The chronicles of the Syrian war
In this article we are aiming to a breakdown of the Syrian war, starting from the very first incidents that sparked the war,to the widespread destruction-casualties all sides have suffered.Moreover, our aim is to offer an insight into how the war has affected western countries, and how it found its way all the way to the US. Lastly, we will express our thoughts and conclusions regarding the war and our speculations for the future.
How it all started
War, the ultimate wretchedness and humiliation of the human existence and life. Throughout history humanity has experienced and it is still experiencing many plagues, even though the western world sometimes feels detached from distant places and populations who suffer. The civil war in Syria that has started eight years ago, is a clear example of this cruelty. Thousands of people have died and millions of ordinary people have left their houses. But how did everything begin? Dating back to 2011 we find many Syrians disappointed by their country and their government. High unemployment, corruption, lack of political freedom and dissatisfaction from the way their President, Bashar al-Assad rules are some of the key-features that could describe how citizens used to feel. The triggering event that caused the beginning of exasperation and not much later war, took place in the city of Deraa. The army controlled by the government opened fire on some peaceful protesters and they killed five innocent people in total. These events created a huge agitation and unrest which quickly spread all over. From demonstrations about democracy and freedom, people started to demand the resignation of their President. Al Assad kept having many supporters which led to the creation of two sides that began to fight each other, inaugurating this way the Syrian civil war in July 2012 (also declared by the international Red Cross).
Who is fighting in this war?
The main opponents in this war are soldiers who support the Syrian President, the rebels,consist of people that strongly desire the withdrawal of Assad and are mainly Kurdish people and advocates of the loyal opposition. The practices of Assad’s government have been tarnishing the common people leading to a generalized feeling of unease. At the same time, an organization known as I.S (Islamic State)is trying to gain control by taking advantage of the turmoil between Assad and the rebels,I.S and its extreme views started strong but gradually lost power. In July 2012 the West Imperialistic forces and media started discussing the danger of chemical weapons being used by the Syrian President, entrenching human rights. Back to IS, during March 2013 terrorists (ISIS) started their rampage against the world, letting a door open for USA, Russia, Turkey and some western countries of Europe (France, UK) to enroll in the Syrian warfare. Other countries were involved as well and had their own background affairs in this story with yet no end. Specifically, more about the background story has to do with the disagreement concerning the duct of natural gas. In March 2008, Switzerland agreed with Iran to produce a gas line named “Persian Pipeline” that would cross Iran, Turkey and Europe. The United States of America were opposite to this and due to the American pressure against and the imposed sanctions to Iran, the agreement was cancelled. Furthermore, during the conflict in Ukraine, the American president Barack Obama pointed out that Europe should not lean on a Russian natural gas line and should find alternative solutions. Correspondingly, after one year of negotiations, Qatar, Turkey and America presented a new plan for a gas line that would cross Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. The transport means of gas from Qatar to Europe were more expensive than the Russian’s one, and that’s one of the main reasons that Europe preferred the Russian. Also, Bashar al-Assad, as he pointed out, rejected the idea of the ‘’ Qatar Pipeline’’ because he had another agenda. He started negotiations with Iran for a different 6.000 km pipeline that would pass through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and would reach Europe, leaving out Turkey, Saudi Arabia and consequently the interests of America. The result of the negotiations gave influence to Iran and Russia. Under those circumstances, a main reason for the war was the disagreement of Bashar al-Assad about the Qatar’s pipeline. To sum up, we can see that Russia and Iran are siding with Asaad whereas Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the US are supporting the rebels, however, the recent withdrawal of the US forces from the war alongside with the new military attack that Turkey launched against the Kurdish forces in northern Syria, are expected to tip the scale once more.
How has the war scarred Syria and its people
The ramifications of the war were devastating for Syria and its people.The 8-year war that is still raging has left countless people homeless or in desperate need for shelter and this is only the tip of the iceberg for the general crisis that has scarred Syria and its inhabitants.To start with in February of 1982, Hafez al-Assad ordered the military forces of his country to resort to violence in order to put down a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama. More than twenty five thousand (25,000) people were killed during the uprising. This was the first massacre of the war.The casualties kept on rising and from 15 March 2011–15 March 2019 they had reached 371,222–570,000(!). Moreover,throughout the chronicles of this war there have been reports about chemical weapons usage.This practice has resulted in the death of ninety (90) people and resulted in the timely intervention of international parties.Apart from the staggering number of casualties, what is even more heartbreaking is, the number of people who had to flee from Syria to find a better life for them and their families, either to the neighboring countries such as Turkey,Lebanon,Jordan or to the neighboring parts of Europe.That number is roughly estimated to be 6.2 million people while more than 5.6million people have sought for a better life abroad. All of the above have created -what can only be named as-an unprecedented violation of human rights,namely “By February 2019, some 13 million people were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5.2 million in desperate need. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives, numerous buildings have been destroyed from the airstrikes, leaving millions of people homeless,while, ISIS has destroyed a big part of Syria’s history and cultural heritage by pillaging and vandalizing the ruins in Palmyra. In conclusion, the profound economic effects of the war have hindered the economic growth, diversification, and job creation in the region causing the unemployment rate to surge making the situation more and more precarious as the war continues to rage.
How has the war in Syria affected the rest of the world
The ongoing Syrian civil war, except from the impact that has inside the country has also affected the rest of the world. Dangerous dogmatic tensions, a sharp increase in the number of refugees, daily violence and widespread instability make the Syrian civil war a global threat. Since 2012, the Western embassies have been moved away from Syrian ground, leaving all forms of communication disconnected. But the most affected countries are the neighboring countries of Syria that have to deal with the dramatic situation that the Syrian refugees are facing. Those countries consist of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan that already have many social and financial issues. According to the UN, Jordan hosts 500.000 refugees and Lebanon hosts 450.000 which means that they make up almost the 1/6 of the country’s population. Also, in Turkey the number of refugees exceeded 1.800.000.
Additionally, Europe has to face a large number of refugees that try to cross the borders in order to chase a better way of life. Due to the refugee flows, migrant crisis in Europe is intensifying and causing problems. Thousands of refugees are stuck in the borders, waiting for asylum and at the same time they have to face the rage of many local people (many of those are also complaining about the situation), as xenophobia rises drastically in Europe.Last but not least, a number of terrorist attacks has left many cities around Europe in shambles,for fear of a terrorist attack the xenophobic spirits are high while the casualties have scarred the families of the people. Only in the European Union countries there have been 73(!) terrorist attacks dating from 2012 resulting to approximately 400 deaths.These numbers showcase the grim consequences of the war.
Media coverage
Regarding the coverage of the Syrian civil war from the American and Russian media it is observed that they often reflect the foreign policies of their political leaders. Thus, the political leaders “prepare” their citizens and try to shape their consciousness before they take the actual political actions. Therefore, American journalists focus on depicting the barbarism and the cruelty of the conflict in Syria in order to emphasize in the ongoing humanitarian crisis that affects Syria and try to overthrow Assad’s regime. On the contrary, the articles of Russian journalists are aiming to prove that the intention of Russian authorities is to protect Syria from any dangers from the outside, punctuating in previous negative outcomes of past Western interventions, commenting that another interference will only cause a new crisis in the Middle East.
As referred at the U.K media, “unilateral military action must be avoided as it would destabilize the region and threaten efforts to secure the lasting defeat of [Isis]” Andrew Murrison (member of the conservative party) told parliament.
Mr Trump made a stun declaration on Sunday night to pull back troops from the Turkey-Syria border, and said the US would not prevent a Turkish attack against Kurdish contenders in the Syrian Democratic Forces. The move was condemned as a betrayal of the Kurdish-drove Syrian Democratic Forces.
Mr Murrison included that he had no thought on Mr Trump’s proposal that the UK concurred with his choice.
Our conclusions
To conclude with, the war in Syria is still raging out of control,the number of casualties is rising by the day.This war, like all wars before it are a living breathing example of the deep ethical crisis that is plaguing our world.Even though it started as a war in a foreign part of the world, it soon broke through the borders of Syria and made it all the way to our doorstep adamantly showcasing that; this war, is affecting all of us,and finding a way to put an end to this massacre should be our top priority. Hopefully the latest developments with the death of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, followed by withdrawal of the American troops will bring us one step closer to the long-awaited halcyon days.
Videos:
Links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186 “What’s happening in Syria?”
https://www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-syria “Global Conflict Tracker”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-six-unesco-world-heritage-sites-all-damaged-or-destroyed-during-civil-war-a6934026.html “Syria’s six Unesco World Heritage Sites all damaged or destroyed during civil war”
Betty Tsakarestou Mania Xenou Effie Lazaridou Christiana Bramo Nickos Pan Christina Panagakou Antzela Golikai Fotis Angelis Maria Hanioti
