Truth has come and falsehood has perished

There is no online text of Jolani's speech. I literally listened to the entire speech and typed it out.

Truth has come and falsehood has perished

The Speech of Syrian President al Daraa at the UN

September 25, 2025

A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union. And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war. In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you. 

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim, in the name of God most Merciful most Compassionate: 

The Syrian story is filled with emotions, and it mixes pain with hope. The Syrian story is a struggle between good and evil, and between the weak, right cause, that has no supporter except God. Our story is one of the lessons of history, and it is an embodiment of noble human meanings and values in this eternal struggle between good and evil. We find in this Syrian story a new chapter of the struggle, one filled with creativity and determination and patience and torture and pain and sacrifice, and clinging on to noble customs and values and hard work and relying on God. All these are tools for truth against injustice and falsehood. 

Your Excellency, Mister Secretarial General, Madame President of the General Assembly. Your Excellency, may the peace of God be upon you. I come to you from Damascus, the Capital of History and the Cradle of Civilizations, a beautiful country that has taught the world the meaning of Civilization and values and coexistence, to be a beacon for the world.

Syria however for 60 years, fell under oppressive rule that disregarded the value of the territory it ruled over. For long years, we suffered under injustice and deprivation and oppression, and we rose - Bismillah - and in claiming our dignity, the previous regime has used the worst kind of torture against our people ; chemical weapons and bombardment and torture and prison and displacement and sectarian strife and using drugs against our people and the world.

It has torn our country apart, and brought forth fighters from around the world. The former regime killed around a million innocent people and displaced thousands and millions, and demolished 2 million homes. Ladies and Gentleman, the unarmed people were attacked, using chemical weapons. Our women and children have inhaled toxic gases. All this to silence truth. And with all this criminality, there was no language for solution. Despite the offers, the community had no choice but to organize itself, and to organize militarily and to oust a criminal regime. 

It was a military operation that was filled with mercy and good, and that prioritized tolerance, and that did not target civilians. It targeted justice without vengeance. We restored our right, and we became victorious for the sake of our grievances. We were victorious for the mothers of the martyrs, and for all of you people of the world, for the future of our children and yours. And we pave the way of the refugee, and we destroyed the trafficking of drugs. Accordingly, Syria has transported from an exporter of crises to opportunities for peace for Syria and the region. 

Ladies and Gentleman. This unique Syrian achievement and the solidarity between our peoples has led us to try to uproot sectarianism and to fight against attempts to divide our country once again. But the Syrian people are once again aware enough to understand, and to resist.

We reformed Commissions for fact-finding and granted access to UN fact finding missions. I guarantee to bring accountable anyone that is responsible for bloodshed. And in this context, the Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue. And Israeli policies contradict the international supporting position for Syria, which threatens new crises and struggles in our region. For this purpose, and in face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we are committed to the disengagement of forces agreement of 1974, and we call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks. 

Ladies and Gentleman, from the very moment the former regime fell, we set out a clear strategic policy built upon three pillars: Balanced diplomacy, security, stability and economic development. We filled the power vacuum, called for an inclusive national dialogue and announced a government of competence. We strengthened the principle of participation and established a national commission for transitional justice, and another for the missing, ensuring justice and fairness. We are now proceeding toward electing representatives of people in the legislative council. We restructured all civil and military institutions, dissolving all previous formations. Through intensive diplomatic activity, Syria restored its international relations, and forged regional and global partnerships, and achieved the lifting of most international sanctions. And we call now for the complete lifting of sanctions, so that they no longer shackle the Syrian people. Investment laws have been amended and major regional and international companies have already begun entering the Syrian market, contributing through investment and construction.

Syria today is rebuilding itself through establishing a new state, building institutions, and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception. A land of ancient civilization and culture deserves to be a state of law. Protecting everyone, safeguarding rights, guaranteeing freedoms, and fostering life to flourish while turning the page of a wretched past. We are determined to restore Syria’s dignity, glory and honor. And in continuation of the Syrian story, I declare before you today the triumph of truth over falsehood. Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world. This announcement is the echo of a great people’s will. A people who forged glory throughout the ages, who rose again from beneath the rubble to restore their rights and freedom and dignity. On behalf of the Syrian people, I extend gratitude to everyone who stood by the Syrian cause, who aided Syrians in their tragedy, and who welcomed them in their countries, and to all nations and peoples who rejoiced in the victory of the Syrian people’s will. And I particularly thank Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all Arab and Islamic states, the United States of America, and the European Union.

And before I conclude, let me affirm. The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Ghaza, its children and women and all peoples facing violations and aggressions. We call for an immediate end to the war.

In conclusion, the Syrian story has not come to an end. It continues to write a new chapter, entitled Peace, Prosperity, and Development. And may the Peace of God be upon you.

The Long Majestic Emerald

 The Long Majestic Emerald - Dedicated to Franklin Park

to the tune of The Broad Majestic Sharon by the Pogues

The last time I saw you was down at the Behan

There was whiskey on Sunday, it was great to be seen

You sang me a song that was pure as the day

On a street leading up Arborway

I sat for a while at the shore at Back Bay

Where young lovers would meet while the grasses would sway

We walked cross the bridge where the mill used to be  

The Neponset churned round the old willow tree

CHORUS

Take my hand, and dry your tears, babe

Take my hand, forget your fears, babe

There’s no more pain, there’s no more sorrow

They’re all gone, gone in the years, babe

I sat for a while by the gap in the fence

Found a used up old vape and a needle all spent

Heard a woodpecker’s drum and the chime of the bells

And the crickets were humming way deep in the dell

And the next time I see you we’re back at the Behan

There’ll be whiskey on Sunday and friends that we’re seeing

For it’s silly to laugh and it’s vain to repent

About an old used up vape and a needle that’s spent

CHORUS

So I walked, as the day was dawning

Where small birds sang and leaves were falling

Where we once watched the diamonds dancing

Skipping stones, and laughing

And so I walked, as the day was dwindling

As large birds fly, and we weigh their meaning

So by the long, majestic Emerald

We gather here, and are assembled

CHORUS

We’re all here to save the park, babe

March 11, 2025

The Limitations of Your Love

The Limitations of Your Love

So many ways I've tried

So many tears I've cried

But now my heart has died from

The limitations of your love.

I believed in your white lies

While you compartmentalized

But now I've become wise to

The limitations of your love.

So let my heart fly free 

Into eternity

Cause I need someone who loves all of me.

You left me all alone

You made me sit at home

Guarding your comfort zone and

The limitations of your love.

My honor you did not defend

So I cannot pretend

That we are not near the end of

The limitations of your love.

I know that you did care

About the sweetness that we share

But the times that you're not there reveal

The limitations of your love.

So let my heart fly free

The way it's meant to be

Into Eternity

Cause I want someone who wants all of me.

November 2017

Aafia: The Mystery

Speech Given by Karina on the Boston Common

Most of the world has stopped thinking about the long-incarcerated detainees of the War on Terror that was declared by George W. Bush after 9/11/2001. In truth, Federal government and Israel-connected Homeland Security agents had already started investigating and raiding Islamic organizations and charities around the US earlier that year. Of all the Muslim political prisoners of the US, one person in particular stands out: the graceful, articulate and brilliant young Dr. Aafia Siddique.  

All the other Muslim War On Terror prisoners who were extrajudicially rendered in Afghanistan or Pakistan and sold for bounty to the US have been male (to my knowledge). Everyone at Guantanamo is male. All of the Afghan militants held in Bagram prison are male. Only Aafia Siddique is female. Long before anyone knew her name, she was known as the “Grey Lady of Bagram.” She and her children were held and abused for years, separately, inside the walls of the US military prison in Afghanistan. 

After the US invaded Afghanistan they dropped leaflets down from airplanes offering between $2000-6000 per head for any suspected terrorists. As a result, a market was created for kidnappers. Thousands of random men were detained and handed over to the US for interrogation. Aafia Siddique was disappeared in Pakistan in the spring of 2003.

In the recently published book, “Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found in Guantanamo,” Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni tourist thus detained without charge, explained that while there were a handful of prisoners there that actually knew Osama bin Laden or belonged to some kind of Islamic fighting group, the vast majority were completely innocent, non-violent people being held for years and years and brutally humiliated and tortured in an attempt to force them to confess to being people they were not, and that they had committed crimes they knew nothing about. 

It has always been a mystery as to why Aafia and her children were abducted while on their way to visit relatives. Was she the victim of a vindictive ex-husband’s slander? Did someone utter her name while being waterboarded? Was it her charity efforts as part of the Muslim Students Association to collect boots and winter clothing to send to displaced families fleeing war?

Aged 34, speaking fluent English, having earned a PhD in Child Development at MIT and Brandeis before returning to her native country of Pakistan, Aafia with her gentle eyes and happy demeanor does not fit the profile of an Islamic terrorist. It seems unlikely that this arrest, made most likely by ISI, Pakistani security services, was a random error in judgment.

An important clue emerged as a result of the Peace and Justice Foundation’s recent series of Freedom Rallies in various cities to support and raise awareness of US political prisoner Dr. Aafia Siddique. While most of America has forgotten her, or has no idea who she is, a very enthusiastic detractor crawled out of the woodwork: Sam Westrop, director of the Zionist extremist hate group that stalks Muslim leaders, “Islamist Watch.” He published a very dangerous hit piece on Aafia’s supporters in both the Middle East Forum and National Review, https://www.meforum.org/62644/american-islamists-advocate-for-lady-al-qaeda - publications with long and close connections to Bush-era neocons and anti-Muslim smear campaigners Daniel Pipes and Steve Emerson, who facilitated the imprisonment and deportation of Muslim and Arab academics for their political views by feeding false intelligence to the US government via their “think tank” the Investigative Project and other extreme right-wing racist organizations whose main objective is trying to prevent Palestinians and American Muslims attain political equality. After these groups failed to prevent local Muslims from building the golden-domed Roxbury Mosque, https://rense.com/general76/who.htm I had totally forgot about them. 

But here Sam Westrop was, taking pictures of protesters without asking their permission and trying to get an interview with Mauri Saalakhan, the primary organizer of the event. Sam’s intense enthusiasm for the cause of undermining the case to free Aafia Siddique after 18 years really made it crystal clear that taking her down was one of his organization’s pet projects. 

But why did the pro-Israel lobbyists target this cute little grad student? Westrop leaves us a very important clue by linking to a press conference, covered by CNN, two years after she was abducted.  http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/05/26/terror.threat.transcript/ US Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller on May 27, 2004 displayed Aafia’s face alongside 6 men declared as America’s Most Wanted. Americans were to be “on the lookout” for them. Mueller claimed, “Aafia Siddique is an al Qaeda operative and facilitator, she attended colleges in the Boston area, and is believed to have left Boston in January of 2003.” Literally that’s all they could come up with. Bent over in agony from bullet wounds to her stomach, Aafia was sentenced to 86 years in US Federal prison by Judge Richard Berman for “attempted murder” of heavily armed US soldiers in an Afghan police station in 2008 as she allegedly tried to escape from custody. Her supposed “crime” was committed in Afghanistan by a Pakistani citizen. So by what stretch of the imagination should she go to trial in the United States? Keep in mind that al Qaida is not even known for recruiting female militants. The neocons have always been known to use the labels “al Qaeda” and “Islamofascist” extremely loosely. 

It sure looks like these right wing Zionist criminals were intimately involved in providing false intelligence to the US government in order to help the US create an illusion of “doing something” against the “Islamic threat” while simultaneously getting rid of a popular Muslim community organizer and public speaker. Boston neocon fingerprints are all over this case. Their time-worn approach, which they also used against the Roxbury mosque, was to feed fake terrorist allegations to the media, while simultaneously creating court cases over lesser crimes like money laundering or even civil infractions such as parking zoning laws. Similarly, at Aafia’s trial there was zero mention of her belonging to any terrorist group even though news agencies had claimed that she had gone to LIberia to sell diamonds in order to raise funds for al Qaeda.

In 1996, Professor Noam Chomsky said fondly of Aafia, who was his student, “Aafia Siddique is an Institute in her self. She will bring change wherever she goes.”

Did the FBI target Aafia as the next Malcolm or the next H Rap Brown? 

Aafia Siddique was an enthusiastic Muslim community organizer who was diligently engaged in outreach to explain Islam to her American fellow students, a philosopher who taught feminist theory based on theology, and who encouraged her fellow Muslim students to upgrade their religion. She was very much part of the movement to modernize Islamic political and moral thought to make it make sense for this century. She was a Hafiz of the Quran. She was also an idealist. Katherine Ozment describes in Boston Magazine how far-fetched seem the claims that this young mother and student had the time or the resources, let alone the desire to join al Qaida. https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/15/whos-afraid-of-aafia-siddiqui/  

Retired Professor Chomsky issued a statement to be read at the Freedom Rally in Boston that took place on October 23, 2021:

“The US “war on terror” has left a shameful record of torture, vicious brutality, brutal crimes of state, still continuing.  Aafiaa Siddiqui’s ordeal is one of the most disgraceful chapters of this trail of horror.  She should be freed and compensated to the extent that it is at all possible. And we should all be asking ourselves whether we want this is what we want our country to be.”