It is indeed sad that a channel like the National Geographic Channel should be so misinformed about actual events in Syria.
Their film “Hell on Earth”(2017) talks about the death of four people and attributes it to the Syrian Arab Army. The people are”: Amin Nakrour, Atallah Aboud, Ibrahim S’ada and Maya Barshini.
The supposed documentary talks about two women, a girl and her mother who come from Homs.The girl talks about her “friends” (the previously mentioned names) she states that Amin Nakrour was killed during the events along with three others. She alleges that the Syrian army killed them.
The truth is that these four civilians were killed in an ambush by armed terrorists near Al Hosn town in the countryside of Homs. The ambush happened on 17th of August 2013. Their target was a local defense point and anyone including civilians who happened to be passing at that time. Not only that but opposition pages on facebook gloated that they had killed “Shabiha for the regime”. Shabiha is a term used to give a negative meaning for supporters of the Syrian government.
Obviously there has been a backlash from the relatives of the murdered people. The brother of Amin Nakrour wrote on his facebook page for all to read “https://www.facebook.com/amin.naqroor.page.shahid/ ” that his brother was never a friend of the girl acting in the documentary nor did he know her. He expressed both anger and horror at what the National Geographic had produced. He said his parents were devastated when they heard their son’s name in the “documentary” and they saw the pictures of their son-pictures that had been taken without their permission and names used without their knowledge.
“Surely it is illegal to do so?” they questioned.
Six years ago yesterday this tragedy happened. And then a film came- a “documentary” that instead of telling the truth about how these poor innocent civilians died told a lie instead. A fabrication that would go well with the western scenario of what has happened and is happening in Syria.
The film ends and the names of the four martyrs appear in the closing credit. Then they write a lie, blaming the Syrian state for their death. Untruth based upon untruth yet published as truth. This is the sad story of Syria.
Reem Haddad
Editor in Chief