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Three Years of Civil War: Syria's Children and International Blindness to a Grave Humanitarian Crisis


Reaching its three-year anniversary this past weekend, the Syrian civil war’s humanitarian crisis has joined the ranks of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. Syria, holding the crown for most refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons)—647,000 in 2012 (highest since 1999) and 4.25 million (highest in 20+ years) respectively--now risks the real possibility of a “child-survival crisis.” Not considering the 1.2 million children that are now Syrian refugees abroad in need of necessary care, there are 4.3 million Syrian children in the homeland that desperately seek humanitarian assistance. Treatable diseases such as meningitis, measles, and even polio now endanger tens of thousands of Syria’s most innocent victims.

In the remaining hospitals (60% damaged or destroyed) and health centers (38% damaged or destroyed) there are huge shortages of both staff and medicine. For example, in a northern provincial capital city, Aleppo, there are 36 doctors for 2.5 million in need of care. The siege warfare tactics by both the government and rebel forces have trapped and bombarded huge populations in an effort to force them to surrender or starve. It is no wonder that the region is suffering the highest casualty rates among children ever recorded.

As this horrible crisis continues to worsen, international peace talks have stalemated, depleting any hope left in Syrian hearts. United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, apologized multiple times to the Syrian people for the failure of a second meeting between the government and the rebel forces, a meeting that Secretary General Ban Ki Moon envisioned as “a vehicle for peaceful transition.” The presence of outside influences and interests in this situation outweighs any moral leverage the UN might have to mediate this conflict.

When the only option on the table given to President Bashir Al-Assad is to step down, his control of 13 out of 14 provincial capitals, constant military advancement, and the backing of Russia and Iran, the choice he will make is obvious. So what seems to be an attempt at peace is really a recipe for prolonged war. Most alarming in this situation is how the international community is blind to this. The media’s role has been to distract the blind from listening.

Save the Children, an independent charity for children, released a report titled “A Devastating Toll” accurately describes what is at stake:

“This is more than a crisis. It is the threatened
collapse of an entire health system, which endangers
the lives and well-being of millions of children.”

Despite the failures of the UN, they as well as UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and Oxfam, to name a few, are organizations truly acting in the interest of peace. Marginalizing these groups in a media context is a war crime in and of itself. Nine million people today in Syria are displaced and in dire need of necessary supplies, assistance, and aid. With 100,000 plus and counting casualties due to the Syrian conflict, the 10,000 plus children and counting casualty number is in risk of multiplying from fatal diseases spreading like wild fire. The political chess match that has been going on for too long between global powers treats innocent Syrian bystanders as disposable pawns.

Let’s be clear about something: neither the Syrian Government nor any of the rebel forces, the Free Syrian Army, Jahbat Al-Nusra, Ahrar Al-Sham, or the Islamic Front deserve an endorsement from us (the international community). The children, the women, the men, the elderly, in villages like Yarmouk, Homs, Nubul, and Zahra, among many others need international support and condemnation of those who terrorize and suffocate them, so humanitarian organizations can have the resources and public backing they need to go in and remedy this. Take the political ambitions off the table, diffuse the proxy wars between global powers, call on true international leaders to work with these humanitarian organizations, give the UN unconditional support to mediate this conflict, and demand that the media illuminate the realities that Syrians have been suffering daily for the past three years.

Getting caught up in the political web puts millions of vulnerable Syrians at risk, as an international body let’s show this new generation of Syrian children we are one people for all.
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Comments

  1. V. ElseMarch 25, 2014 at 2:14 PM

    It's such a great observation. War is the worst thing we do to ourselves, and to promote to or celebrate it is surely the worst thing our governments and media can do.

    ReplyDelete

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