Dr. Amer Mahayni: Three of his cousins were killed in Damascus. "If we really cherish freedom, why are we not helping" the rebels, he asked.
Tulsa Syrians have watched with horror and dismay over the past two years as thousands of civilians in their homeland have been shot, raped and now gassed by the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
They differ on whether it is too late for a U.S. military strike against the Assad regime.
And some of them feel deeply betrayed that the free world did not act earlier.
Dr. Amer Mahayni, a cardiologist who lives in Broken Arrow and practices in Muskogee, said government soldiers shot and killed three of his cousins in Damascus in cold blood, one of them a 24-year-old father of two young children who was on the street to buy bread.
"They can stop anyone and kill them for no reason, just for the sake of terrorizing the people," he said. "It's terrible.
"But more terrible is the fact that the whole nation rose up against tyranny and decided to pursue freedom at all cost, and the free world just watched and did nothing.
"If we really cherish freedom, why are we not helping? It's been going on for the last two and half years. Almost everyone I talk to feels the betrayal of the free world.
"We're talking about a simple, unarmed population against a very strong army and a dictator determined to commit atrocities to maintain his position."
Mahayni said a U.S. military strike now would be "too little too late. It's not what they need. What they need is quality weapons. All the rest is cosmetic."
He said he stays in almost daily contact with his family in Damascus and with his wife's family in Idlib, a small city in northern Syria.
He was last in Damascus visiting family in March 2011, when the first demonstrations were held.
"My friends were in the demonstration," he said. "I regret one thing, that I did not have a chance to participate."
Sabri Husibi came to Tulsa 16 years ago from Damascus, Syria, on a business visa and is now a U.S. citizen.
He talks almost daily with family members back home who are trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation.
"It's getting really serious now," he said.
Two of his brothers have moved with their families into their mother's house in the heart of Damascus because their houses in the suburbs were either bombed or rendered unlivable by the fighting.
Some of his cousins have died.
Four months ago, he said, his mother had a heart attack. Because of the chaos and checkpoints in the city, it took four hours to get her to the hospital two miles away. She died on the way.
The borders of Jordan and Lebanon are less than 40 miles away, but it's too dangerous for his family to try to get there.
"Assad is one of the worst dictators," he said. "His regime is one of the most corrupt on Earth. We've been suffering under it for 50 years."
He said the United States waited too long to act and now it's too late.
"I'm a liberal and a Democrat," he said. "I used to think George Bush was an idiot. But now I miss George Bush, a strong president who stood up for freedom. ... We came here for freedom."
Faud Shimi, a software engineer who came to the United States 21 years ago as a 17-year-old student, said Americans are not getting accurate information about the suffering of the Syrian people.
"So many innocent people are dying," he said.
Shimi's parents have fled to the United Arab Emirates and one brother has fled to Egypt, but another brother and two sisters and their children are still in Damascus.
"They're struggling," he said. "The kids are afraid to go to school. Walking on the streets is risky because of the snipers."
The price of food and propane for cooking has gone up five-fold, and the economy, which relies heavily on tourism, is in shambles, he said.
Shimi said he did not want the United States to get involved in another Iraq or Afghanistan but noted that something needs to be done.
"At the very least, enforce a no-fly zone so the government cannot use helicopters and planes to kill people," he said. "And it's never too late to supply them (the rebels) with arms. Innocent lives are still being lost."
Another Broken Arrow physician from Syria said he favors U.S. air strikes to end the government's control of the skies and to help end the stalemate in the fighting.
He said he fears the government will use chemical weapons again as Assad becomes more frustrated and weaker.
His parents, a brother and three sisters and their families live in Homs in central Syria, one of the worst-hit areas. They struggle to get water, food and gas for cooking.
"I tried to convince my parents to come over here, but they are old. They don't want to leave," he said.
He asked that his name not be used.
"I'm very concerned about the safety of my family," he said.
Bill Sherman 918-581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Syrians in Tulsa worry for country
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