Aug. 21 marked the two-year anniversary of the chemical weapon attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, found by international investigations to have been the work of the Bashar Assad regime. The Syrian diaspora around the world held protests and vigils marking the event. The vigil in New York's Times Square for a second year drew some 200, wearing matching t-shirts reading "CHEMICAL MASSACRE IN SYRIA: WE WILL NEVER FORGET." Amid Syrian flags (the pre-Assad version that is used by the rebel forces), protesters laid white-shrouded effigies representing the dead, and as the sun set lit rows of small candles numbering 1,400—the estimated number killed in the attack. Chants—led by children, prominently including a girl of perhaps 10 years—included "BASHAR ASSAD, YOU WILL SEE; SYRIA, SYRIA WILL BE FREE"; 'BASHAR, ISIS, THEY'RE THE SAME; ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE NAME"; and "SYRIA, SYRIA, DON'T YOU CRY; WE WILL NEVER LET YOU DIE."
Photo: StopMotionSolo
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