For this blog post we were asked to select a humanitarian crisis around the globe. We were asked to describe how the situation began, what the current state of the crisis looks like, the direct effects on the community, and the humanitarian response among other things. Having a vague understanding of the crisis, but being old enough to remember when it began, I selected Syria. To say that the situation in Syria is dire, would be an understatement. While I continue to be shocked by the atrocities that have occured and continue to occur in Syria, I believe that it is necessary that we don’t look away. Regardless if we can make a direct impact, I believe it is our duty as human beings to know what is happening to our fellow human beings in Syria.
While the current state and players involved in the Syrian crisis are complex and convoluted, I will do my best to explain the situation. In Tunisia, during December of 2010, protests erupted as a response to the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi. This event is often referred to as the spark of the “Arab Spring.” Soon after, anti-government protests appeared across the region in Oman, Yemen, Egypt, Syria, and Morocco. In Syria, these protests began in March of 2011, in the city of Deraa. The Syrian Government responded with force, and protestors soon called for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. As the violence continued, a civil war broke out. The conflict has continued for eight years and shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
So, who is involved? There are many players in the Syrian war, so bare with me while I attempt to explain this in the clearest of terms. The Syrian Government has received direct support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah (an Islamic Militant group with ties to Lebanon). The rebels have received varying levels of support from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France have claimed to support “moderate” rebel groups. Additionally, the U.S. has conducted airstrikes on Syria to target ISIS fighters. The U.S. has also aided the Kurds in helping to form an alliance between the Kurdish and Arab militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). While Turkey currently supports the rebels, they have accused the Kurdish militia of being an extension of a banned group in Turkey, further complicating matters. Saudi Arabia has provided weapons and money to the Syrian rebels as a way to counter Iran’s influence. Furthermore, Israel has also conducted hundreds of air strikes on Syria to combat the influence of Iran and Hezbollah.
Clearly, there are many different countries with many different agendas and intentions at play in Syria. The total population of Syria before the war was around 21 million. Today, the population hovers just above 18 million, with 13 million in need of aid. While the exact death toll is unknown, it is estimated that more than 500,000 people are dead or missing. Additionally, approximately 6.2 million civilians have been internally displaced, while 5.7 million refugees have relocated to Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and North Africa. Fighting has left much of Syria destroyed. In fact, Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, with a population of approximately 1.754 million people, has been completely reduced to rubble. Many civilians have fled to desert areas to escape violence. Unfortunately, while there, these people have experienced further hardships including severe weather and starvation. Marwa Awad, Communications Officer for the World Food Programme in Syria, writes of the hardships in her article “I witnessed the purgatory of people trapped in Syria’s Rukban camp.” She explains that she attended Rukban, a remote location in Syria, to distribute food with the World Food Programme, the food assistance branch of the United Nations (UN), and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. She explained that other UN agencies have been delivering shelter, medical supplies, and sanitary supplies to a population very much in need. Unfortunately, locations like Rukban are extremely hard to reach, complicating the delivery of aid. Even worse is that the violence has made the country so unsafe, that aid delivery is often postponed to keep aid workers safe.
But what about the monetary aid? According to Annie Sparrow, author of the article “How UN Humanitarian Aid Has Propped Up Assad: Syria Shows the Need for Reform,” “UN agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have permitted the Assad regime to take control of the $30 billion international humanitarian response.” What this means is that the aid allocated to Syria is being used by it’s current president to pay for the government’s war spending, as well as to skirt sanctions. Ironically, this aid comes from the same Western/Global North governments that imposed the sanctions in the first place.
Clearly, the crisis in Syria has taken its toll on its citizens and the country. The number of parties involved demonstrate the complex nature of global alliances. Additionally, aid is more critical than ever as fighting continues and shows no signs of slowing. Unfortunately, the situation has become so dangerous, that delivering aid is no easy feat. So, what is our role? Do we have a duty to help? A humanitarian imperative? It’s hard to say. Of course, every fiber of my being is screaming at me to help in whatever way I can. I cannot understand what it must be like to know that you can never go home. For many, home is simply a memory buried in a pile of rubble.
Works Cited
- Awad, M. (2019, February 20). I witnessed the purgatory of people trapped in Syria’s Rukban camp | Marwa Awad. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/20/plight-children-rukban-heartbreaking-syria
- Humanitarian Overview an Analysis of Key Crises into 2018. www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/products/files/acaps_humanitarian_overview_analysis_of_key_crises_into_2018.pdf.
- Middle East :: Syria — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html
- Shaheen, K. (2018, March 8). Syria aid deliveries halted amid reports of chemical attacks. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/08/ghouta-syria-aid-convoy-postponed-chemical-attack
- Sparrow, A. (2018, September 20). How un humanitarian aid has propped up assad. Foreign Affairs. Retrieved from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria/2018-09-20/how-un-humanitarian-aid-has-propped-assad
- Why is there a war in Syria? (2019, February 25). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229