I have been watching the international news on TV and sort of following what is happening in Syria. It comes as no surprise that like anyone I am saddened by what is happening in Syria. But I am also baffled and confused with all the happenings in Syria.
I know there is a civil war going on. But when did it started? The civil war did not start yesterday. It is very unfortunate that the civil war finally made it to the TV coverage until the Syrians were being tossed with chemicals. The next question is how come suddenly the world is interested and certain countries wanted to join forces with whatever parties in Syria to stop the on-going war. The third queston is can I say that religion plays a part in this civil war? Which devilish countries are delivering the weapons to the Syrians in exchange for huge sums of money?
I believe not all of us are sure of what is happening in Syria. Whatmore, unless you are an expert in the Middle East affairs, you probably won't know where is Syria located too. According to many articles I have read what is happening in Syria is really important, but it an also be confusing and difficult to follow even for the experts. Nevertheless, I am going to try my best to 'grasp' what is happening in Syria.
(Q1) What is Syria?
The official name for this country is Syrian Arab Republic. Syria is actually an English name for this country. The Arabic name for this country is Al-Sham. Syria is located in the Middle East, along the shore of Mediterranean Sea. Briefly, it is about the same size as Washington state. It borders Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is also home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians,Assyrians, Turks, Christians, Druze, Alawite, Shias and Arab Sunnis. The latter(Sunnis) make up the majority of the population. Civilizations in Syria goes back thousands of years, but the country as it exists today is very young. Like the African continent, Syria's borders were drawn by Europrean colonial powers in the 1920s.
(Q2) Why are the Syrians killing each other?
The killing started in April 2011 in Deraa. 15 schoolchildren were arrested and reportedly tortured for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. The protests for the children's release were peaceful. All the Syrians wanted are democrary and greater freedom for the people. Regrettably, the government responded angrily, and on March 18th, the army opened fire on protesters killing four people.Firstly, the government's security forces quietly killed the activists, then started kidnapping, raping, torturing activists's family members.
Inconsolable, the activists turned into armed civilians organized into rebel groups. I do not blame the peaceful activists turned armed civilians for using guns, after all who won't be angry, furious and mad at the government for killing their citizens, especially a lot of innocent children and then dumping the dead mutilated bodies to the sides of the roads. And all hell broke loose.This incident shocked and angered the people, like a chain reaction, the infuriation spread like wild fire to other parts of the country. Army deployed across the country, terrorizing people into submission. Then volunteers from other countries joined the rebels, either because they wanted freedom and democracy for Syria or, more likely, because they are jihadists who hate Syria's secular government.
Conclusion
I am glad I started digging information online to understand what is happening in Syria. Now with the information I have, I have a better clearer picture in my head on what is going on. The only part I did not cover is the Syria neighbouring enemies. Now another question is whether foreign countries should interfere with the civil war or not.
*Please forgive me if there are mistakes and misinformed writings; Please correct me*
I know there is a civil war going on. But when did it started? The civil war did not start yesterday. It is very unfortunate that the civil war finally made it to the TV coverage until the Syrians were being tossed with chemicals. The next question is how come suddenly the world is interested and certain countries wanted to join forces with whatever parties in Syria to stop the on-going war. The third queston is can I say that religion plays a part in this civil war? Which devilish countries are delivering the weapons to the Syrians in exchange for huge sums of money?
I believe not all of us are sure of what is happening in Syria. Whatmore, unless you are an expert in the Middle East affairs, you probably won't know where is Syria located too. According to many articles I have read what is happening in Syria is really important, but it an also be confusing and difficult to follow even for the experts. Nevertheless, I am going to try my best to 'grasp' what is happening in Syria.
(Q1) What is Syria?
The official name for this country is Syrian Arab Republic. Syria is actually an English name for this country. The Arabic name for this country is Al-Sham. Syria is located in the Middle East, along the shore of Mediterranean Sea. Briefly, it is about the same size as Washington state. It borders Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is also home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians,Assyrians, Turks, Christians, Druze, Alawite, Shias and Arab Sunnis. The latter(Sunnis) make up the majority of the population. Civilizations in Syria goes back thousands of years, but the country as it exists today is very young. Like the African continent, Syria's borders were drawn by Europrean colonial powers in the 1920s.
(Q2) Why are the Syrians killing each other?
Inconsolable, the activists turned into armed civilians organized into rebel groups. I do not blame the peaceful activists turned armed civilians for using guns, after all who won't be angry, furious and mad at the government for killing their citizens, especially a lot of innocent children and then dumping the dead mutilated bodies to the sides of the roads. And all hell broke loose.This incident shocked and angered the people, like a chain reaction, the infuriation spread like wild fire to other parts of the country. Army deployed across the country, terrorizing people into submission. Then volunteers from other countries joined the rebels, either because they wanted freedom and democracy for Syria or, more likely, because they are jihadists who hate Syria's secular government.
(Q3) Who governs Syria?
In order to know why civil war is occuring in Syria, it is essential to understand who governs Syria. I did a few hours of research and reading on the internet and going to try my best to sum up what I gained from. There are many key players in the government.
The dictatorship started during President Hafez al-Assad's regime. He is an Alawites and being the leader of the socialist Ba'ath party, seized power in 1963. He had 5 children with Anisa al-Assad. According to many articles, senior Assad is a ruthless and shrewd politician, always analyzing the situation and knowledgeable about international affairs, in contrast to the current President Bashar al-Assad(the third son). Senior Assad had built his his facade of power through his alliances with the seniors aides he trusted, whereas Bashar cut off ties with the seniors and strengthen his political ties among the inner circle of the family.
Bashar would not have been the President if Bassel al-Assad, the oldest brother did not get himself involved in a car accident and died in 1994. Bassel was sporty, charismatic and popular among the political group. Maybe because Bashar is a shy and soft-spoken, he has always looked up to Bassel.
Bashar was recalled from London, as Senior Assad did not have much time left to rule the regime. Senior Assad made sure that Bashar, a ophthalmologist, underwent a crash course in military and political courses. With the help of professional imager makers, the bashful Bashar was transformed into a nice guy with an elegant wife and succeeded the presidency in July 2000, with the help of General Bahjat Suleiman, a trusted Senior Assad, right hand in the regime. Notwithstanding, he also inherited Bassel's friends and the Syrian Computer Society.
The Syrian Computer Society acts as Syria's domain registration authority and has been reported to be closely associated with the Syrian state. Here Bashar's monitors everything that is flying across the Syrian internet.
In 1996, Bashar spoke openly about Syria's bureaucratic corruption and recommended new clean key players to the government. Political prisoners were released and more freedom of speech is introduced to the society. All the fabricated actions was known as Damascus Spring( Damascus is the capital city of Syria)
In 2002, when the press asked him why nothing has changed in Syria, he did not respond.
Next are the very main important evil characters in the political structure.
- Atif Najib, a maternal Assad cousin and head of Security Directorate who allowed the firing in April 2011.
- Rami Makhlouf, another wealthy Assad cousin who owns the telecommunications, gas, oil, banking, airlines, retails and schools of Syria. Many articles pointed out that no foreign companies can do business in the country without his consent and partnership.
- Maher al-Assad, the youngest son and more military minded that Bashar. When Bashar assumed power in 2000, he immediately installed Maher as chief of security.
- Lastly but not least, Assef Shawkat, brother in law of Bashar is apparently the real brain of the regime. He married Bushra al-Saad, the second child of the al-Saad family. His family relationship, coupled with his role as head of military intelligence, made him the second most powerful man in Syria and – until his assassination – probably the most widely feared.
Conclusion
I am glad I started digging information online to understand what is happening in Syria. Now with the information I have, I have a better clearer picture in my head on what is going on. The only part I did not cover is the Syria neighbouring enemies. Now another question is whether foreign countries should interfere with the civil war or not.
*Please forgive me if there are mistakes and misinformed writings; Please correct me*
2 comments:
This fighting is distressing and frustrating to me. My heart goes out to all of the innocent people injured or killed as a result of this civil war.
I think that a lot of fighting around the world is based on multiple countries, cultures, religions, etc. all want the same part of something. So same land, money, etc. I also think that there is a lot of unnecessary fear or dislike for people different than ourselves. I live in a country where Middle Eastern culture is feared ever since 9/11. But I took part in a diversity program in college led by a Muslim woman who shared what it was like to be of Middle Eastern descent and live in a country where people make assumptions about you because of that. Therefore I know that even if a culture is historically one with a background of violence or warfare, within that culture are people seeking peace and social change. That there are people who understand that different types of people may want the same land, same resources, etc. but there are ways to negotiate that without violating human rights. Culture is a huge part of who we are as people, but it does not mean we can't make evaluations on our own.
I think in the US, there will always be people who make assumptions based on race/culture alone. And that's probably not limited to this country either, but I'm writing about what I know. I was always raised that you base your judgment of somebody on how they treat you, not what they look like or what religion they believe in. I think the more people tried getting to know someone for who they are, the more we'd be surprised to find that in the end, different people from different cultures are in fact very similar.
Brilliantly said. The last sentence is just brilliant.
We are all so much related than we thought we are. We just do not want to admit it.
The was is distressing. But blogging about it makes me understand the whole situation better.
The news here just shows coverage on the civil war and unless one subscribes to history channels, which I don't, I definitely won't understand entirely who kills who, and why whoever is killing those people etc in Syria.
Using religion as a tool is an evil idea to convert those young Middle Easterns into fighting for their country.
Separation of religion and state is essential for the Middle Eastern countries. Malaysia, where I live in,do not practice this policy too, that is why Malaysia can never grow into a well-developed respectful country admists her rich culture. Such as favouritism to only Muslims citizens, every companies in Malaysia needs to have a Muslim in in etc.
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