This section lists my writings inspired from my travelling the world.
I lived in Syria in 2007 and have returned to the country a numbers of times since then, including during the troubles in 2011. I believe the West’s reporting of Syria, including that of the BBC, is mis-leading at best.
My reports from Syria are inspired by the BBC reports from Sue Lloyd Roberts (HERE), who was ‘smuggled’ into Syria about one week before I arrived on a plane from London and entered the country as easy as anything through the arrivals lounge of Damascus Airport!
She claims she had to go undercover to meet anti-government protesters in secret, and was kept hidden in a bare apartment. I slept soundly in a 3-Star hotel in the centre of Damascus and met with protesters throughout the country in parks, cafes, etc.
My reports are based on knowledge and personal experience from living in, and visiting, Syria during the recent five years of President Assad’s eleven years in power. Sue Lloyd Roberts judged ‘after five days it was time to leave’. I was there 18 days on this particular trip.
In her personal blog (HERE) , Lloyd-Roberts says…
“It was a frustrating way to report on the Syrian uprising, not least because it was impossible to get a camera out to record a demonstration or even a street scene. I would have been arrested immediately. Not only were foreign journalists forbidden access to Syria but there were no foreign tourists there either.”
The opposite is true. American journalists from CNN had been reporting from Syria well before Sue Lloyd Roberts arrived. Far from there being no foreign tourists, I met with European students in Damascus – studying at the university! My photos and videos in my ‘Protest Friday’ posts (HERE) clearly demonstrate that it is far from impossible to get camera out and film a street scene. In fact, its something close to piss-easy.
Click to watch some of my exclusive videos of Syria.
(especially if you’re Sue Lloyd-Roberts!)