Rest in the Shade of Trees

For a what feels like an eternity now I have been struggling with the issue of Syria. It has captivated me from the outbreak of protest in this land I know so little about. Being who I am, I was unable to turn away from what once again seemed to be the beginning of a horrible chapter in our world's history. And every day I felt a part of me dieing as I watched the images of death dance before my eyes.

It was hard to imagine Syria going on as long as it has. The bleeding of the population at Assad's hands has been something that has not been seen in the Middle East since Saddam's day's in Iraq. Yet the world seems no better prepared to stop Assad than they were when it was time to stop Saddam's slaughter of the Kurds.

As I looked around the web to see if anybody, anyone at all, felt the same way I did. For some time now it seemed that nobody else cared at all. The news media seems far to willing to down play the violence so as to benefit the United States President in an election year. Putin's media seems to know its place when it comes to his support of Assad. And Europe seems to be asleep, or worse yet... without a pulse at all, when it comes to stopping genocide.

Then I stumbled upon a glimmer of hope in the most unlikely place of all... to me at least.

For some time now Alder's Ledge has had a minor outlet on Instagram. My personal account links to the blog and many of our post are highlighted in my daily activity on Instagram. But I had no idea how many other people on that app were paying attention to Syria or genocide at all.

The main page on Instagram that Alder's Ledge follows and supports as best we can is "Faces For Syria" (@ronieyal if you want to search by name). And the concept this page uses to attract support is unique to say the least.

"This page is meant to raise awareness to the massacre in Syria. Let's get together and STOP It. Every face is a person who care. Tag #helpsavesyria"

And with that you are greeted with picture after picture of people's faces. That is all the pictures show until you scroll down and read the tags. The concept is that each person who's picture you see has offered their support by signing the petition this page links to. Like I said, unique. You not only sign a faceless petition and offer your name in support but instead show the world who you are and what you care about.

So for all you who read this blog I would like to offer you a chance to sign the petition (and if you are on Instagram please follow "Faces For Syria"). All you have to do is click the link below and fill in the blanks. You can also help spread the word by sharing this blog post on Facebook and joining our open group there. Or follow us on Twitter.

Remember.... Read, Share, and Scream with us.

http://m.ipetitions.com/#petition/stop-the-killings-in-syria