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Wendy Pearlman QUOTES

Wendy Pearlman QUOTES

1 " Abu Firaa, fighter (rural Idlib)
For every action there is a reaction. When the regime is killing in this way, people become what we call jihadists and you call terrorists. I swear to God that I have nothing but respect for you regardless of your ethnicity, religion, or nationality. But when my sister is arrested and they rape her, I have no problem entering any place in the world with a car strapped with explosives. Because no country in the world is paying attention to me. Not a single one is doing anything to protect any fraction of the rights that I should have as a human being living on Earth.

I'm not saying that the conscience of the international community is asleep. I'm saying that conscience doesn't exist at all. "

― Wendy Pearlman

2 " It's been so long since I heard that someone died of natural causes. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

3 " The regime has turned us into monsters so it can justify killing us by saying that it's fighting monsters... I imagine this man who loses his kids- the one thing that defines his future. I completely understand if he turns into a monster. But even a monster has hope. He hopes that someday he'll go back to being a normal human being. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

4 " For many Syrians, the start of a new life in Europe was the third in a succession of traumas. The trauma of war was followed by the trauma of a death-defying journey, only to be eclipsed by the trauma of disappointed expectations upon arriving in the West. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

5 " We know that freedom has a price. Democracy has a price. But maybe we paid a price that is higher than freedom and higher than democracy. There is always a price for freedom. But not this much. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

6 " I remember we crossed a bridge and it trembled underneath our feet because we were so many people. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

7 " Hey, Mom, what’s new?” “By God, today it’s raining and foggy.” “Foggy” meant security forces were present. “Raining” meant they’re shooting. “Storms” meant shelling. And we were saying all of this in the heat of summer! "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

8 " But even a monster has hope. He hopes that someday he’ll go back to being a normal human being. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

9 " Cherin, mother (Aleppo) We had gotten used to oppression. It was part of our life, like air, sun, water. We didn’t even feel it. Like there is air, but you never ask, “Where is the air?” A lot of people were opposed to the way things were, but no one protested. You just adapted to oppression and rotted along with it. And then—in one second, in one shout, one voice—you blow it up. You defy it and stand in front of death. You have an inheritance, and after thirty years, you slam it on the ground and shatter it. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

10 " Every lawyer told me, “We’ll get him out.” But they were just lying so I would keep paying them. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

11 " if the world had helped us from the beginning, we never would have reached this point. Some think that we’re religious fundamentalists. But nobody forces me to fast during Ramadan. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

12 " I swear, in Syria nobody used to ask whether you’re Muslim or Christian. We had no idea what religion our friends were. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

13 " But we haven’t come looking for safety. We’re not afraid of death.” And it’s true. We don’t have a problem with death. Our problem is life without dignity. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

14 " I started yelling in a loud voice, “Dignity!” What did we want after dignity? We didn’t know. But we knew that we needed more than just food. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

15 " Hama today is nearly without men. There are only women and old people. My sister calls it “the Widow City. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

16 " The more someone supported the regime, the more he was scared of it. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

17 " Blood is what moves people. Blood is the force of the revolution. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

18 " There’s nothing to protect us. No state, no government, no law, no human rights. Animals have more rights than we do. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

19 " Many people aren’t happy with the refugees coming to their country. Maybe we came illegally, but every other door was shut in our faces. What do they expect us to do? "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

20 " Arabs used to produce science and algebra and now we’re famous for killing. "

― Wendy Pearlman , We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria