each cloud of loss and sacrifice has a silver lining of courage, determination and will. It is a lesson the Syrian army soldiers know quite well: that the road to victory is only charted by sacrifice.
M. Ismael
