

By SAMAH HADID
WARNING: This article deals with distressing content, and some readers may find the images upsetting.
Scores of children choking from chemical gas, suffering convulsions, mouths filled with foam as others gasp for air.
These are images I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.
‘Massacre kills almost 1300 Syrians attacked by toxic gas’.
These are words I never thought I’d read in my lifetime.
Distressing reports coming out of Syria suggest that the Assad regime has used toxic chemical weapons against opposition groups, including women and children, in Damascus. The alleged death toll from these attacks is anywhere between 200 to 1300.
The most horrific aspect of these allegations is that chemical weapons, specifically nerve gas, have been used against children – innocent bystanders of this ugly war.
These chemical weapons are banned under international law and the effects of such chemical nerve agents are toxic .
Efforts to curb the use of chemical weapons began in the aftermath of the First World War (during which they were used by all sides). By World War II only Italy and Japan used them regularly. Since then their use has been confined to rogue nations.
While the footage has yet to be fully verified, the images of children suffering from the effects of chemical weapons are forever imprinted in my mind. The videos spreading online show the surreal aftermath of what appear to be gas attacks.
Graphic videos show civilians and children suffering from convulsions, loss of consciousness, vomiting, salivation and suffocation – all of which are symptoms of chemical nerve gas.
I’m left shaken after watching the disturbing footage of the aftermath of the Syrian conflict- children suffering seizures and choking, amid rooms filled with dead bodies.
Top Comments
Please please read this and take action Australian politicians.
Things will never change for the better.
There'll just be occasional days when the suffering is somewhat lesser.