An opinion piece 

The Arab Spring protests reached Syria in March 2011, the pro-democracy uprising, initially demanding reforms, soon turned into a civil war and violence escalated as a result of the government forces utilizing brutality to suppress the civil movement. More than seven years of conflict lead to the deaths of over 400,000 Syrians; millions were forcibly displaced, and the country is devastated economically. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than four million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and an estimated  6.1 million people have been  displaced within Syria, bringing the total  number of expelled Syrians to a staggering 11.5 million (UNHCR 2017).

Now that the Syrian conflict is “coming to an end” according to many countries, the following question arises: can all Syrians return home? Some Western countries have started sending Syrian refugees back to Syria or forcing their hand to return by rejecting their families’ asylum applications. Return might sound like a possible scenario now that the country is no longer the site of a proxy war, reality is much more complex. Unfortunately, the concept of return is often discussed and decided upon without consulting Syrian refugees themselves. Policies encouraging Syrians to return home could have catastrophic impacts on the lives of many innocent people. 

Before deciding whether Syrian refugees should return home, the international community must answer the following questions: Who would guarantee the safety of the millions of displaced Syrians as international human rights laws aren’t respected in their home country? The fear of detention, torture and death prevents many Syrians from even considering the idea of homecoming. Will the regime tolerate their “‘betrayal”’? Will they be able to live with fear and oppression after experiencing the freedom and security offered in other countries? Will they be able to join the compulsory loyalist marches cheering al-Assad and showing support for him and his regime after all the crimes he has committed against them? Will they want to go live in Syria where their basic life needs aren’t met? Such questions and many more can’t be ignored when discussing the concept of return. 

What these countries aren’t taking into consideration is the fact that the al-Assad regime has secured his ruling of the country and simply will not tolerate having these refugees back. Nonetheless, the regime was indulging an illusion by inviting Syrians to come back and participate in rebuilding the country. It is what world leaders want to hear but this couldn’t be true and history has shown that this regime can’t be trusted. 

The sad reality is that Syria is no longer a home for all Syrians; it has become a country for ‘certain’ Syrians, Russians, Iranians and Hezbollah fighters and supporters. What most people neglect to recognize is that the Russian/Iranian interference in Syria is a kind of an invasion. These countries are not just “helping” the Syrian regime to restore order and peace, they are there to stay and subdue any attempt to overthrow al-Assad and his regime. In fact, the regime’s dominance over Syria could be considered a case of internal occupation, since the al-Assad administration invited his allies in arms into the country to suppress and control the Syrian population and its prominent opposition figures.

RECONSTRUCTION – BUT FOR WHOM?  

Regrettably, Syria is well known for its corrupt system; the country is based on favoritism and an inequality of wealth distribution. The regime’s family and their relatives and friends share the country’s fortune and resources, with no laws to restrain their power and influence; their control over Syria’s capital and investments has no limits. 

Seven years of war have had its tragic toll on Syria’s economy, but the loss of military investment could be turned into profit, by using the destruction of the country to promote reconstruction projects. Militarized reconstruction is a new term that is used nowadays when discussing the Syrian case, and, more specifically, the reconstruction of the city of Aleppo. The regime is desperately trying to show the world the gains it has achieved in the city and how great the economic opportunity is. The reconstruction is merely for propaganda to promote a false story of a fake victory. 

Since Aleppo and many other cities fell to the Syrian regime, many governmental campaigns to promote reconstruction projects have begun. Daily updates from Aleppo are emerging, and the government is serious when it comes to the topic of rebuilding, but we should ask the critical question: reconstructing for whom and how? Who is going to invest and at what cost? The rebuilding process is biased and selective. One could argue that the UN involvement should limit the Russian and Iranian domination over the reconstruction projects, but this isn’t entirely true. Their influence is present regardless of UN involvement, and this involvement just serves to give false legitimacy and credibility to the regime. The displaced population isn’t allowed back in the city and east Aleppo is completely abandoned, but rebuilding the ‘significant’ half of Aleppo is what the UN and its partners want. It’s not a matter of perspectives here, it’s more about how repulsively prejudiced this whole thing is. 

With many projects undertaken by Asma al-Assad’s charity foundation and its UN partners (Beals 2017), funds are being generated in order to burnish the regime’s murderous face and promote its secular, civilized, necktie brutality. 

UNDP and UNESCO are working closely with the Syrian regime and its administrative. Their role in the reconstruction procedures is still unclear, but the argument they are using provoked some controversy, especially that they claim not to be working with the regime, but with the ‘people’. Which people are they talking about, and why does it sound like they don’t already know that the government controls all of the country’s institutions? 

The Syrians who fled the country escaping the regime’s brutality aren’t considered “people”, and the claims that the reconstruction is for reconciliation doesn’t make much sense: the ones who need to be reconciled aren’t even there to begin with and won’t even be considered. 

It is true that rebuilding the country requires local expertise and would generate plenty of job opportunities, but not all Syrians are offered the chance to participate: unless you support the regime and its corruption, you’re not welcome.

WHAT HAS TO BE SAID AND DONE  

History has told many stories, but are we to learn something? It could be said with certainty that the past keeps repeating itself in the most horrific of manners: dictators come and go, cities fall and rise again. Why is the Syrian story so special? Well, it isn’t, the only significant thing is all these unused international legal documents: if we are to read those dealing with human rights, cities’ rights, and so on, one would be astonished. However, the question remains: when will these legal documents be implemented in the Syrian case? When will the international community stop waving these away in order to protect a killer’s government? 

Aleppo has entered a new era, and history is definitely written by winners. The objective story doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Yet this is not the case with everyone. We still care, and by ‘we’, I mean the Syrians who believed in a better future. The Russians are there to stay, so are the Iranians, the Turks and the Americans. How could our story be written by them? Will the following generations read the epic story of the many Syrians who died believing in a dream, a dream that cost us more than souls, it cost us our cities, our memories and everything we held dear? The answer is no, they will hear a story of victory, a story of a modern dictator who saved Syria from terrorists. This is the most popular story nowadays anyway. 

If we were to discuss options and propose solutions for the obstacles facing the Syrians when deciding to return to their country, I could think of one solution: the regime has to be overthrown and justice should be served. Those who committed crimes and have stains of blood on their hands should be punished so that Syrians can restore faith in the global justice system. 

Anything else would be fictitious and unfair for many Syrians, and unless there’s a way to guarantee the safety of those who want to return, many won’t even consider doing so. 

It’s safe to say that al-Assad doesn’t want any of his opponents back, but he’d go as far as suggesting that many of the Syrian refugees are terrorists and pose a threat to the Western world (Nelson 2017), supposing he thinks it’s better when the hosting countries send them back and let them languish in his prisons to die instead. 

The logic is simple: if you want to get Syrians back to their country, stop supporting al-Assad and take your troops out of their country. You can’t keep empowering al-Assad and his regime and expect people to return voluntarily, knowing that nothing awaits them except suppression, imprisonment and death. 

The Syrian revolution was the country’s chance for a reformation. Now that the revolution has failed to achieve its goals and objectives, the future of Syria doesn’t look so bright, especially given that regime change would require not only the downfall of al-Assad as a person but that the whole regime’s intelligence agencies, security and military system be altered. The chain of corruption has been forming in the country for almost half a century, and it isn’t easy (if not impossible) to break. The security grip is only tightening, and the brutality of the regime has no limits.

References 

Beals, E. 2017: UN allowing Assad government to take lead in rebuilding Aleppo. Fox News [Online] 16 November. Available at: <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/16/un-allowing-assad-government-to-take-lead-in-rebuilding-aleppo.html> [Accessed 05 February 2018] 

Nelson, N. 2017: Syria’s Assad: Some refugees are terrorists. POLITICO [Online] 02 October. Available at: <https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/bashar-assad-syria-refugees-terrorists-yahoo-interview-234890> [Accessed 01 February 2018] 

UNHCR, 2017: Syria Emergency. [Online] 07. December. Available at: <http://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html> [Accessed 09 February 2018] 

The post Should Syria’s Displaced Return? appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

“Do certain images of injured kids stay in my mind more than others? If you asked me that two years ago, then I could probably give an answer. But today, after witnessing the huge number of massacres that I have, it’s very hard to think of one specific instance. It’s become a daily occurrence. Now images stay in my mind for a short while before they slip away, to take their place alongside all the others. My own personal graveyard.” AFP Photographer Abd Doumany

Life in the City

“Young children love animals in general. They were really happy in the cat shelter… playing with the cats.” Photo: Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel

A crowd-sourced animal sanctuary in east Aleppo teaches compassion: ‘To love the small, weak cats is to love everything’

In Aleppo, many mosques have opened their doors to families fleeing the latest fighting but they are full now. These families stay in an open area near Raees Mosque in western Aleppo city, since there is no room left inside after the latest wave of attacks.
Photo: UNICEF/UN027711/Al-Issa

Keeping water flowing in Aleppo

Recently damaged hospital. Photo: HOSAM AL-JABLAWI

Aleppo’s Deteriorating Medical Sector

medicsunderfire.org

Open letter to Secretary John Kerry and President Obama,

The repeated targeting of healthcare workers and hospitals by the Russian and Syrian governments are war crimes. We call on you to give Syria’s heroic healthcare workers and the communities they serve a zone free from bombing to ensure their protection. The international community has agreed the bombs need to stop. The resolutions are in place. They simply need to be enforced. Over 9,525 have signed this letter. To add your signature, go to: Medicsunderfire.org.

The Economist reported that Syria’s president, a former doctor, is turning hospitals into death traps.

Syrians queue up to buy bread in a rebel held neighborhood on July 12, 2016.
PHOTO AFP/ KARAM AL-MASRI

Aleppian journalist Zaina Erhaim shares a personal account of life in the city in Chasing bananas, dodging bombs: Life and death in besieged Aleppo.

Burning tires in Aleppo to create smoke cover from airstrikes. August 2016. Photo: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

Watching My Beloved Aleppo Rip Itself Apart. Lina Sergie Attar is a founder and the chief executive of the Karam Foundation, which provides humanitarian aid to Syrians.

The White Helmets were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. To support their nomination, click here. The AlJazeera documentary above was filmed before their nomination.

Reconstruction

A boy uses prosthetic arm provided by ROW. Image via Refugee Open Ware.

Wanda compiled a list of 10 initiatives using tech to prevent a lost generation of Syrians, creating educational and employment opportunities for refugees uprooted from their country struggling reboot their lives.

The post Aleppo Weekly – August 11-September 1 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

We now know the pattern of besiegement in Syria and so we know what is to come in Aleppo. Government forces surround an area of a city and cut off all food and supplies. The population weakens and thins, the elderly dying first and then next the children, often from water-borne diseases. The United Nations stands by, failing again in its humanitarian obligations through its obsequiousness to a government whose crimes long ago stripped it of any legitimacy. The West and Russia can drop bombs but not food. Support cannot go to those who might be able to break the siege because of their ideology; instead it just sloshes into a corrupt morass outside the country. Statements are issued and ignored. 2139. 2165. 2191. 2254. 2258. These are the numbers of the United Nations Security Council resolutions that are brushed off by Assad.

Somewhere between half a million and a million people are living under siege in Syria, about 150,000 of those now in Aleppo. What happens now that government forces have cut off roads to Turkey is that the only foodstuffs that get in have to be smuggled through the front lines. As people eat their way through dwindling stocks, infectious diseases are likely to claim the lives of those who are weakened easiest. The body draws down fat reserves and then consumes muscles. Autophagy, or self-eating, can last weeks. By the time people have resorted to eating grasses and tree bark, their bodies are swollen with edema, their stomachs almost unable to take in food, their skin becomes flakey and dry and their hair turns a dull copper. Every person who dies is a victim of one of the most brutal war crimes known to man.

Every actor outside Syria and all the armed men in the country long ago lost sight of why they are fighting. The militia that closed the noose around Aleppo is made up of Palestinian refugees in Syria, motivated probably by money as much as anything. Sieges can be lucrative. There is much money to be made at a checkpoint. Afghan recruits fight for Iranian-funded gangs alongside Shia Lebanese against Saudis and Tunisians recruited by Iraqi thugs. The opposition has fractured into a dark array. Assad can never recover the state he misruled. Russia’s global influence will be sapped in an incoherent and expensive conflict. Iran’s people have no interest in a war that benefits only its deep hidden state. Turkey is in chaos. Saudi Arabia is bullying, shrill and incompetent. The United States has stood by and watched half a million people die while repeating the tired platitude “Never Again.” Europe mostly sleeps, enduring a fever dream of terrorism, upturned boats and drowned children.

In Syria, the thin veil of civilization has been shredded and the efforts of the past 70 years to minimize the harm that comes to civilians in war have been tossed aside. Siege warfare – something that should have ended with the horrors of Leningrad – now kills thousands. Schools, hospitals and rescue workers are deliberately targeted to ensure that the survival of civilians becomes impossible.

There are possible responses. A no-fly zone over northern Syria. Air drops of food to besieged zones. The United Nations should cease all supplies to government-controlled areas if it cannot also access towns under siege, indeed it is time for the UN to leave Syria entirely if it cannot carry out a mandate to help all those in need. Greater efforts could be made to get what is needed into these areas, including fuel and supplies for urban food production by lifting some of the burdensome regulations on aid. We must not give up on a humanitarian imperative to do what we can for those caught in war.

The post Aleppo Under Siege appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Aleppo archaeologist Rami Alafandi and Asiah Abdul Rahim published The Lost Treasure of the Polychrome Wooden (‘ajami) Interior of Ghazalyeh House, Aleppo, Syria.

Cultural Heritage

Coffer panels, (D and E same panel) (Baydoun, 2011)

Their meticulous documentation will help restore the late 17th century house’s panels which were restored from 2009-2011 and then stolen in 2013.

Al Jazeera profiles Syrians working to protect their heritage.

The large Iwān at Janbolad palace. Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

Archaeologist Tiffany Ftaimi shows why Aleppo’s finest palace- the 16th century Dar Janbolad with its stunning Iwān mean so much to her and the Arab world.

The State of the Conflict

Father Choukri Touma, Syriac Orthodox Church surveys destruction in his community after rebel shelling. Photo: @Edwardedark

Some opposition groups increased indiscriminate shelling on government-held areas of Western Aleppo, killing at least 38 civilians.

I will not leave. Photo: Rami Jarrah.

Civilians are stockpiling food in anticipation of a potential siege as government forces and allies come ever closer to taking control of Castello Road, the last open road into rebel-held Aleppo.

Castello Road. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

For the latest on-the-ground developments, see Syria.liveuamap.com

From left -pediatrician John Kahler, critical care specialist Zaher Sahloul and orthopedic surgeon Samer Attar. Al Quds Pediatric Hospital ruins. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

The LA Times profiled three Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) doctors who recently traveled to Aleppo.

I have no words to describe the fear and horror there. It was hell. … I saw so many people die. — Syrian American Dr. Samer Attar, orthopedic surgeon from Chicago.

Girls walking home. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

We published June’s update of Armenak Tokmajyan’s Conflict Timeline.

Activists recently started using this image and hashtag #كلنا_حلب #WeAreAleppo.

The post The Aleppo Weekly – July 6-12 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

“Big businesses are closing and the problems we are facing only young people can solve…The need for startups and entrepreneurship culture is really essential for Syria.” Leen Darwish. Read about her coding app Remmaz here.

More Youth Voices

Faia Younan. Photo: EPA.

“I sing songs that are not primarily about the war itself, but somehow deal with its existence…For example, I have recently sung a song about a mother humming her child to sleep not knowing if the next day was going to be a good day or not, if her child was going to survive or not…So she sings: ‘Sleep my little bird, tomorrow everything will be better’. It is a bittersweet song, but it doesn’t deal with the war explicitly.” Aleppo Native Faia Younan.

Hajar’s story. Hajar lost her mother and three sisters, Noura, Mouna and Aysha in an April airstrike

International and Diaspora Voices

Amnesty International  issued a new report –Torture was my punishment-Abducation, Torture and Summary Killings under Armed Group Rule in Aleppo and Idleb, Syria.

“I witnessed the summary killing of two captured shabiha fighters by the al-Shamia Front in front of al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo city on two separate dates in 2015. The al-Shamia Front announced the execution publicly and then shot them with a rifle. They left the bodies for a few hours on the street for people to see.” Aleppo city resident

Tamador and her sons arrive in Toronto. Photo: Liz Beddall/Metro

One refugee family’s long journey from Aleppo to Markham.

Levent Topçu works to improve lives for Syrian refugees.

Dr. Sahloul. Photo: SAMS.

Dr. Zaher Sahloul traveled with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) from Chicago for his fifth medical mission to Aleppo. He stayed “at a hospital that was bombed several times and the people … built it underground for protection.” Listen to him explain how the city has changed over the past 18 months here.

OXFAM America highlighted the important role Syria’s diaspora places in humanitarian relief efforts and planning for the future.

Palmyra. Photo: UNESCO.

Two UN agencies have joined forces to protect heritage sites using satellite imagery. UNOSAT released a new report with satellite imagery illustrating damage to cultural heritage sites, including Palmyra and Old Aleppo.

Aleppo, 2016. Photo: Rami Jarrah.

The IMF released a Working Paper on Syria’s war economy. Its key messages are: (1) Syria’s GDP is less than half of pre-war levels and could take two decades or more to recover; and that (2) rebuilding Syria’s human and social capital will be a larger challenge than rebuilding its physical infrastructure.

The post The Aleppo Weekly- June 28-July 5 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Voices from Aleppo

Islam Mardini published a series of recent photographs shot from regime-controlled areas near the frontline.

“Heavenly Space of Humanity.” Photo: Islam Mardini.

Mr. Mardini, an Aleppo native, won a “Spirit of Humanity” award in 2015 for his photography.

“Aleppo is known for two main things: the food and the music,” Ghuydar Bashmaf

Photo: Ridwan Adhami for Islamic Relief USA.

Ghuydar Bashmaf is a well-known, U.S.-based nasheed singer who recently performed a public recitation of the Qur’an at Muhammad Ali’s funeral. Islamic Relief USA featured his memories of food and music during Ramadan in Aleppo on Day 14 of its 30 faces of Ramadan series.

Food

“Every family would send a child before maghrib time to the neighborhood shop to get fresh falafel, hummus, and atayef. The most important thing is the atayef,” he said, remembering this special Ramadan pancake stuffed with ricotta cheese or walnuts and fried. “The rich people fill them with pistachios,” he added. Another popular Halabi dessert is mshabek, a fried dough formed into interesting circular shapes and soaked in sweet syrup.

Music

“The music is special in Ramadan,” he said. “They dedicate a certain portion of every night to singing the qaseedahs, long structured poems praising God.”

Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios Ibrahim of Aleppo. He has been missing since April 2013. Photo: Aid to the Church in Need.

During Ramadan, the Syriac Orthodox church is offering meals to poor families in Sulaimaniyah.

It is “a simple gesture aimed at expressing solidarity between people of different religious backgrounds with the hope that it will, in time, help to restore the peaceful coexistence that existed among Syria’s various religious and ethnic communities before the war.” The Archdiocese of Aleppo.

Aleppo’s Heritage

Image: 3Dmeans.com

Panoramic image-based modeling for the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo.

The Conflict

Click here for the latest Aleppo Conflict Timeline updates, maps and charts.

The children’s hospital in eastern Aleppo reopened after being hit by an airstrike earlier this month.

Al-Qatiriji, Aleppo. Image: HRW/ (c) 2016 Digital Globe/Next View

Human Rights Watch called on the United States and Russia to investigate recent attacks in Aleppo.

“As fighting escalates again in Aleppo, the US and Russia should keep their commitment to investigate, to maintain their credibility.” Nadim Houry, Deputy Middle East Director

Photo: ANHA

In mid-June, civilians in ISIS-controlled Manbij fled what appears to be an imminent PYD-affiliated Syrian Democratic Force attack on the town. Activists said that decreasing stocks of food and diesel combined with an International Coalition airstrike on a wheat storage facility raised fears that bakeries would cease to operate.

Syrian refugee: ‘Five of my family were shot’ at Turkish border. BBC

Activists report that Turkish border guards have killed several Syrian civilians attempting to cross the border to safety.

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