Almost five years ago the Syrian Civil War began with Arab Spring-like protests on the streets of Damascus, Syria. Protesters wanted a more democratic state in which they could freely express their views and be free from the authoritarian leadership of Syria’s President, Bashar al-Assad. Naturally, as sure as it is that absolute power corrupts absolutely, Assad, using his military and paramilitary, cracked down on the protesters and began murdering them by the hundreds and thousands. Now, years later, the war in Syria still at its climax, there is only one thing that we can be certain about: the noble cause that first began the civil war has been all but forgotten.
The war in Syria is a prime example of the consequences of the state-centric political system that we still live in. Syria has become the battleground for states who wish to show their prowess in a region that has been unfortunate to be the host of political and military turmoil for decades. The current situation is this: the United States, Russia, and Iran are the main states directly involved in the Syrian crisis.
The U.S. is providing air power and training/arms to rebel groups, Russia is providing troops and other kinds of support to the Assad regime, and Iran is using its proxy military groups to defend the Assad regime as well. The rebel groups are more focused on defeating Assad than the Islamic State, Russia is more focused on defending Assad than defeating ISIS, and Iran offers much of the same.
Then we have the Kurds who are relentlessly fighting ISIS to protect themselves, but are halted by Turkey, who has a long time conflict with Kurdish people in their state, and their unwillingness to allow the West to provide the Kurds with substantial support.
This is a very simplified, albeit confusing, explanation of what is occurring on the ground in Syria--however it is enough to get my point across: not one major actor in the region is concerned for the people of Syria who so desperately want to live their lives in peace.
At the very least, the Syrian people have been in the spotlight as refugees hoping for a better life on the shores of Europe. Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt have taken in a majority of the refugees, yet there still remains a ton of backlash in Europe, and now in America, about taking in refugees for fear that this will lead to an increase in terrorism and a decrease in national values.
At the present moment, the only way to offer Syrians some assistance is to accept them, at least temporarily, into our countries. The civil war is allowed to continue because states want to express their hegemony in the region, therefore, we all owe it to our fellow humans to show some tolerance and acceptance in order to decrease the number of casualties from the war.
The best way to move forward is for states to prioritize international human rights over their unwarranted interests in the region. A long-overdue international coalition must be put together to ensure that the Islamic State is defeated. Once this is accomplished, which is possible if states work together instead of in spite each other, Assad must be replaced by a free and fair election in Syria. Syrian people, being very proud of their home country, will then want to largely return home from the places that they have attempted to settle in. I realize it may be a bit fantastical to think that enemy countries can put their confrontations behind them and focus on saving humanity, however it is necessary. It is far too easy for countries to go to war, and far too hard for human rights to be respected, and human lives to be preserved.
