Reports | 25 05 2020
Ammar made his decision to emigrate following his failure to secure a deferral of his [mandatory] military service in the Syrian regime's army, as a more appropriate option than having to fight the war on the fronts. His efforts to offer large bribes, in an attempt to settle the matter with the Draft Board in the the city of Masyaf in the Hama countryside, were equally unsuccessful.
The lot of this twenty-two-year-old is not unlike numerous other young men in Masyaf. The Draft Board itself has become somewhat of a permanent nightmare as it—according to Ammar—seems to delay deferral requests delay deliberately at times, in an apparent attempt to force young people to join the regime's forces.
The quest for a postponement certificate seems to have become an increasingly more difficult and thorny one for young Masyafis; with most of them being unable to travel outside their city, before obtaining the deferral certificate, which the regime army's roadblocks ask for at evercy passage.
Syrians' ordeal with the Draft Board does not end with the deferral certificates. Marriage transactions as well face their own share of blockages and delays from the Board's personnel. Hala, for example, it was forced to pay a bribe to secure the completion of her marriage transacction, so she can join her husband outside Syria. The Draft Boards seems to have its tentacles in many details of Syrians' daily lives.
For more details, listen to the full story via the link: http://rozana.fm/ar/node/14740.