Aleppo girl is star of YouTube show on Syria war | ||
| | ||
Beirut (AFP) - A nine-year-old girl has become the star of a YouTube comedy that depicts with bittersweet humour the harsh reality of everyday life in rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo. Rasha plays the role of "Umm Abdo al-Halabiya", a housewife who must make do in a city devastated by more than three years of violence, despite daily bombings and severe shortages. The 30-episode eponymous show, shot on location in the city which was once Syria's economic hub, stars only children playing adult roles and has been viewed by tens of thousands of Internet users. Umm Abdo rants against President Bashar al-Assad, takes swipes at insurgents who have been trying to oust him and also mocks Syria's often overbearing social norms. Despite her young age, little Rasha oozes irony, the trademark of Syrian comedy as she perfectly imitates traditional Syrian women who feed and thrive on gossip. The chubby-faced, brown-haired actress is cast with other children who play fighters, housewives and neighbours caught up in a conflict that has changed their lives. The script is resolutely anti-regime and the show is the first of its kind to give a bold insight into life in rebel-held areas of Aleppo. In one episode, Umm Abdo, wearing her traditional dishdasha (robe) is chatting on the telephone with her sister, who lives in a regime-held neighbourhood of Aleppo where water cuts have become a fact of life. "Do you also wash your clothes by hand?" she asks, before adding: "And I thought you loyalists were spoiled!". In another episode, she welcomes into her home two women dressed in black niqabs, one of whom is looking for a bride for her son, a rebel fighter. Umm Abdo is known in the neighbourhood as one who would marry off her daughters only to "thuwar" - revolutionary fighters. In a voice beaming with pride she tells her visitors "all my sons-in-law are members of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army". "Perfect," says the mother of the hopeful groom. "My son is an ace at firing a douchka," she adds, referring to the Soviet-era machinegun that is widespread in Syria. But the deal is not done and the women leave as Umm Abdo sets out her demands -- a dowry in dollars or in gold. - 'Symbol of resistance' - Series director Bashar Hadi told AFP he chose to make a comic show about the tragic everyday life in Aleppo because "humour goes straight to the heart". The show, he said, "aims at breaking our people's sadness, and to make people smile" despite a war that has killed more than 180,000 people. Aleppo has been divided into government and rebel areas ever since a major offensive by insurgents in July 2012. Hadi, who is based in a rebel-held area of the city, said he decided to cast children to better illustrate the "suffering" of the Syrian people to "rebels, loyalists, Arabs and Europeans alike". Rasha, he said, "represents a generation of children caught up in war, but who have become a symbol of resistance". Shooting the series was plagued with danger. "Several times, shells would fall all around us, forcing us to postpone our shoots," Hadi said. One scene tries to illustrate the danger by showing a regime helicopter launch a barrel bomb attack -- like real life attacks that have killed thousands in less that a year. The crew of semi-professionals also had to rely on generators and car batteries to charge their cameras as they worked in areas of the city long deprived of electricity. The show became a hit during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and the team is now in talks to air it on Arab television channels. But the series is not all laughs and there are some gripping moments, particularly when Umm Abdo walks through a cemetery for war "martyrs". "I dream of a safe country, that the children will return to, and that we forget the word refugee," she says. The moving monologue quickly turns into a statement of militancy as Umm Abdo vows to "avenge the children who sacrificed their youth to defeat oppression". Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Hopkins shows age in lopsided loss to Kovalev | ||
| | ||
Atlantic City (United States) (AFP) - Sergey Kovalev punished 49-year-old ring legend Bernard Hopkins over 12 rounds on Saturday, unifying three light heavyweight world titles with a lopsided unanimous decision. Hopkins, the ageless "alien," was brought to earth with a thud when Kovalev knocked him down in the first round. The hard-hitting Russian powered on from there, never troubled as he added Hopkins' World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles to his own World Boxing Organization belt. Two judges scored the bout 120-107 for Kovalev, while a third saw it 120-106 for the 31-year-old Russian, who had never been past the eighth round in 26 prior fights. Kovalev improved to 26-0 with one drawn and 23 knockouts. Hopkins, who will turn 50 in January, fell to 55-7-2, enduring the most lopsided decision of his career. Already the oldest fighter to capture a major world title, Hopkins insisted the defeat wouldn't automatically spell the end of his ring career. "I would not disclose anything now," he said. "It's 50-50, what I'm going to do, but I've done more than anybody expected me to do in my whole career. I'm fine. I will think about it." Kovalev said he thought Hopkins "needs to stop his career," if only to "give younger guys a chance to be champions." That said, Kovalev added that he thought Hopkins could beat World Boxing Council light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson -- although whether Hopkins will now pursue that bout remains to be seen. - Hopkins a boxing great - Certainly Kovalev showed he didn't need Hopkins to step aside, imposing his will from the opening bell. "Bernard is a tough opponent and very good at keeping the distance," Kovalev said. "He's a great in the boxing world. But I wanted to show my fans I could box and I did. He touched me with some good punches, he has some good form." Despite encouraging chants of "B-Hop! B-Hop!" from the crowd of 8,545 at Boardwalk Hall, Hopkins had no answer for Kovalev's power and the Russian's disciplined plan of attack. "The better man was Kovalev," Hopkins said. "He fought a great technical fight. He used his reach and he used his distance and that was the key." After sending Hopkins to the canvas with a right to the face in the first, Kovalev staggered Hopkins with another right in the eighth, although the veteran -- whose only concession to age is the gray stubble on his chin -- stayed on his feet. Finally in the 12th, Hopkins seemed to realize he'd need to produce a knockout, but Kovalev seemed just as intent -- landing 38 of his 89 punches in the final round. "I'm crazy," Hopkins laughed when asked about going toe-to-toe with Kovalev in the 12th, but then added: "I'm kidding. It's what the fans want to see. They want to see good fights. I was engaging, I knew if I could get a good shot in I could turn things around." That didn't happen, and Hopkins gave Kovalev his due. "He stuck to his game plan and he's going to be around for a long time," Hopkins said. "I've got respect for a guy that comes to fight and wants to fight everybody." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
