Syria.

not a day goes by that we don't hear about Syria.

the noise is only getting louder.

i know, bad stuff happens in the world all the time (i am that jaded), but Syria has been striking a particular chord with me for weeks.

"to know somewhere, go somewhere." -me (i just made that up, should someone else claim it, i googled it and found nothing).

that's one of the reasons i'm addicted to travel. in April 2010 my buddy Will + I decided it would be a stop of our Middle East trip (we also spent some time in Jordan + Dubai). what i didn't know then is that it would be THE stop. i already wrote a more detailed post about this trip, photos and all (Syria is about halfway down).

i've been lots of places, but i've rarely met a people as friendly as those in Syria. while i didn't go as far as going into homes like my fellow backpacker pal from Korea, everywhere we encountered smiling, welcoming locals.

our driver Abraham and his Arabic pop music, the fresh fish guy (and his son) on the street, the weird gypsy lady and her outdoor pizza oven, the numerous hotel patrons with their boiled eggs and pita, the guys on the street handing us random candy, the Aleppo waiter bringing out ice cream for no reason, the crazy taxi driver(s), the rug salesman our age we spoke with at the bathes who was kinda ok with Israel, and of course, the many, many kids at the ruins asking me to have their picture with Will (tall white guy? he must be a European footballer!), etc. don't get me started on the food.

and now they're being shot at and shelled. by their president. and their army.

and nothing. is. happening.

so for some (obvious) reason, this has been particularly upsetting.

i get it, this isn't the first time this has happened in the world, and nor will it be the last. and big surprise, we do nothing, because this is "a (relatively) unique situation on the world stage."

i know the superheroes i grew up with had no such BS qualms.

Bashar al-Assad. you really suck.

seriously, go away already.