Edith Avila
Web editor
Editor’s note– This is the second of a three-part series on the events occurring in Syria and the implications those events may have on us as Americans. The first story provided an overview of Syrian history. This second story summarizes what is going on in Syria now. The third story will explain the implications Syria has to an everyday Christian and why what’s going on there should matter to us.
Syria is rich in history and filled with diversity. Today, that diverse pressure has led to what seems like the volcano’s eruption. Syrian citizens have lived with fear for many years, but the younger generation attempted to end the oppression in March 2011.
A little over two years ago, college students decided to take a stand against the government. They filled many Syrian walls with graffiti that demanded the government for freedom.
The government reacted with harsh punishments for those students — punishments that only led to more Syrian protests. Today, these series of protests are known as the Arabic Spring.
To this day, these Syrian rebels are still fighting for political freedom.
Assistant history professor Dr. Charles Carter said that the reason for the protests arise from a lack of economical national development.
“There hasn’t been a lot of economic development, and there’s a lot of unemployment,” said Dr. Carter. “They (Syrians) are angry at the government.”
Carter adds that the protests have led to Islamic terrorism.
“So this has really created a hot bed for the radical Islamic terrorism,” said Carter.
History professor Dr. Terry Morris added that Syrian citizens are also fighting for freedom from the oppressive Syrian government.
“Citizens are trying to free themselves from the government,” said Morris.
The situation only gets more complicated. Morris explained that the rebellion opened the door for radical Muslims, including the Shiites and the Sunnis.
Today, the civil war is led by four distinct groups: rebel citizens, Assad supporters (which includes Orthodox Christians), Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims.
Morris said the situation is more complex than anyone can imagine.
“Whichever side you get in bed with, you’ve got fleas,” said Dr. Morris.
The problem, however, is not so much about taking sides; the problem is that tension only grows as power nations get involved.
On one side you have France, the U.S., Britain and Turkey against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On the other side you have Iran, China and Russia supporting Assad.
Carter explained why Russian President Vladimir Putin is aiding Assad: Russia is increasingly growing with Orthodox Christians, and Syria’s population is about 20 percent Christian Orthodox.
“The situation is difficult because the Russians are leading the opposition to the United States,” Carter explained. “The Russian form of Christianity is Orthodox Christianity. In Syria, about 20% of the population is Christian.”
Carter said the clear link between Russia and Syria is Orthodox Christianity.
“The type of Christians that are in Russia are the same type of Christians that are in Syria,” said Carter.
Carter explained that Assad is protecting the Christians mostly due to political pressure from Putin.
“Assad, despite the horrors that he has perpetuated, has actually protected the Christians,” said Dr. Carter. “He has done that for political reasons; he knows if he protects these Orthodox Christians, Russia will protect him.”
The political situation is extremely complicated, but what about the average Syrian citizen? Dr. Morris said that they are the ones suffering the most.
“The people who are suffering are obviously the ordinary people,” said Dr. Morris.
According to CNN Middle East News, refugees fleeing to Syria’s surrounding countries have reached a record high.
Since March this year, “more than 400,000 have fled since the beginning of this year to countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. About half the refugees are children,” reported Holly Yan of CNN.
The surrounding countries have been completely sympathetic toward the refugees. Yan wrote that unfortunately, time, space and money limitations are making it difficult for them to cope with the increasing number of Syrian refugees.
“The endless flood of refugees has drained resources in neighboring countries in unpredictable ways,” said Yan.
It has put a tight squeeze on necessities such as energy, water, food and shelter. Health issues only increase as essential supplies decrease.
The penalty for this civil war has been increasing death, according to CNN.
“The United Nations estimates more than 70,000 Syrians — mostly civilians —have been killed in the past two years,” Yan reported.
That number is only an estimate since Syria has strict policies for reporters. There is no way of getting a total number.
The war has been officially going on since March 2011 and there has been no progress. The light at the end of the tunnel is still not visible.
* See the next edition for the final piece of this series.
