We have all seen the destruction in Syria. Things appear periodically on our social media feeds displaying the violence in the country. There is the picture of young Omran Daqneesh sitting shocked in an ambulance covered in blood and dust. There are the videos of babies in Aleppo getting bandaged up after an airstrike. Their citizens have either fled the country or currently find themselves asking for peace. The violence has grown to such an extent that Pope Francis has come out and asked for ceasefire to get the children out of harm’s way.
Trying to explain why the Syrian Civil War is happening is difficult. This civil war is not a war between two sides like the Union and Confederacy in the American Civil. There is the Syrian Government, the Syrian Opposition, and ISIL. Then, there the outside influential countries like Russia who are supporting the side that would favor them the most. Each side has a different reason on why they are continuing to create havoc within the country. When the Wikipedia page on the Syrian Civil War is pulled up, it notifies the reader that the document is so long that it may be uncomfortable to read. Hence, the answer to resolve the conflict is not simple due to the fact that there are so many groups trying to do things in way that benefits their cause. The questions about Syria come up frequently. Should America intervene? Is there a peaceful way of ending the war or are the bombings justified? Which side is the “good” side? The country is in such turmoil that these questions are impossible to be answered with a straightforward response.
The one thing that is not difficult to understand is that the suffering of the Syrian people. In America, we complain about stupid things like our IPhone’s not having headphone jacks or Starbucks discounting one of its seasonal drinks. Meanwhile these people do not have peace, something we Americans have an overabundance of. The young Syrian children cannot enjoy playing outside because of the bombings. Their parents have lost everything they have worked for. They live in fear. They fear the bombs. They fear for their loved one. They fear what the future has in store for them. This much fear is simply an injustice to the Syrian people. The global community needs to do better and step up to end all this violence.
