COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ammar Khawam and Sumaya Hamadmad, Syrian-Americans living in Columbus, say the U.S. missile attack gives hope to Syrians around the world. “It’s kind of shocking to see people happy that their country is being targeted but this, our country has been abducted by Assad for so long that this is time to take it back,” Hamadmad told NBC4.
“Last night there was finally light at the end of the tunnel like maybe, finally someone is punishing the Assad regime for something they have done”
Hamadmad and Khawam say they still have many family members living in Syria and both have lost family members to the violence.
The horrific images that surfaced this week after the chemical attack on civilians put Syria and Bashar al-Assad front and center on the world stage again.
But Ammar says for him, how people are killed is not the key issue.
“The killing has to stop regardless of how it’s done. Whether by chemical weapon or by traditional weapon or by cluster bombs, it has to stop,” Khawam said.
The Hilliard couple joined other Syrians Thursday evening outside the Ohio Union at The Ohio State University for a protest about the use of chemical weapons. They didn’t know that at the same time, the U.S. was preparing to send a barrage of missiles at a Syrian airfield.
“Even if it’s one strike – it gave people hope,” Hamadmad said. “All Syrians I know are happy today. They are celebrating that somebody is finally targeting Assad and they’re hopeful that it is going to continue.”