Carla Ortiz: My Transition from Screen Actress to Syrian War Correspondent

by Carla Ortiz

I arrived to the coast line in Syria at 1 am and I woke up few hrs later to the horrible cry of an entire city 20 minutes away from me. There were 10 explosions in total: 4 in Tartous where 36 people died and 55 where injured. Also there was 6 explosions In Jable where 90 people died and 170 where injured. This means 126 deaths and 225 injured.

Now, we are use to hear this news from Syria, so we don’t pay attention anymore. This is why I decided to go there and find out for myself and tell you who these people were.

Today was National exam day in all of Syria. Which means that all kids are getting ready to take this important tests. In the meantime the suicide bombers decided to go to the bus station (garage) where 6 explosions happened. Yes!!! The man of God went straight to their enemy “CHILDREN WHO WERE READY TO TAKE EXAMS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS”

I arrived and saw a shattered building from 2 km away. There was pieces of glass everywhere. Little shoes… Backpacks… Dozens of books and notebooks… I saw parts of bodies spread all over the station. People running around, screaming silently…. I closed my eyes and hear this cry… I looked around and the intense sound of ambulances, voices coming from everywhere made me think of those who took their lives thinking they would dine tonight in paradise. And my heart got broken again…

I WANTED TO ASK THEM: MY BROTHERS WHAT GOD ARE YOU PRAYING TO? WHAT PARADISE THEY PROMISED TO YOU? OH DEAR BROTHERS WHO IS DOING THIS TO YOU? … but the intense smell of burned bodies mixed with the smell of the blood of that child that is not coming back to the hug of his mother made my knees weak.

I got a hold of my self and decided to go to the hospital where the other attacks happened. Another suicide bomber managed to get “some injured people” in his car . He run through the checkpoints, entered the hospital where most of the doctors and nurses were awaiting outside to attend the emergency. And It was in that moment, that exact moment, that “the one” awaiting his paradise exploited himself along with the rest.

There were pieces of hair with the scalp on the floor, burned white robes of those who studied more than 7 years to help save lives… There were so many men helping. No one understood how this could happened and I again wanted to ask them: “MY BROTHERS DO YOU BELIEVE TONIGHT YOU WILL SEE THE NURSES, THE DOCTORS AND THE CHILDREN YOU HAVE TAKEN WITH YOU? DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE ALL DINING TOGETHER?

OH DEAR ONES, MAY THE GREATEST OF ALL HAVE MERCY, MAY YOU SEE, AT LEAST FOR A SECOND, THE FACE OF GOD AND FEEL HIS LOVE…

So here it is… Lists and lists of names shared in the social media of kids that never showed up for their exams. Phone lines ringing without an answer. Silent answers and the unbearable scream of pain in the faces of people who have been suffering the terror of war.

WHO AND WHAT DO YOU SUPPORT? WHO ARE WE STANDING BY? I AM MAKING A CHOICE TO STAND HOLDING THE HAND OF THAT MOTHER THAT WILL NEVER HUG HER CHILD AGAIN….

I refuse to believe that we as humans being cant do anything about it. I refuse to believe that we can’t take a stand for them. I refuse to lose hope in humanity and its greatness! But above all, I refuse to give anyone the pleasure to hate them and fear them. Instead, I send you my love and ask GOD TO HUG YOUR SOUL AND SHOW YOU THE WAY.

Only a witness….

Carla Ortiz

Carla Ortiz is internationally known for her exquisite beauty, exceptional talent, savvy business skills and her philanthropic efforts. These characteristics have created a powerful combination of not only one of the “Sexiest Women in the World” but a well-regarded film and television actress with a variety of credits that exude versatility.
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In her new film, Xibalba, Carla portrays the first Latina hero in an underwater, science fiction film opposite Mark Tacher.
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The forthcoming Olvidados, due Spring 2014, a historical fictionalized version of Operation Condor shows Carla’s exceptional ability to produce, co-write and co-star on a labor of love. This film, which will undoubtedly be important politically, socially and historically, pits, for the first time, the biggest stars from each major Latin American country into one feature film.
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Ortiz has appeared in numerous hit theatrical films inclduing Che and Los Andes no Creen en Dios, opposite household names like David Arquette in The Land of the Astronauts (Cineville Pictures), and on prime-time series from CSI Miami to Without a Trace and The Closer.
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Her starring role in the delightful independent feature opposite Ernest Borgnine in his last film before he passed, The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez (Filmatics), won a bevy of festival awards.