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| Abu Sameh feeds the lamb and two sheep and dons his sleeveless jacket to set out |
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| Abul-Izz (top) and Abu Sameh exchange pecks on the cheek before setting out on reconnaissance |
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| Gardening chores before the cup of tea |
In war, the
elders give the orders while the young do the fighting and die.
Not so in
the Syria war, now into its third year.
There, two
spry and energetic elders have joined the young in fighting Assad regime forces
at the risk of dying.
The pair are
a sexagenarian known by his nom de guerre, Abu Sameh, and his friend, who goes
by the assumed name of Abul-Izz.
Abul-Izz is
dubbed “شيخ المقاتلين” (“Dean of Fighters”) because he is about to move into the septuagenarian bracket.
As Free
Syrian Army members, Abu Sameh and Abul-Izz, aka the Dean of Fighters, meet at
the break of dawn every morning for a routine joint patrol to scout out the peripheries
of their community.
Theirs is
one of a belt of rebel-controlled communities to the northeast and south of
Damascus.
Speaking on
camera to Aljazeera reporter Mahmoud al-Shami in Rif Dimashq
governorate, Abu Sameh says he decided to take up arms against the regime after
its forces “took me from home together with my children. They arrested us,
starved us and burnt down our home. They stabbed my son to death and a rocket
killed my grandson.”
The minute-plus
video filmed by Aljazeera shows Abu Sameh going about his daily routine. He starts
by feeding his lamb and two sheep before donning a sleeveless black jacket,
picking up his rifle and walking down the alleyways to fetch Abul-Izz from his
home.
Abul-Izz’s
jacket and rifle match Abu Sameh’s.
After exchanging
quick pecks on the cheek and walking down an alleyway side by side, the two men
at the winter of life go separate ways to their respective lookouts on the
fringes of their township.
Abu Sameh
returns to his dwelling on completion of the day’s reconnaissance mission. After
some gardening chores, he starts an antiquated bucket of fire to boil a rusted
teakettle.
After
defeating age, he calmly sips his “cuppa” to the staccato of
gunfire and thuds of explosions in the distance (see the video below).
