ISIS Losing Foothold In Syria

    Raqqa, Syria, the scene is set. Dirt roads, shell casings littering the dirt road, business signs shot out, steel plates drilled into the wall to avoid shrapnel and stray bullets, reporters in body armor without plates and helmets without chin straps, FEMA volunteers hitting on the potential muff making promises they can't keep and Russian warplanes flying over the city, not dropping bombs, but just being loud in order to get a 15 minute CNN opinion blog write-in about how intimidating they are.
    
     Raqqa, Syria, the host of not only the Miss Amputee Middle East pageant, but the home of the most bloodshed that ISIS can produce in a 5-10 year given time frame. The people of Raqqa not only suffered during the war, before the war and before the thought of the war, but they suffered during the war, before the war, before the thought of the war and before they were born and their grandparents thought of the war. Raqqa is a very unique place that takes its suffering very seriously. 

    Rashid Matah is a son of Raqqa. He's lost his father, mother, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle and grandfather to not only the violence of the current civil war, but also to the harsh rule of President Assad*. 

    "Now that the civil war is ending, I will have more time to focus on which resistance group I will follow during the next war. This time I didn't do so well, but next time, I will make sure I trust the group who at least has the clearest water in their homes. Last time I just trusted the liquor stock pile."

    Finally, ISIS is being defeated and Syria can go back to a peace time stance. All will be solved in Syria and people will be able to prepare for their next testimony of loyalty, also known as, their potential funeral.

*Rashid’s family was actually killed in a helicopter crash during an attempted 360 degree spin through a circle of recycled school buses that had been lighten on fire before the performance. Nonetheless, Assad WAS the leader of Syria at the time and no war had been established.

Sharon Peters - Senior Correspondent