I was sitting with my friends the other day and somehow the topic of Syria came up in our typical political conversation. We hear about Syria almost everyday, on the news, trending worldwide on Twitter and Facebook, but do we ever actually look to find out more information on what is happening in that country? My friend said, “Everyone knows what’s happening in Syria, Russia bombed them in 2011 and ever since, it has been a constant battle between the two countries!” If you believed what my friend said, you would be absolutely, one hundred percent, incorrect.
After I absorbed my friend’s ignorant remark, I began to listen in on other’s conversations on the topic of Syria and read what people were saying on social media, and I gathered one, big thing: barely anybody has any clue on what the hell is going on.
All the conflict in Syria began in 2011, when children were arrested in the city of Deraa, for writing anti-government slurs on a wall. The children were arrested, and this sparked peaceful protests–well, they started off as peaceful. The government responded in the worst way possible, opening fire on the innocent civilians that were protesting. The protests spread anger from outside of Deraa and all over the country. After the government opened fire on the civilians, they demanded one thing, Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, resign immediately. This is what sparked rebel fighters to fight back against the system.
In 2014, Islamic State gained control over large areas of Syria. Originating from Iraq, Islamic State used violence against anyone who did not agree with what they wanted. However, not everybody who disagrees with President Assad are “barbaric terrorists,” but many are just political groups, activists and normal Syrian civilians.
The war has sent many refugees fleeing their homes, to other neighboring countries, Europe, and even the United States. However, the United States has not been very open and inviting to these refugees at all. In August, the US finally met the goal of admitting 10,000 refugees in one year, which still is too few. Martin O’Malley, former Maryland governor, stated, “If the US granted asylum to 65,000 refugees it would be statistically akin to adding 6.5 people to a baseball stadium holding 32,000 people.” Most of the refugees that are accepted are women and children, not many are men. France has accepted 24,000 refugees and the UK has said they will accept 20,000 refugees by 2020.
Those that have stayed in Syria have fled cities, such as Aleppo and Homs, and seeked refuge in the countryside, away from bombings and airstrikes. Many children no longer go to school and spend most of the day fearing for their lives.
Countries continue to supply Syria with aid, however the US and Britain have stopped, in fear rebel groups would take the aid, something that they did not support. Now, Russia plays a key role in this civil war. Russia supplies Assad and the Syrian government with weapons, which allows the government to continue to slaughter their own people. Russia supports Syria because Syria buys their weapons and Russia has a naval installation in Syria.
So, yeah, this is all pretty hopeless. Every option the Unites States has to end this brutal civil was has major negative consequences. This civil war really is not ending any time soon. However, we can still hold out hope that maybe sometime soon the Rebels and President Assad will reach some sort of peace deal, but until then, millions and millions of people will continue to lose their homes, and maybe their lives.
