Take a deep breath.

The following footage is from the Syrian town of Jobar, which lies just outside of its famous capital, Damascus. Within its limits, less than a decade ago, a thriving and proud suburb stood. It even boasted some of the most ancient landmarks in all the world — the oldest Jewish synagogue in the world, the Green Synagogue, as well as the tomb of the Prophet Elijah.

This is what it looks like now:

It’s hard to imagine, impossible even, that this is where you once lived. Picture your neighborhood leveled or bombed to a shell of itself. Even the thought of it for a second makes you wince, and you stop.

Incredibly, for many people however, this is their reality. And for the even more destitute and desperate, it still is. In other words, there are still people in Jobar now. Their day-to-day is a misguided missile here, a bomb falling out of the sky at any moment there. In other words: hell.

Kiss the ground you walk on. Hopefully you’re in a safe place, basking in democracy and freedom, and the protection of a military that isn’t out to kill its own people.

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For a “chaser”, here’s some beautiful music (with a familiar title), because you’ll probably need something pretty to ice down the soul after watching what human beings can do to each other for no good reason.

RT