Most of society is familiar with the formally known Syrian refugee crisis. It has become an obsolete topic because it has been mentioned so often. The information that is being kept from the United States mainstream media is the condition of the people that were unable to escape the horrendous conditions of their country. Bashar al-Assad, the leader of Syria, assures the media that he will wipe Syria clean of all rebels as their actions are considered terroristic. Most leaders refuse to acknowledge the simple fact that less than 2% of the terror attacks that occurred in Europe were by people associated with Islam. The other 98% of the attacks were by people completely unassociated with the Muslim faith as the Huffington Post calculated. Therefore, wiping out the Syrian population alone is essentially a demonstration of genocide not prevention of terrorism.
Former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell stated that “we are witnessing events [in Syria] that match the behavior of the Nazi regime in Guernica in Spain”. Russia used its veto power as a member of the United Nations to reject any proposals to stop the airstrikes. Although the country recently announced a “humanitarian pause,” the validity of this statement is questionable since the last ceasefire was quickly repealed, as Russia and the U.S. continued to launch airstrikes. It was also stated that this “pause” is brief and strikes will resume after 8 hours. Humanitarians at the UN pleaded for 48 hour ceasefires, but the Syrian and Russian governments responded to this request by increasing the number of assaults. Assad is in agreement with Russia and stated that it is necessary to “clear” the area in order to “save Syria.” Officials in Turkey are concerned that the United States and Russia can eventually turn the Syrian crisis into a “third world war.” The U.S. has been taking civil approaches to convince Russia to withhold strikes but the Russians’ refusal is causing tension between the nations. A resolution is thus necessary not only for the millions in Syria, but also for people around the world who would be part of the conflict in case of a world war.
The politics of this situation are widespread in the media, but not many people know of the illicit phosphorus bombs and cluster munitions that have been fired in the main city. Innocents in the city have been robbed of the ability to even breathe properly because of the chlorine gas dropped in Aleppo. Thirty doctors remain in Aleppo and the dwindling number of white helmets is further diminishing the chances of anyone’s survival. How ironic is it that the very white helmets that save people from the depths of suffocating rubble are now the targets of these airstrikes? When rescue centers and hospitals are targeted, it is no longer a matter of countering terror but rather demonstrating it.
Bana Alabed, 7 years old, reported on September 26 that she reads her books to forget the war. Her five year old brother expressed his fear of Russian planes as he drew with his crayons. Omran Daqneesh is the traumatized 5 year old boy who survived an airstrike and sat in the back of an ambulance wiping the blood off of his own face. Khaled Farah of Ansari is part of the white helmet crew. He said he would never forget the time he had to pull a two month old baby from underneath a collapsed building. These children are affected by the horrific situation, even though they are not directly involved in the conflict. “People don’t know what to do or where to go. There is no escape. It is like the end of the world”, said the head of the white helmets.
The final question becomes: what is the rest of the world doing about the conflict? Do people think about the children that are losing their lives on a daily basis? The unfortunate reality is that most people in society are not very concerned about the wellbeing of others unless it directly affects them.
Isra Shilad
staff writer
Graphic: Christine Gaenslen