The Scourge of Syria's Civil Strife: The Foundations and Implications of Syria's Civil War

     For about seven years now the world has been honing in on the current events and news that are consistently updated concerning Syria's Civil War. A spark of the civil war ignited in December of 2010 when anti-government demonstrations were first appearing (Syrian Civil Unrest). Throughout the seven years the conditions in Syria have worsened tremendously. After conducting research on the details I have found specific areas of interest in the background that lead to Syria's conditions now, what is currently going on in Syria, and what we should do in the future. What needs to happen is that the United States along with other developed countries should open their arms to the refugees and work together to remove the current government, the terrorists, and the fearful factors that have affected thousands of lives.
     First the background of the civil war needs to be understood. In December 2010 along with the spring of 2011 anti-government demonstrations were being seen all over the Middle East, this became known as the Arab Spring. Originally the civil war began as a protest movement that was going against their president Bashar al-Assad. This was the spark of the factional civil war. Bashar al-Assad is the son of the previous president, Hafez al-Assad. Hafez al-Assad regained economic stability for Syria however he had such a tight control over the people with his leadership that the pro-democracy activists started fighting again against the government hoping for change. The change never came. Bashar al-Assad carried on his father's tradition of suppressing the pro activists so they could not be successful. The "Day of Rage" occurred on March 15 2011this was the first time the activists held large scale demonstrations. Because of the demonstrations the police and military became involved and arrested thousands however the fight continued for multiple days and the government eventually resulted to violence (Syrian Civil Unrest).
      The violence continued to increase and on April 25 2011 tanks moved into Daraa to "seize control and subdue protestors" after the protestors destroyed and took down a statue of Hafez al-Assad. On April 30 the government opened fire on a mosque where demonstrators were and they killed six people. By the end of May the estimated number of deaths by police or military was over one thousand civilians. The movement continued to gain supporters especially since the news was breaking out all over the world (Syrian Civil Unrest). This reminds me of the Tiananmen Square massacre where the tanks opened fire on all of the protesting civilians killing them in traumatic ways. The government is also using extremely harsh weapons against their people like chemical weapons such as rockets filled with sarin and chlorine being used "'systematically and repeatedly'" against their people (Syria: The Story of the Conflict). Today all Syrians are living in fear as described by one Aleppo resident who describes that when the bombing in Aleppo finally halt he runs out to find any food or medicine they can scavenge for. He goes on to say that "Every day when I leave my home to look for supplies, I tell myself that this will be the last time I see my family." He continues to describe the weapons the government used in Aleppo, "This is the worst bombing we've seen since the start of the war. The new weapons make the ground beneath our feet shake. It feels like the end of the world" (Agony of Aleppo 45). Clearly the government is doing everything in their power to fight the country's population through weapons and fear just like what happened in Tiananmen Square except to another level. The people are dying every day and the government makes no effort to stop the predicament in a peaceful way.
     The question I keep asking myself is "what should we do?" There is not a straight forward answer but there are ideas. One main idea that incorporates itself into the Syrian Civil War is ISIS. ISIS is a terroristic group that has caused major tragedies to occur in multiple areas affecting multiple people. Because of ISIS the world has opened its eyes more to what is going on in the Middle East because they are considered a threat in every country. Recently President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian airfield which destroyed around 20 planes. Russia criticizes this decision because they believe that the action can have string consequences that follow. All countries are in edge because of the ISIS attacks that have impacted everyone in the world that we have to truly think about what we are doing and make sure it is the right decision. Another issue is that the Russians are supporting Assad in this war and are once again going against the United States (Syrian Civil Unrest) just as we were at opposite ends in the Cold War and competed with each other during the Space Race. The politics of this issue are very complex because there are certain countries siding with Assad but a huge problem is ISIS. The UN is working to try and make Syria better however Assad is being resilient in allowing others to come and assist his people (Syrian Civil Unrest). I believe that what we have to do in order to get this issue resolved is work together as a world and prepare ourselves for a fight against ISIS if they continue to bring the terror they are bringing. For Syria's Civil War I believe that we have to again come together and send as many people as we can over to help others and bring them back to a place where they can recover while there are discussions with Assad about changes he could bring. In closing, we have to make a peaceful arrangement where Syrians will benefit and their lives can begin to return to normal ways of life. The processes will take decades but if the world comes together to help each other out it may be possible.
     In the end, the big idea is that Syria is going through a depressing and horrifying war that does not look as if it will get better unless help is given from countries around the world. The history of the war started from protests for democracy and turned into a worldwide concern where terrorist groups like ISIS incorporated themselves into the terroristic acts that the world is seeing. This issue is current and we have to figure out a way to assist the people of Syria and begin to get peace in Syria and the Middle East. The Middle East was a whole unit we discovered and learned about this year in class. All of the factors that we learned about like the Silk Road, the Shia and Sunni people, and the history of the Middle East like the Ottoman Empire have all affected this region and gives background to the reader. The background information helps the reader to make connections about the rivalries between two groups like the Shia and Sunni people who were enemies just like the pro-democracy advocates and the government. The Silk Road established the Middle East and how it has a strong impact on the lifestyles in the Middle East. All of these factors assist the reader in making connections between the old ways the Middle East worked and how it is today. All in all, looking at the origins of this war and where we are now is very upsetting. The world needs to come together to assist getting peace between the people and the government as well as fighting off the terroristic groups like ISIS in order for our world to be safe and civil once again.

Works Cited 

“The Agony of Aleppo.” The Economist, vol. 421, no. 9009, 1 Oct. 2016, pp. 45-46.

"Syrian Civil Unrest." Global Issues in Context Online Collection, Gale, 2016. ic.galegroup.com/ic/gic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=true&displayGroupName=Reference&currPage=&scanId=&query=&search_within_results=&p=GIC%3AOVIC&mode=view&catId=GALE%7CZKNXYC769819838&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CCP3208520407&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=hell32414&jsid=dc82ee1392e3441707540f539e68d156. Accessed 26 May 2017.

“Syria: The Story of the Conflict.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Mar. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868. Accessed 22 May 2017.