Blog: Lost in Syrian desert between Raqqa and Deir Ez Zor

What do you do when you are lost between Raqqa and Deir Ez Zor in Syria? Do you pray to God again and again? I loved the beautiful desert and the empty space. I loved its barrenness but it scared me a lot. It was all a mess because the officers deputed by the government to assist forgot the way.

The journey from Aleppo to Palrayma to Homs should have been over in 9 hours but it took us more than 12 hours to complete it. We reached the city at 9.30 PM.

The unexpected detour was a revelation for a less travelled Indian like me. We saw swathes of uninhabited land. A small country like Syria had an expanse of unoccupied and uninhabited land. The tarmacked road first melted into the brown soil and subsequently the burnt terrain melted into the blue sky sparsely covered with white clouds.

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The men in green questioned us incessantly. Later I realized that the area was previously occupied by the ISIS but stands freed today. However, the ISIS still mounted attacks on the government forces whenever they pleased.

The detour took us to the unsafe eastern border. We did not come into any harm’s way but for nearly three hours we were on the edge as we expected to be ambushed by Kurdish fighters.

Nothing dramatic happened and we were able to reach the junction from which we were supposed to turn right for Homs. Instead, we turned left. After travelling for 70 km we realized we took a wrong decision. We turned back but got interrogated by the Army.

The issue was that we claimed that we started from Aleppo but actually came from the dreaded Deir Ez Zor region. When we convinced the officer, we fell short of petrol. With the help of the Syrian Army, we could purchase some petrol and finally reached Homs.

In retrospect, any encounter would have been fatal. I thank God that despite the detour and the loss of direction, we reached Homs safely. But the entry was unnerving.

We entered the city from the quarters completely destroyed by the war. Deep into the night moving from the destroyed quarter into the newly developed region was unsettling, we finally saw the liveliness of life from utter nothingness and sadness. Imagine so many people had to move away from the places where they lived for so many years!

What are Kurdish fighters doing in Syria when most of the cities have been cleared by the Syrian forces? The Syrian war is a classic case of a great game. US special forces operate in Syria.

You can find a number of pro-US militia in Syria. I unexpectedly ran into the pro-government militia in Aleppo. When I visited, the Sheikh Najjar industrial centre to shoot factories destroyed by Al Qaida, I ran into them. The good part was that they believed us and we were able to get away with a few selfies.

Most of them were Hazaras. Later, I realized that a lot of militias are active in Syria. Both anti-ISIS and anti-government. The dress did not give away, their features did.

When I asked how all of them landed up in Syria, I was told that the unprotected border, helicopters and the will of the nearby states to push the trouble away created a special a war menu for Syria.

Lastly, Islamic terror organisations often try to create a narrative of popular rebellion and eternal injustice but if you look closely in Syria's case you will discover that they plundered the nation and wreaked havoc on its people.

The ISIS stole copper wires from electricity poles and sold them abroad. They sold each and every machinery from the Aleppo industrial centre to finance the war.

Though few industries have started, a majority of factories remain in ruin. I could not visit Palmyra. I started for it and could not reach it, I intend to visit it later -- let’s see what happens next.