Syria: A Christmas Massacre

More than 250 Syrians have been killed over the past two days, sending shock waves around the world. Reports of “horrific massacres” come from the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), which has urged the Arab League to condemn the killings and the United Nations to take measures to protect civilians.
Rima Maktabi tweets:

@rimamaktabi: The SNC is saying 250 people killed in 48 hrs in #syria, and called for international protection to civilians

Saudi blogger Ahmed Al Omran, who works at NPR, spends his days (and nights) going through videos of crimes committed against Syrian civilians and sharing them online, on his Twitter feed.
Last night he tweeted several disturbing videos and then exclaimed:

@ahmed: Sick, sick to the stomach.

He explains the reason to Saudi Iman Al Qhatani:

@ahmed: @ImaQh just feeling really disturbed after watching these Syria videos. Don't watch them.

Al Omran, who clearly marks videos he links to with the warnings GRAPHIC and EXTREMELY GRAPHIC, further elaborates:

@ahmed: Videos of the shelling on Bab Amr are outrageously horrifying. I'm not sure I can handle the videos that will come out of Kafarwaid, Idlib.

This horror, and the world's silence as preparations are underway for the holiday season, has prompted netizens to tweet about the developments in Syria under the hash tag Christmas Massacre. The aim is to draw attention to the suffering of Syrian people and the lack of action in the corridors of world powers.
Jana FreeSyria puts the horror Syrians face in perspective. She writes:

@SYRIAslyJana: To grasp how cold blooded this regime is,they murder a whole family but leave one person alive to watch and suffer #Assad #christmasmassacre

SeekerSk quips:

@SeekerSK: While some watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Others live “How Assad Stole Lives” #ChristmasMassacre #Syria

and adds:

@SeekerSk: #ChristmasMassacre Some people are decorating their homes in red and green, Assad has turned our green #Syria red with blood

You sense the bitterness in the following tweet regarding YouTube, where most of the videos showing the atrocities being committed against Syrian civilians are posted.

@SeekerSk: Funny how YouTube deems videos of our dead suitable for 18+ but our dead are themselves below the age of 18 #Syria

Another Twitter user, Syrian Pearl notes:

@March15Syria: As children around the globe ask for Santa to rain on gifts, Syrian children ask for the world to rain on help #ChristmasMassacre

Kareem Lailah reminds us:

@KareemLailah: #ChristmasMassacre is a massacre happens in #Syria now while you are preparing Christmas gifts.

And Malath Aumran adds:

@MalathAumran: once upon a massacre… the world was watching and condemning for 10 months #Syria

I tweet:

@JustAmira: The top video on Twitter when you look up #ChristmasMassacre is the torso of the child with no head. Well done Bashar. Hope you are proud

For more reactions, check out the hash tag #ChristmasMassacre on Twitter.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

Written by Amira Al HussainiGlobal Voices