Anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin has stretched all the way from Sanford, Florida, to Syria, where residents of a besieged town weighed in on the verdict Monday.
“Martin family!,” reads a sign drawn up by the rebels in the Syrian town of Kafr Anbel, part of the Syrian city of Idlib. “The Syrians are the best who know what it’s like to lose loved ones by immune criminals.”
The northwestern Syrian town, known as the “the creative center of the revolt,” has been making sardonic signs mocking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime for years. Other signs have lashed out at the U.N. for failing to stop the bloodshed in Syria, as well as the foreign countries aiding Assad, such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
A photo of rebels holding the Trayvon Martin sign was posted on the Facebook page of activist Raed Fares, who explained why the people of Kafr Anbel are making these signs, which are directed at Western audiences via social media.
"It's very important to send our message to all the world," he said. "And English is the public language."
Other signs have compared Assad to Don Corleone from The Godfather, compared the international community to the characters in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, and used imagery from the cover of Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side of the Moon.
Many of the signs criticize President Obama for promising help to the Syrian opposition that has yet to materialize. One sign in March was directed at Secretary of State John Kerry and criticized him for not doing more to help the Syrian opposition.
“Kerry! Your tricks have been revealed,” the sign said. “You say what you never mean and act when you announce you will not.”
