Skip to main content

Frustrated by 7 yr bloody war, Syrians yearn for peace, stability, united Syria



By Fr Cedric Prakash sj*
“I am going to tell God everything!” were apparently the last words of a three-year old Syrian child before she died. These heart-rending words accompanied with a moving picture of a child has been doing the rounds of social media along with thousands of other messages, pictures, videos on the Syrian war. It is hardly possible to authenticate or verify such media. Nevertheless, the words and the picture of the child sums it all: the utter hopelessness and helplessness of a people who have been enveloped in a tragic bloody war which does not seem to end; for many, in the war-torn land of Syria “just to die” seems the only way out and then “to tell God everything!” On the face of it, this sounds rather cynical; but often when despair sets it, hope and resilience take a backseat!
February 2018 has been an extremely bad month for Syria and by all counts, the worst phase of the conflict, which began on 15 March 2011. The war until now was mainly concentrated in Homs, Aleppo Al Raqaa and some other areas. Damascus, the capital city, though subject to some intermittent attacks these past years, was regarded as a relatively safe and secure place. That reality, this past month, has changed dramatically with areas in and around Damascus subject to heavy artillery and aerial bombardments; besides, people from the besieged areas are apparently, as a last ditch effort also resorting to indiscriminate bombing in the densely populated areas of the old city. Bombing from the different warring factions has meant many fatalities, severe causalities and all round destruction.
Today Damascus, once a thriving metropolis, wears the appearance of a ghost town. There is very little movement on the streets. A large section of the people has left the city for safer and more secure places, in other parts of the country. Fear and a cloud of uncertainty has gripped everybody. In the early afternoon of 20 February Ms. Vivian Shaheen (who also volunteers with the Jesuit Refugee Service) was about to leave her workplace in a Government facility in the heart of Damascus.

After days of experiencing frequent shelling in the Bab Tuoma area, Vivian had decided to take a break from Damascus and go to her family home in Maara, which is a safer location. She had just said “goodbye” to a close friend and colleague Ms. Lama Fallouh who was also headed home. Suddenly from nowhere a bomb exploded; Vivian did not know what had hit her, just that she was bleeding profusely. She was able to run to a vehicle that had come to pick her up and was rushed to a nearby hospital. A shrapnel had pierced her right shoulder (fragmenting the bones there) and exiting from her upper arm. Her friend Lama was killed instantaneously by that bomb! The tragic everyday reality of a people who have to deal with not only the violence, but also the pain and trauma in the sudden loss of a loved one.
On 22 February, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the UN Security Council that it must act immediately “What we need is a sustained cessation of hostilities and we need it desperately Millions of battered and beleaguered children, women and men depend on meaningful action by this Council.” Mr. Lowcock went on to remind the Security Council that it had been briefed “in minute detail – month after month – on the scale of the suffering of the Syrian people, with endless reports on dead and injured children, women and men. Airstrikes, mortars, rockets, barrel bombs, cluster munitions, chemical weapons, thermite bombs, suicide bombs snipers, double-tap attacks on civilians and the essential infrastructure they depend on, including hospitals and school, rape, illegal detention, torture, child recruitment and sieges of entire cities reminiscent of medieval times”
After weeks of terrible bloodshed, the UN Security Council finally decided and voted unanimously on 24 February for a thirty-day cease-fire in Syria and to allow humanitarian aid to reach people in the most affected areas. Bombardments however, continued and ceasefire violations were recorded in different areas, more than a week after the resolution. The UN Security Council is once again called to play a watchdog role. Speaking at the opening of the regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 26 February, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that part of Syria was today “hell on earth” and “I remind all parties of their absolute obligation and international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times.”

The world community is aware that the Syrian conflict is very complex and not merely a ‘civil’ war; there are many other major stakeholders that have made Syria an international amphitheatre today. In the past month, the United States, Israel and Turkey have in turn bombarded military and civilian areas in Syria, on dubious and questionable grounds. The profiteering military-industrial complex needs to keep the region destabilized for its own selfish reasons. A good section of the media are so selective in their reporting and highlight just one side of the war.
This is tragic indeed! It looks as though some of the so-called ‘big powers’ are really not serious about peace returning to Syria. At one stage, there was a modicum of hope, but now all that is destroyed with this latest round of violence – which is apparently the worst bout since the outbreak of hostilities in March 2011. The years of war have torn families apart; destroyed businesses and shattered livelihoods Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said some time ago, “It is a collective failure. Ultimately, Syria’s conflict isn’t about numbers – it’s about people”.
According to the latest statistics of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 5.4 million people have fled Syria since 2011, seeking safety mainly in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan and beyond. There are at least 6.1 million more who are internally displaced inside Syria. Approximately 13.1 million people are in need in Syria of which 2.98 million still live in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. It is estimated that more than 3.5 million children under the age of seven, know nothing but war. Host communities are naturally under great strain as they shoulder the social, economic and political fallout.
Hundreds of thousands have made perilous sea voyages seeking sanctuary; but no one is sure how many may have died at sea. While many have sought refuge in Europe, Canada and the United States, only a small percentage have actually been welcomed. The world is also painfully aware of the groundswell of xenophobia, racism, intolerance, exclusiveness and the stranglehold of right- wing politics in several countries across the globe.

Pope Francis has consistently been demanding “an immediate end to the inhuman violence in Syria” and asking the world community to pray for peace in Syria. In a recent interview, Fr Nawras Sammour SJ, the Regional Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (MENA) says, “today Syria is in fact ‘many Syrias’ – that is a big tragedy. We were one country and one people! Unfortunately the last seven years has also witnessed the total fragmentation and division of Syria. We have become isolated, warring pockets- but for what? A question, which is very difficult to comprehend. So the restoration of our unity as one country is an important challenge for all the Syrian people”. The Jesuit Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo voices a similar sentiment, “the only way to peace in Syria is a united and autonomous Syria. We should stop spreading hate, arms, violence and victims otherwise everything will continue to be at a dead-end!”
This bloody Syrian war has in these seven years witnessed the deaths of thousands and caused the largest displacement in recent human history. After these terrible years of experiencing widespread destruction and insecurity, there is a natural frustration and a sense of fatigue. Most Syrians are ready to clutch at any straw for normalcy, to fan any glimmer of hope, which may come their way. They yearn for peace and stability; they want their united Syria of the past to be restored to them. They desperately want the bombarding and the air strikes (which today take place with frightening regularity) to stop now; today they live in a state of total uncertainty, not knowing from where and when the next bomb will fall; like Vivian and her now dead friend Lama, they wonder whether they will live to see tomorrow!
At this moment fear, helplessness and hopelessness is the reality of many a Syrian today. The other day, as bombs rained in Damascus another friend of mine from there called saying, “I am trapped. What do I do? When will this war ever end?” There are obviously no clear answers and no words of comfort, which can ever change the grim reality, which people there have to face, day-in, and day-out. It is indeed a bloody, violent and ugly war that needs to be stopped immediately. The powerful, vested interests of the world must get their act together and ensure that now! The rest of us mortals can only hope and pray and given one’s limitations, do all one can so that peace, security and normalcy returns to Syria and for her people today!

*Indian human rights activist, currently based in Lebanon, engaged with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in the Middle East on advocacy and communications

Comments

TRENDING

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan. 

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Creative destruction? The myth of ‘better capitalism’ behind the 2025 Economics Nobel

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak *  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr , Philippe Aghion , and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth .” According to the Nobel announcement on October 13 , one half of the prize goes to Professor Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress ,” while the other half is shared by Professors Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction .”

Caste, employment, and Bihar elections: The tragedy of Musahar child labourers

​By Sunil Kumar*  ​ Bihar 's biggest festival of 'democracy'—the elections—has begun with its full clamor. The announcements from both the ruling party and the opposition create the illusion that the state's suffering will vanish in an instant, and the lives of the people of Bihar will be greatly enriched. As in every election, this time too, caste and employment are emerging as key issues. Every party is unrolling its bundle of promises. But amidst this electoral noise, there are stories that are deliberately kept 'quiet'—because both the ruling party and the opposition benefit from their silence. One such story is the death of four Musahar children.