U.S. President Barack Obama, in a statement
in the White House Rose Garden on Sunday, formally asked Congress to authorize
military action against the Syrian regime over chemical weapons attacks on
August 21.
While he was clear on the need for action following the
release of the U.S.
Government Assessment of the Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons on
August 21, 2013, which found that “at least 1,429 Syrians were killed” in
the August 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs, “including at least 426 children,”
Obama said any operation would be limited, ruling out a ground invasion.
But, Congress is on holiday and will only reconvene on September
9!
British Prime Minister David Cameron lost a Commons vote on
Syria action on Friday (August 30).
While we wait for Congress’ decision, I came across this
letter from “a human rights activist to an antiwar activist” on Syria.
It was shared on
August 29 by Syrian writer Rime Allaf, also a commentator and associate fellow
at Chatham House in London, from Toronto-based Malaz Sebai’s Facebook page:
* * * * *
A letter from a human rights activist
to an antiwar activist on Syria
RE: Stop the War in Syria
Hello Antiwar Activist,
How are you? It’s been two-and-a-half years. I’ve missed you. I
hope all is well. Thank you for writing back. Yes you’re right, we have to stop
this war!
I am glad you are here now. We can use your help. You are
against war, right? So you must really care about the Syrian people and want to
help save them from the tragedies they have endured for far too long. Let me
catch you up to speed so you can join the effort to help end this war.
The media is telling us that the West is about to attack
Syria. You seem concerned. Just a heads up, Israel attacked Syria a month ago.
The West attacked Mali last year, Libya the year before that, and continues to
use drones worldwide every day. I didn’t hear from you then so you probably
just didn’t get the memo. The war isn’t just about to start. It’s actually been
going on for 2 and half years. 100,000 people are dead. 1 out of every three
people is displaced. 1 out of every 3 people needs humanitarian assistance. The
medical system has collapsed. And third of the country is in rubble because
conventional weapons are being used indiscriminately every day.
So, the West is about to attack. We don’t want foreign
military intervention right? Oh but Iranian and Lebanese forces have been there
for some time now fighting with The Government’s army, and along with Russia
have been arming them with sophisticated weapons. I guess that doesn’t count as
foreign because those are not western countries. Israel attacked Syria a few
times too but they are not Western so let’s forget about that too.
What’s important now is to stop the West. They’re always
looking to start wars. They are the bad guy. So that means Syria must be the
good guy. Oh you don’t know much about them. Let me fill you in. There is a
dictatorship there. It’s been about 40 years. It comes with all the stuff you
expect from good guys, no freedom of expression, no democracy, gross human
rights violations, political prisoners, and complete theft of the economy. In
fact one guy owns 60% of the entire Syrian economy! Hmm, let me see what else.
Oh yeah they were responsible for the killing of an entire city of Hama killing
over 20,000 people in 1982 and are a designated a state sponsor of terrorism
since 1979. And in case you forgot they attacked, kidnapped, tortured, and
killed peaceful protesters for the first 6 months of the conflict while people
asked for their basic rights and freedoms. Most recently chemical attacks were
used against people while they slept killing over a thousand men, women, and
children. In case you were wondering, Syria has the largest stockpile of
chemical weapons in the world.
But they are not the bad guys, right? It’s more important to
stop the West because they cause collateral damage. Never mind the existing
collateral damage caused by The Government that has reduced a third of the
country to rubble and killed tens of thousands in the process. No need to
protest against the daily indiscriminate missile strikes being used by Syria’s
military because the 3 days of missile strikes by the West will be much worse
for the people of Syria.
I mean who does the West think its fooling? After their
claims about Iraq, who can believe them? There is no proof that a war exists in
Syria and that The Government is responsible for anything. Maybe we should
check with someone else who we can really trust. Let’s see what AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, UN-OCHA, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED
CROSS, AND REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS have to say. What? You’re kidding me?
There actually IS a war going on and The Government IS responsible for the vast
majority of crimes against humanity. You mean they have been using tanks,
airplanes, helicopters and snipers indiscriminately against the population? You
know, I don’t think I have heard you mention this war. Maybe you believe that
war is only bad when other countries get involved, and that it is not a war
when the government attacks its own people?
Let us be clear. When you say stop the war, you don’t just
mean that West should not attack? You also mean that The Government should stop
indiscriminately attacking its own population? I don’t think those countless
reliable sources are wrong when they have repeatedly documented that a war has
been going on, that The Government is largely responsible, and that this is not
acceptable? You are against war, right? Or maybe it’s okay if the war is just
inside the country itself? I mean the government’s crimes against humanity are
needed because their enemy is foreign jihads who eat human hearts. That’s the
real bad guy. Oh didn’t you know? The foreign jihadis have always been there.
They have been there for 40 years so that’s why it was okay to have a
dictatorship that trampled people’s freedom for decades. They were there during
the peaceful protests, that’s why The Government had to attack and kill
peaceful protestors for 6 months. And they are everywhere now. No Syrian has
ever picked up a gun to defend himself after seeing his wife raped, his
children slaughtered, and his home razed. The 100 000 people killed and 6
million people displaced are all foreign jihadis.
Don’t you know that dictatorship, oppression, waging war, and
committing crimes against humanity does not cause a local population to resist?
This is all just one big conspiracy by the West. Syrians don’t have a problem
from 40 years of oppression. The scenes of millions of people across the entire
country protesting peacefully for the human rights were all faked. And if they
weren’t, well they must have been orchestrated by the West. I mean any human
rights activist can tell you how easy it is to mobilize nationwide protests in
the millions for 6 months. Even in the face of torture and death, they
continued to protest because the West wanted them to. It had nothing to do with
any internal desire for their own basic rights. We all know how easy it is to
brainwash millions of people to go in the street and protest day after day when
you’re facing possible death.
I mean in the end, it’s the people you care about right?
That’s why you don’t want the West to attack. Protesting against a limited
Western attack will help the people much more protesting against a war that has
destroyed the country for 2 and half years, calling for more help in the
largest humanitarian operation in the history of the UN, or demanding our
governments do something, anything REAL to stop the bloodshed. Protesting
against a limited Western attack will help the people by stopping the war all together.
That’s what you really care about after all, the people. It has nothing to do
with protesting yet another American foreign attack. You are there to protest
because you truly care about the people.
Hmmm but where have you been. I haven’t seen you protesting
and lobbying your government to increase humanitarian aid to the people of
Syria. You do know it’s the largest humanitarian disaster of the century? That
there are over 7 million people who need humanitarian assistance? I haven’t
seen you asking for more pressure on the Syrian government to stop attacking
civilians indiscriminately. You do know not a single UN Security Council on
Syria has been passed.
Well you are here now. Nice to have you. I hope I can count
on you to help the people of Syria. We need all the help we can get. We need to
stop this war. We need to help the people. Let us stand together in solidarity
and call for an end to the war in Syria. Let us stand together and demand
protection and aid for the people of Syria. That’s why we are here right. It’s
not just about stopping a small scale limited Western military intervention.
It’s about ENDING THE WAR! It’s about helping the people of Syria. We are
activists for a reason, right? Stopping wars is not our end goal, it’s just a means
to saving our fellow man from oppression.
I have been here for some time now. I am exhausted. It’s nice
to have you next to me. This war will likely not end anytime soon. I hope you
will stay for the long haul.
Thank you,
A Human Rights Activist
