Syrian War: It’s Been 10 Years, When Will It End?
Disclaimer: This article is written based on the opinion of the author and does not in any way reflect the view of the organisation.
Disclaimer: This article is written based on the opinion of the author and does not in any way reflect the view of the organisation.
“If heaven is on Earth, Damascus must be it; if heaven is in the sky, Damascus must be the same as it.”
For the past decade, most people’s perceptions of Syria seem to be of a country besieged by war, bombarded by tanks and artillery, and mass shootings. Yet many people might be unaware of how prosperous Syria once was, or how beautiful Damascus used to be at night. Syria, also widely recognized as the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in western Asia lying on the eastern Mediterranean coast. It is bound to the north by Turkey, to the east by Iraq, to the south by Jordan, to the southwest by Lebanon and Palestine, and to the west by Cyprus across the Mediterranean Sea, including the Gran Heights.
Since ancient times, it’s been referred to as the “heart of the world.” Syria is one of the world’s ancient civilizations’ cradles. Damascus used to be the capital of the Umayyad dynasty during the Arab Empire, serving as a connection between Asia, Europe, and Africa, and its GDP once ranked 68th out of more than 190 countries and regions around the world.
Needless to say, before the civil war started, Syria used to have a wholly distinct identity. As part of the massive Syrian Civil War, Aleppo, which was once Syria’s largest city, has now become the country’s worst affected site since the conflict of Aleppo started in 2012. The Markable World Heritage Site in Syrian, which is also known as the ancient city of Aleppo, is now rubble as a result of devastation, robbing, and burning. Let us go back ten years to understand the roots of Syria’s decade-long war.
Timeline of Syrian Civil War
The trigger for the war did not happen in Syria itself, but in the case of Mohammed Bouazizi.
A decade ago, the massive “Arab Spring” swept across the Arab world. It started in late 2010 whenMohammed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire to protest against the law enforcement that arrested him due to the lack of permit for his vegetable stand. With the aid of Western countries, the “domino effect” had subsequently shown up in the regimes of West Asian and North African countries.
By early April of the same year, over half of the 22 Arab countries had experienced varying degrees of large scale and political movements. Even though origins of the Syria conflict are remarkably similar to those of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, the crisis’s slightly later onset and the susceptibility of its geographical region soon transformed the conflict from a street movement to a war game. Another principal cause that led to the civil war was due to the phenomenon of corruption and dictatorship in the Syrian government. The government’s corruption has hampered the country’s comprehensive development in all aspects. Furthermore, religious beliefs in the Middle East are relatively complex, and the contradictions between various religions, as well as other factors, have contributed to this massive war.
Throughout the past decade, the Syrian crisis has gone through four phases. On March 15, 2011, a nationwide anti-government protest movement emerged in Syria. The first stage (March, 2011 — June, 2014) was the escalation period of the Syrian Civil War, with the main belligerents being only the Syrian government forces and the rebel forces, and then it gradually turned into the “proxy war”.
Syrian Civil War had also drawn attention to the involvement of radical organization, ISIS in the region. The second phase (June, 2014 — September, 2015) was the expansion period of the Islamic State (ISIS). With the pretext of attacking ISIS, the United States openly intervened in the Syrian crisis at that time. With the intervention of the US and other countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and so on and so forth, the rebels’ military strength grew dramatically, which also accelerated the defeat of ISIS to a certain extent.
The third stage (September, 2015 — December, 2017), was the most important turning point of the war. While the United States as well as other foreign forces offered substantial assistance to the rebels’ armed forces; Bashar al-Assad had the overwhelming support of Russia. Subsequently, the war turned into a “proxy war”. With the support of Russian, Syrian government forces have managed to pull through many difficult times.
In December 2016, Syrian government forces succeeded in the battle of Aleppo, dealing a major blow to rebel forces in northwestern Syria. At the same time, government forces successfully recaptured the most important water sources around Damascus, namely the Barada River. In terms of the lives and economic wealth of Syrian citizens, the war in Syria has been the darkest, most brutal, longest-running and most disastrous of the Arab spring.
With the support of Iran and Russia, the Assad government had successfully controlled 70% of the territory and actively sought national reconstruction. It is now 2021, the tenth anniversary of Syrian war, but hope for peace still remains vague and no one knows where Syria will go politically and economically, or when the true spring will arrive. After a decade of turmoil, the Syrian people are not only divided into factions, but have already evolved into a “wrestling field” of great powers. In addition to the United States, Russia, Britain and France, regional powers such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Cartel and Israel were also playing a major role in Syria. The Syrian crisis, coupled with COVID-19, has made life miserable for the Syrian people. The Syrian war, in a nutshell, is a messy battlefield. Damascus, which was once called paradise, and the beautiful country which was once called “Sulliston” (the Land of Roses), are now in ruins
The Costs of Syrian Civil War
Here are some mind-blowing facts on the impacts of Syrian War:
Thus far, the Syrian war has cost USD 120 million, and that is approximately equal to the European Union’s expenditure over ten years.
Since the civil war began ten years ago, 4.8 million Syrian children have been born.
Children’s life expectancy has been significantly decreased by 13 years as a result of the conflict.
Over 2.4 million children are not getting an education.
Almost 6,000 children were confirmed to be injured or killed. At least 152 people have died at the hands of summary execution or abuse.
4,000 children have been selected and used as military personnel. 82 percent of these children have experienced real combat, while 25 percent are under 15 years old.
Since 2011, Syria’s economy has shown signs of serious decline. At the same time, the people living there are suffering from terrible living conditions, but most of them don’t understand why this is happening. Fundamental infrastructures in Syria, including medical and healthcare centres, educational institutions, electricity, hygiene and sewerage systems have been severely devastated due to the war. Marketplaces and heritage sites have mostly become waste lands.
According to UNICEF, “one of the most brutal wars in history” has left the lives and futures of an entire generation of children hanging by a thread. Ninety per cent of the country’s children are now in need of humanitarian assistance, and figures show that nearly 12,000 children have been killed or wounded in conflict in the past decade, more than three a day. UNICEF also claimed that despite the ceasefire in Syria, conditions in the north still remain uncontrolled, with millions of children still displaced and some families forced to flee their homes as many as seven times. In 2020, more than 75 percent of the serious human rights violations took place in the Northwest of Syria.
Ahmed, a Syrian young boy said: “I was called Ahmed… I never expected to be called a refugee.” For the vast majority of Syria’s young civilians, war seems to have been their only experience. It has had a negative impact on psychological, physical, and social health. Children have always been known to be a country’s future, but their future is now jeopardised by wars. Another report by UNICEF stated that the collapse in schooling systems of Syria has been the strongest yet most instantaneous throughout the country’s history. The inhabitation of educational institutions by parties in conflict or refugee households, the lack of educators or even the insecurity in Syria seem to be the rationales why schooling in Syria has been halted.
“Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.”
— Nelson Mandela
In addition, the United Nation World Food Programme claimed that the vast majority of Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. These five countries by their own had housed more than 5.5 million Syrian refugees, making them the world’s biggest refugee community.
In the past month, when our nation was celebrating Ramadan, what about them? While most of the Muslims normally have two meals a day during the important religious Islamic Ramadan period, many Syrian refugees, on the other hand, only get a meal per day for the entire year. Food prices in Syrian are currently increasing throughout the nation, with fundamental food products costing 313% more than those in 2019. Currently, they are all living in the unknown, and even uncertain about what else they can eat the next day. Sadly, our most basic daily life has become their most difficult challenge. They are facing enormous challenges in purchasing necessities, such as food, clothes, or even sending the new generation to educational institutions.
All these reports are really heartbreaking, and yet, what can we do to help them? And, who is alreading giving them support?
Main Organizations that are Assisting Syrian Refugees
1. United Nation World Food Programme
The World Food Programme, which also functions as the world’s largest humanitarian food stamp programme, is assisting 1.8 million refugees and the local community, 1.2 million of whom are Syrian refugees. The World Food Programme also provides support in the form of cash payments, electronic food cards, or coupons. For instance, In Jordan, WFP is currently amending its bank transaction aid, including withdrawals from online ATMs. Besides, due to the pandemic outbreak, WFP is also promoting the use of digital payment services and contactless payments in Iraq.
2. World Vision
World Vision aims to assist refugees in different countries, which have been hit hard by the wars. Today, they have supported over 6.5 million children in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, as well as Jordan since the conflicts started.
3. Relief International
Relief International incorporates 7300 staff and community members to offer life-saving support to millions of people mostly on the brink of homelessness. They intend to collaborate with volunteers to rebuild career opportunities, construct key services, and establish learning environments for the needs.
3. You, Me and Us
By placing ourselves in their shoes, acknowledging their stories, and addressing the Syrian civil war with loved ones, we can broaden the awareness and collaborate to cease this worldwide humanitarian catastrophe. Connecting their stories with the public enables the Syrian refugees to achieve the same things we need.
Since 2011, there are many more organizations and agencies currently assisting Syria to pass through the hardships. Just a little step to share this article and volunteer your time to read more about their stories can be helpful.
Reflection
Undoubtedly, the costs and consequences of this war are not limited to what has been mentioned in this article. There’s more to do with this messy battlefield that we don’t know about. Did the war return Syria to a peaceful, and free land? It was a very complex war, but the most obvious end was the sufferings of the people. All these shouldn’t be the price to pay for freedom of a regime.
[Written by: Li Yi Xin]