Solidarity with Syria’s fight

NEW YORK--Some 200 people mobilized April 22 in front of the United Nations under the rallying cry "Yalla, freedom NOW! Syria, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain."

The protest was made up largely of people of Syrian origin, with those from Yemen also represented. Some protesters traveled from as far away as Boston and Ohio to join the protest. Organized by the umbrella group Arab-Americans for Democracy In Syria, the rally was spirited and loud enough that the chants and demands, largely in Arabic, could be heard blocks away.

Calls for solidarity among Syrian ethnic and religious groups were prominent. Chants included "Syrians, Sunni and Alawites; All are calling for freedom" and "One, one people! The Syrians are one people!"

Making the point that the Syrian people want bread and roses--that is, to live in dignity--one of the chants taken up most vigorously was "Leave, leave Bashar; The Syrian people are not hungry!" And in a call for true democracy, the crowd chanted, "Al-Assad: It's time for the PEOPLE to take your place!"

A loud cheer went up when the protesters were joined by a feeder march of a few dozen Yemenis, highlighting their common cause.

An open letter to all Syrian-Americans read from the front declared: "After decades of oppression, brutality and fear, the citizens of Syria have decided that they have had enough and choose to break their chains and control their own fate...If all of us act together, now, as one, our loved ones abroad will have nothing to fear in Syria but fear itself."

Failed attempts to rally the crowd to the chant of "give me liberty or give me death" were explained by a fellow demonstrator from Syria: With hundreds of demonstrators in Syria being shot down or tortured daily, the call is too close to the bone. He explained, "We don't want death. We want LIBERTY."