BEIRUT: Umm Mounir has not uttered a word for more than a month, ever since she witnessed the killing of her five children during shelling by Syrian regime forces of the flashpoint central city of Homs.
One of her children was barely an infant when he died.
After the tragedy, Umm Mounir, in her late 20s, was evacuated with hundreds of others to the outskirts of Damascus, where a journalist recently met with her as well as other refugees.
Hosted by an anti-regime activist, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, Umm Mounir sat quiet and expressionless.
“Ever since she arrived here, she hasn't said a word,” said the activist.
“The people who brought her here told me what had happened. We took her to a psychologist for treatment. But she is still in shock.”At least one million people have been displaced inside Syria since the outbreak of the revolt against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in March last year, according to the United Nations.
A large number, mainly from Homs, have sought refuge in towns and villages around the capital.
Fleeing parts of the beleaguered country targeted by a fierce regime crackdown, they have sought refuge in areas such as Jaramana, Rukn al-Din and Qadisa where residents and activists are offering them aid and shelter.
But despite being out of harm's way, at least for now, the horrors they have witnessed cannot be erased.
“My husband was killed and my house was destroyed,” a 25-year-old woman from the battered Homs neighbourhood of Baba Amr told AFP, speaking on condition that her name be withheld.
She said she had no choice but to flee after her home was destroyed in March during fierce shelling by government troops.
“I took my four children and ran away,” she said.
Their escape was itself fraught with difficulty.
“We had to move from house to house, hiding constantly. I was terrified we might be taken prisoner by regime forces,” the woman said.
“They were killing people in cold blood, just because they came from Baba Amr.” The rebel stronghold that was home to some 20,000 people came under nearly a month of relentless shelling by government forces in March that destroyed much of the neighbourhood and left hundreds dead, according to human rights groups.
Most of the residents fled the assault fearing for their lives.
The government argues its operation was aimed at ridding Homs of “armed terrorist groups”. But residents now living as refugees near Damascus tell a different story.
They spoke of adult males being arbitrarily detained, of women being raped by regime troops and their paramilitary supporters known as the shabiha, and of summary executions.
Refugees said water and electricity were cut off in Baba Amr throughout the government assault and many fled with simply the clothes on their backs. Several women said they were forced to sell their jewellery to survive.
“When I first got to Damascus, I didn't have the money to even buy bread,”said the 25-year-old mother of four who lost her husband. “I sold all my gold.
“I tried to find work, but things were bad here too,” added the woman, who looked way beyond her age.
“It was only when a group of activists started to help me that I was able to pay for the medication that my son needs.”Mounir, 24, and Majid, 30, two activists who asked that their family names be withheld, said they helped smuggle numerous families out of Homs.
They said they had witnessed young men being killed by regime forces simply because they refused to say: “There is no God but Bashar,” in reference to the president.
“We have evacuated at least 10 families with children,” said Mounir. “The journey to Damascus is tough, and we only had a little money to get us there.
“But local activists in Damascus helped us out when we arrived.”He and Majid said despite the danger, they would continue to assist families seeking to escape hot spots.
Their testimony as well as that of others cannot be independently verified as Syrian authorities have restricted access to foreign media.
But human rights organisations have accused all sides to the conflict of committing grave violations.
According to the United Nations, the 13-month revolt against Assad's regime has killed more than 9,000 people.
The uprising began as a popular revolt but has transformed into an insurgency that many fear could lead to all-out civil war.
International efforts for a political solution to the conflict have failed so far and all hopes are focused now on a fragile ceasefire brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.
Activists, however, have cast doubt on the chances of the two-week-old truce holding given persistent bloodshed that has seen hundreds killed since it came into effect.
And they insist that they will continue their struggle until the regime falls.
“Even if Bashar uses all his ammunition against us, we will not give up,”vowed one activist. “We are certain that victory will be ours.”
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