GROWING UP REFUGEE
The History of Syria
Photo by AP (Narciso Contreras)
Photo by: Gene Thorpe/The Washington Post
Syria has been an increasing topic in these fast years; however, what do we really know about Syria?
1. What and where is Syria?
Syria is a country located in the Middle East, just below Turkey, and has been seen an increasing amount of devastation and violence since March 2011. In July 2012 the Red Cross said that Syria had become a state of civil war. According to Washington post, "It is smaller than South Carolina and with a population about five times as large- 22 million." There is a diverse collection of religion and ethnicities in Syria; however, the most dominant ethnicity is Arab and they "follow the Sunni branch of Islam." Syria is currently in the middle of an extremely devastating and brutal civil war between government forces aand Syrian rebels. The death toll has reached "more than 100,00 and created two million refugees, half of them children."
2. What are the reasons for this massacring violence?
Most news stations have pinpointed the violence to have started in a Syrian city called Deraa. This is where civilians began protesting in the streets after 15 children had been arrested, and reportedly tortured, for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. The original intent of these protests were peaceful and the main goal was to have these children released and an overall increase in democracy and freedom for the people of Syria.
According to the Washington Post, the killing all started in April of 2011, "when peaceful protests inspired by earlier revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia rose up to challenge the dictatorship running the country. Peaceful intent turned malicious when the government responded hostile. "First security forces quietly killed activists. Then they started kidnapping, raping, torturing, and killing activists and their family members (including children), before dumping their mutilated bodies by the sides of roads. Soon military troops began simply opening fire on protesters. Eventually, civilians started shooting back."
Quickly, violence had spread to other parts of the country beginning an all out civil war. Rebel groups started to form, consisting of armed civilians. The Syrian army turned to more violence and killing when they would bomb whole neighborhoods and towns, trying to terrorize people into cooperating with their rules. It has also been seen in the news recently that they have been using chemical weapons to attack innocent Syrian civilians.
This all began with the people of Syria wanting justice, democracy, and an increase in freedom. Unfortunately, after the government's demonic response, people demanded that the President, Bashar al-Assad, resign. He refused.
Rebels have gained the support from other countries and developed a stronger foundation; however, it seems like there may be no end in sight with the terror that Assad brings.
3. Who is helping Syria regain control?
The United Nations has been a huge advocate for decreasing the violence but no one can come to a unanimous understanding of what can be done to help this struggling country.
April of 2012, The UN sent peace monitors into Syria as a part of the peace plan; however, the increasing violence became too dangerous and they were forced to pull out. There has been increasing debates about what should be done and what can be done.
Unless an agreement can be reached between the people of Syria, the violence doesn't have an endpoint.
4. Why doesn't the United States start lending a hand?
The easiest answer: It's not possible. There is not a single viable option for this to take place. Military option is out of the question. "Shipping arms to rebels, even it helps them topple Assad, would ultimately empower jihadists and worsen rebel in-fighting, probably leading to lots of chaos and possibly a second civil war (Research U.S during Afghanistan's 1980s civil war and how they helped, unknowingly, the Taliban take power in the 1990s)"
Killing Assad would probably lead to more violence and also a position that the U.S doesn't need to be in.
Max Fisher from the Washington Post states, "Launching air strikes or a “no fly zone” could suck us in, possibly for years, and probably wouldn’t make much difference on the ground. An Iraq-style ground invasion would, in the very best outcome, accelerate the killing, cost a lot of U.S. lives, wildly exacerbate anti-Americanism in a boon to jihadists and nationalist dictators alike, and would require the United States to impose order for years across a country full of people trying to kill each other. Nope."
The one glimmer of hope is that the Assad regime and the rebels to strike a peace deal...which is what Obama and his administration are currently working towards. Who knows if this will work though or if they will be interested in creating a peace agreement. For now, the U.S. just has to stay out of it. There is nothing we can do.
5. How does this affect the children? (The reason we are all here)
"They have lost their families, lost their homes, and they have lost hope. They are full of anger...and if it continues, we will face a generation of illiterates...” stated Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
One of the biggest challenges children in America will face is divorced parents. The children in Syria will face the challenge of losing both parents, losing their home, and worst of all, losing their humanity.
Our main goal, is to get the voice of the children out into the public and create awareness for their future.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186