The public birse in the Mid Eist ower undemocratic and corruptit governaments conteinaes tae spreid. Furst Tunisia an Egypt, than Bahrain, Yemen an Libya, an nou the Ba’ath regime in Syria is the latest tae wutness a sairious challenge ti hits rule. The Ba’ath pairtie haes ruled Syria sin 1963 whan hit tuik pouer in a coup d’etat. A state o emergencie an suspension o civil liberties haes been kep in place in the kintra fur aa that time.
The governament sent Syrian security forces inti the norland citie o Latakia yestreen fur tae pit the branks on the violence efter twa day o rummles at haes seen ower 15 fowk deid an mair nor 150 hurtit. Governament authorities haes accused releigious fundamentalists o eggin up sectarian stour. The citie is hame ti monie o the kintras muckle Alwaite minoritie, a Muslim sect at monie mair orthodox Muslims daesnae trew is Muslim.
Thertein fowk haes been offeicially confirmed deid sin Friday, kullt bi gunfire frae snipers. Twa o the victims wis buiried on Sunday. The streets o Latakia, hame ti mair nor 450,000 fowk, wis completely desertit an aa the shops steyed closed.
Syria haes wutnessed a swaa o misorder at stertit airlier this month wi protests tae demand muckle chynges in the wey the kintra is governed. Offeicials haes sayed mair nor thertie fowk haes been confurmed kullt in the violence. But activists says mair nor 126 haes deed, wi mair nor 100 alane on Weddensday in a bluidie crackdown on protests in Daraa, a suddren Bedouin toun at haes became the symbolic hametoun o the differ.
Tensions in Syria is made waur bi sectarianism. The president an monie o the rulin pairtie belangs ti the minoritie Alawite communitie, at wis traditionallie discriminatit agin bi the Sunni majoritie. The Alawites, 14% o the population, is strang uphauders o Ba’athist rule.
President Bashir al-Assad’s Syria is the son o umquhyle president Hafez al-Assad. The aulder Assad tuik pouer in 1970 efter a bluidie internal fecht ben the Ba’ath pairtie at endit wi full control o the kintra in the hauns o Assad-faither. Cryed the Syrian Corrective Revolution, the coup wis follaed bi a period o brutal violence and poleitical oppression at convertit Syria inti a polis-state.
In 1982, the norland toun o Hamah rebelled, led bi the Muslim Britherheid. Assad-faither sent in the tanks an the airmie. Mair nor 12,000 indwallers o the toun deed. Sin the rebellion wis crushed the Ba’ath pairtie haes biggit hits ain securitie forces sae’s hit wullnae hae tae lippen till the lairgelie conscript airmie.
The new swaa o misorder daesnae mak fur stappin, an the yunger Assad daesnae leuk lik he shaas the same appetite fur bluid as his faither. Speculation wis growin yestreen at Assad wad offer tae mak concessions fur tae souther the differ an restore a calm souch. In an ettle tae dill the protesters, authorities released political activist Diana Jawabra an 15 ithers at wis arrestit fur haudin a silent protest agin the arrest o a dizzen scuil-weans fur screivin graffiti caain fur an end ti the regime.
Hit’s thocht at Assad wull mibbie offer concessions lik an enn ti emergencie law an ti censorshap o the papers and television, an legalisin poleitical pairties. Houeer thir chynges is no thocht tae be credible bi monie in the opposition, at sees thaim as windae dressin gin the same auld faces is gaunie stey in pouer. Ilka day brings news o mair daiths, pittin mair pressure on the Assad regime, an garin mair fowk tae eik ti the caas fur an enn ti the Ba’athists 40 yeir rule.
Wurds ye mibbie no ken
birse – anger
norland – northern
yestreen – yesterday, last night
stour – strife, also dust in the air
trew – believe
swaa – wave, ripple
misorder – unrest, disorder
differ – dispute
lippen til – rely upon
mak fur – to look like, to seem like
souther – calm down
calm souch – tranquility, peace. Keep a calm souch – ‘stay calm’.
dill – placate, pacify
thir – these
thair – their
ther – there, there is, there are
gar – to make, to cause
eik – to add
A note on Scots spelling: Thair is the possessive pronoun ‘their’, ther is the demonstrative ‘there’. In some Scots dialects these are pronounced differently, although in West Central Scots both are usually ‘therr’. In the Scots equivalent to the English phrases ‘there is’ or ‘there are’, there is no verb to be in Scots. Ther a dug barkin. ‘There’s a dog barking.’ Ther fower fowk in the caur. ‘There are four people in the car.’