We have recently passed the one-year anniversary of the start of the Syrian Revolution, a popular uprising against the brutal Ba'athist regime of Basharal-Assad. As I sit writing this op-ed, there are likely dozens of innocent Syrians being killed, wounded or tortured by their countrymen and the very government that is supposed to serve and protect them. For those who are not familiar with what has been going on in Syria, I will provide a brief summary.
Following the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, which saw the ousters of [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali, [Hosni] Mubarak, [Muammar] Gadhafi and [Ali Abdullah] Saleh respectively, Syria looked to be the next domino in the burgeoning Arab Spring. Protests failed to materialize in February 2011 due to the extremely tight security that exists in Syria in the form of the mukhabarat, the regime's secret police, as well as the shabiha, a term that plays on the Arabic word for
"ghost," used to describe the loyalist thugs of al-Assad. Despite the imminent perils of protesting against a notoriously ruthless regime, thousands of Syrians poured into streets throughout the country on March 15, 2011, to challenge the al-Assad family's iron grip on power for 42 years. The months of protests and subsequent violence have resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, and there are tens of thousands that have either been arrested or unaccounted for.
The city of Homs, which has become the center of resistance against the regime, has been surrounded by the Syrian army and indiscriminately bombarded with artillery, rockets and anti-aircraft fire for the past month. I cannot even begin to illustrate with mere words the sheer carnage that has resulted from the Syrian regime's crimes against humanity throughout the revolution. A simple search on YouTube or Google will reveal scenes previously thought unthinkable, especially in the privileged world we live in. We are too frequently shielded by our media from the reality of events in other countries and therefore fail to realize the full extent of dire situations such as the one in Syria as a result.
Unfortunately, the world has largely remained silent in the face of the myriad atrocities occurring on a daily basis throughout Syria. The international community has tried several times to pass resolutions which would effectively pressure the Syrian regime; however, Russia and China's veto power has been a steadfast hindrance to any concrete solutions. And as the world ponders what to do next to resolve the conflict diplomatically, unarmed protesters are being gunned down day by day while tanks pound civilians' homes. Many Syrians cannot even leave their homes due to fear of the cold-blooded regime snipers that reign overhead in cities such as Homs, Hama and Daraa. These areas have been experiencing extreme shortages in water, electricity, food and medical supplies, and there will be no influx of resources as long the bombardment continues.
As a Lebanese citizen of Syrian descent, I feel an incredible sense of despair every time I hear the horrible news of the ongoing violence. Furthermore, I have had family members killed by the al-Assad regime. A combination of sadness and anger pushed me to look for ways to help the Syrian opposition's cause in some way.
Thankfully, an outlet through which I could help the Syrian people was much closer than I had originally thought. My brothers at Theta Chi and I quickly grouped together at the beginning of last semester in order to raise money for Syrian refugees in Turkey who had fled the government's brutal crackdown. More than 7,500 Syrian refugees have fled to camps in southeastern Turkey, and many more would probably do the same if they could get past the Syrian army. Once in the camps, refugees are provided with tents for shelter as well as food and electricity. Doctors are also present to treat the injured, most of which have suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds at the hands of the security forces.
Theta Chi's philanthropy initiative revolves around selling bracelets, which read "Free Syria," in the Mayer Campus Center and Dewick-MacPhie dining hall. I was impressed at how quickly we came together as a brotherhood to support a cause that was barely even in the headlines in the West at the time. Since then, we have continued to push forward with this initiative during the second semester by selling bracelets and taking donations for the Turkish Red Crescent at the recent Major: Undecided show. We also have plans to collaborate with the "Cookie Man" in order to raise more money for our cause.
Please help us support the helpless yet immensely brave people of Syria who are being massacred by the dozens every day in their bid for freedom. Any help is appreciated, especially since this winter has been severely harsh on the refugees we are supporting.
If you would like to purchase a bracelet or simply make a donation, please contact me at Sari.El-Abboud@tufts.edu.
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Sari El-Abboud is a junior majoring in Italian studies.
