The Yellow Man of Aleppo tortured by the FSA

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Aleppo’s Eccentric Yellow Man Tortured by ’Freedom Fighters’
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Aleppo’s Eccentric Yellow Man Tortured by ’Freedom Fighters’
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The Yellow Man of Aleppo: The man behind the legend

First Published Tuesday 12 October 2010, Baladna (original article here)



Mention the Yellow Man to
anyone from Aleppo and it
is guaranteed to cause a stir.

The Yellow Man, as one would
expect, is a man dressed in
yellow. From his shirt to his
shoes to his mobile phone,
refusing to tell people his
secret.
On first hearing of him, I thought
him simply to be an eccentric.
However, as I began to question
people about him, a different
story emerged.
“Definitely he’s a pimp.” said
Basel, from the neighbourhood
of Ibara Street in Aleppo where -I
was told- the Yellow Man works for a cabaret club, Hisan Ajjameh (Crazy Horse). “The yellow is a sign for clients, who he brings to the club. At the end of the night, he’s given commission. His father is an Imam. He refuses interviews because he doesn’t want him to find out.” As unlikely as this story sounded to me at the time, my worst fears were awakened when I struck up a conversation
with Mohammed, an English student, on the bus to the city centre. “The Yellow man has a bad reputation here, I’m ashamed to tell you what he does. All I’ll say is: if you came here to do your report on him, I wouldn’t bother. He’s a
dangerous man, he won’t want to talk to you.” Crazy images flashed
through my mind: hunted down on the road from Aleppo by a yellow
Mafia man in sunglasses and a sports car, yellow bullets strafing
the back of the coach. Among the host of theories- ”Everybody knows he’s with the Mukhabarat. It’s a double bluff!” said Abd Masiih from Aleppo- a more believable but more interesting idea was suggested by Ali Ahmed, a Professor of Arabic I met by Bab al-Faraj. “The Yellow man is actually a pretty normal, boring guy. He makes himself distinct, unique, from the outside, because there’s nothing in the inside. He wants to show off to everyone how different he is but behind his Yellow exterior, there’s nothing.” So why refuse all interviews, if one is so eager to catch the limelight? “To maintain the mystery!” said Ali, beaming.
In Aleppo, I found the Crazy Horse club, which had in fact closed down but Feras, who had guided me there, didn’t think the Yellow Man was ever associated with it. “People always make rumours about those who stand out from the crowd. The Yellow Man is a good man.” The Doorman of al-Caas Disco Club, next door, thought the same. “I see him wandering round here but he never comes in. He has a family, children, he would never think of doing these things.”
I could sense the Yellow Man was near.
Up by the Sheraton Hotel I was talking
to two security guards. “Since I can
remember, Abu Zukur has been
coming here.” -The ‘Yellow Man’ defaced,demystified, into plain Abu Zukur.

“That’s what he likes everyone
to call him.” Then suddenly one
of the men shot out of his chair,
scanning the street. “Wait…there
he is! There’s Abu Zukur!” And
sure enough, in the middle of
the roundabout, was Abu Zuhur.
Sat on a yellow chair hailing the
shouts and cries from the passing
traffic, as he twirled yellow prayer
beads.
“From an early age” commenced
Abu Zukar, smiling a broad smile,
“I discovered I was someone who
was loved by all. Even when I was
in the Army, everybody was nice
to me. Politicians, business men,
heads of state are loved too, but
then they make false promises.
They lie to people, using this trust
that comes from love. Love comes
from God, it’s a sin to misuse it. I
chose yellow because it’s a colour
that gives people happiness and
joy. People loved me from the
beginning and I want to repay
them that love. Plus, no-one has
ever done this before! There have
been countless politicians, but
there’s only one Yellow Man.”
I put to him the rumours about
the salacious side of the Yellow
Man. “People are jealous, and
people talk. If I had such a bad
reputation, then I wouldn’t be
loved like I am by all the Aleppan
women; they’re always having
photos with me!” I asked him
about the mystery surrounding
his activities: “Mystery? What
mystery? It is people who create
the mystery, not me. I am just the
Yellow Man, that’s it. But journalists
are always looking to make
a bigger story out of me for their
own interests, and people like a
scandal. If you want to know my
activities, they’re pretty simple.
At 3:30 I get up for dawn prayer.
Then I read the Qur’an for two
hours. The rest of the day, I spend
talking to people on the street. In
this way, I know my religion and I
know my society. That is why I am
so popular. That is why I can help
people the way I do. If I see someone
who has a problem -he might
drink, he might be having affairs
with other women- I understand
that this situation calls for caution.
People don’t like being told
what to do, so I’ve learnt how to
curb their malpractices in a subtle
way, because I know how people
are.” At this moment a taxi pulls
up: “I’m sorry” said Abu Zukur,
“I can’t talk right now, I’m doing
an interview!” The taxi drove off.
“You see how popular I am?”
I talked to Abu Zukur about why
he refuses interviews. “I see that
you are a good person, so I accept
your interview and as one good
person to another, I advise you that
whatever you write, you write the
truth. Continue these rumours if
you like, but people who lie -even
though they may be famous for a
while- the wind takes them, blows
them away. But truth prevails.
Tell people that I am a good man,
a religious man…now let’s get a
photo!” As another group came to
have their photo with the Yellow
Man he said, as I left, “If you want
to talk to me about anything else,
I’ll always be here, after 8. ”
So no pimp, no agent, but a
charming man who talks to anyone
who will listen. After feeling
uneasy about ruining the legend
of the Yellow Man, I ruin it now at
his behest. This may seem to you
more mysterious. But, if you are
a good person, you should know
that there is no mystery in someone
who wants only to love and
be loved.
Tuesday 12 October 2010

http://pauljacobnaylor.wordpress.com/journalism/


http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/a...edium=facebook

[l'Enfermé]

Mod action:
Split post into new thread.

[l'Enfermé]

Disgusting animals, if I was religious I would pray daily for god to deliver them painful death.

[Os Cangaceiros]

That's fucked up and disturbing. Poor yellow man.

You'd probably do better to find another link than the one to Pam Geller's website, though. Regardless of the actual video content, Pam Geller is a notorious Islamophobe & hatemonger.

[l'Enfermé]

That's fucked up and disturbing. Poor yellow man.

You'd probably do better to find another link than the one to Pam Geller's website, though. Regardless of the actual video content, Pam Geller is a notorious Islamophobe & hatemonger.

Did you watch the part where they start ripping out his moustache and hair? What the fuck man...

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

Did you watch the part where they start ripping out his moustache and hair? What the fuck man...

Yeah, it´s pretty barbaric... not to mention a desecration of a good moustache.

I´m sure shit like this happens all the time, every day in Syria.
And I´m also sure I´m not the only admirer of the Yellow man here, the man´s got some serious sense of style!

[brigadista]

anyone know what has happened to him? this made me very sad and angry

[Tim Cornelis]

I must have missed the "torture" part as I've seen ordinary school bullies behave in exactly such a manner. Such behaviour isn't nice, but it's by no means "torture" nor "barbaric" nor worthy of death, especially in the context of a civil war where actual torture, and actual barbarism are displayed on a daily basis by all sides.

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

Hands off The Yellow Man of Aleppo, filthy imperialist lackeys!

[l'Enfermé]

I must have missed the "torture" part as I've seen ordinary school bullies behave in exactly such a manner. Such behaviour isn't nice, but it's by no means "torture" nor "barbaric" nor worthy of death, especially in the context of a civil war where actual torture, and actual barbarism are displayed on a daily basis by all sides.

In your school they beat up old men with the butts of automatic rifles? Do you live in Somalia?

[The Cheshire Cat]

I must have missed the "torture" part as I've seen ordinary school bullies behave in exactly such a manner. Such behaviour isn't nice, but it's by no means "torture" nor "barbaric" nor worthy of death, especially in the context of a civil war where actual torture, and actual barbarism are displayed on a daily basis by all sides.

If you treat another human being in such a manner that he is either physically harmed or mentally scarred, then I call that barbaric.
And especially in the context of a (civil) war, this can be seen as torture. If someone is taken captive by groups who are known for killing and torturing captives, and then subsequently treated in the way that was done as seen in the vid, then the victim will fear for his life. This may not be physical torture, but it sure was mental torture. That man must have thought he was going to get killed.

So I would certainly call this barbaric, and it is a form of torture, eventhough it is not dangerous (apart from what could have happened if they hit the man on a vulnerable spot on his head). But torture is not meant to be dangerous, it is meant to seem dangerous to the victim. If it actually harms the person is unimportant. If you think only damaging 'treatments' can be considered torture, you must also think waterboarding is just some children's play. (Which I know you don't, just making a point here...)

Now, I agree this should not be the reason why the 'men' of the FSA should be killed, but there are plenty of other reasons.

[Tim Cornelis]

If you treat another human being in such a manner that he is either physically harmed or mentally scarred, then I call that barbaric.
And especially in the context of a (civil) war, this can be seen as torture. If someone is taken captive by groups who are known for killing and torturing captives, and then subsequently treated in the way that was done as seen in the vid, then the victim will fear for his life. This may not be physical torture, but it sure was mental torture. That man must have thought he was going to get killed.

So I would certainly call this barbaric, and it is a form of torture, eventhough it is not dangerous (apart from what could have happened if they hit the man on a vulnerable spot on his head). But torture is not meant to be dangerous, it is meant to seem dangerous to the victim. If it actually harms the person is unimportant. If you think only damaging 'treatments' can be considered torture, you must also think waterboarding is just some children's play. (Which I know you don't, just making a point here...)

Now, I agree this should not be the reason why the 'men' of the FSA should be killed, but there are plenty of other reasons.

"Torture is the practice or act of deliberately inflicting severe physical pain and possibly injury on a person, though psychological and animal torture also exist."

I did not witness this in that video.

In your school they beat up old men with the butts of automatic rifles? Do you live in Somalia?

Bullies engage their victims in the same manner, tormenting them, humiliating them, slapping them, exactly in the manner as happened in this video. Of course, their arms add another dimension to it which I neglected to acknowledge and therefore this cannot qualify as simply bullying, nevertheless we cannot speak of torture as a few slaps to the face and pulling out some hair does not qualify as such. And he wasn't "beaten up."