Numbness. Confusion. Shock. Disbelief.
I can't think straight.
Just learning of the murders of two family members.
No, not Deah, Yusor, and Razan.
But Dr. Orouba Barakat, and her only child, Halla Barakat.
It was just yesterday, that Khale (Aunty) Orouba stayed with us in our home in Raleigh, NC where Halla was born and spent the first couple months of her life. They moved into their own apartment shortly thereafter.
It was just yesterday, that we were driving down the highway, and baby Deah at the age of 2, would point out the window from his car seat, and say, "Halla's home."
It was just yesterday, that we were sitting on the balcony on a cool summer night in Idlib, Syria, as Khale filled the room with her infectious laughter.
I'll always remember Halla, whose name means beauty, as the little girl with golden curls and bright green eyes. She grew to become a dynamic, educated, kind, fun-loving, social justice-oriente
It was just yesterday, that Halla reached out asking to interview me to do a piece on the rise of Islamophobia in the US. This is an excerpt from our last interaction: "I hope you know that my heart is always with you guys, you were the first family I opened my eyes to and the tragedy that happened was certainly a tragedy for all of us. Mashallah on the power and eloquence you have showed. You make us real proud."
Khale and Halla were vocal activists in the Syrian revolution, speaking truth to power, and raising awareness about the atrocities committed by the Assad regime.
Today, Dr. Orouba Barakat, and her daughter, Halla Barakat, were found dead in their Istanbul apartment.
Not war-torn Syria. Not Chapel Hill. But Istanbul. Details are still unfolding, but it is believed they were murdered by the regime.
(Update #1: they were stabbed with knives).
(Update #3: their throats were slit, then wrapped in blankets and covered with lime to mask the odor of their corpses).
How many more beloved family members will I lose to hatred and violence?
We are not safe anywhere.
Halla had recently posted in response to a Syrian child murdered by Assad shelling:
"Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven’s love
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
and fly again.
-Jean-Jacques Goldman and Phil Galdston"
My loved ones, I pray that you have in fact escaped the sorrow that drenches our hearts, for that would be my only solace.
(Update #2, copy/
Syria's leading opposition activist Orouba Bakarat and 22-year-old journalist daughter Halla Barakat were murdered tonight in their homes in Üsküdar.
According to Yeni Şafak, Orouba Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat, who were recently threatened by the Syrian regime, were stabbed and stabbed in their homes in Üsküdar this evening.
At the age of 60, Orouba Barakat had signed very important interviews with opponents who were tortured in prisons in Syria. Orouba has publicized numerous documentaries and interviews about Assad regime's prison massacres in English and Arabic.
After a civil war in Syria, Orouba Barakat went to England and after a while he lived in the United Arab Emirates and then came to Istanbul.
Halla Barakat, the young journalist daughter of Orouba Barakat, was working as editor in Orient News, which reports on the Middle East. It was learned that a 22 year old journalist worked for TRT for a while.
Shaaza Barakat, who is in the ship of Mavi Marmara, announced that his 60 year old sister Orouba Barakat and 22 year old nephew Halla Barakat were massacred in social media account.
