A war has been going on in Syria for the past 7 years between the government of Syria under President Bashar al-Assad and various forces opposing the government. With this on going war happening in Syria, thousands of innocent lives including children were taken and more civilians are tortured at present.
HOW IT STARTED
Arab Spring uprising started in 2011 when discontent grew out with the Assad government that escalated to armed conflicts. The protest began on March 15, 2011 at the capital of Damascus. It was the Arab Spring ( a revolutionary group) who demanded for democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners. The protest was actually triggered when 13-year-old boy, Hamza al-Khateeb, and his other 14 friends were arrested by the government for writing "The people want the fall of the government" in the city of Daraa which is an anti-government graffiti. Later, the 13 year old boy was tortured and killed.
More protests happened by the following months and by the end of May of the same year 1000 civilians and 150 government force – including policemen and soldiers had been killed. There had also been thousands of human rights advocates, activists and students who were detained.
Russia, Iran and Hezbollah Intervention
It is no secret that countries like Russia and Iran support militarily the Syrian government. On September 2015, Russia had fully supported the Syrian government in conducting air operations where Russian aircraft began conducting airstrikes not only against the rebel forces but also affecting innocent children.
United States Intervention
In year 2014, the United States of America led international coalition with the purpose of countering ISIL ( Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in Syria.
Syria's Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press that the U.S. informed Syria's envoy to the U.N. that "strikes will be launched against the terrorist group in Raqqa". The United States informed the Free Syrian Army beforehand of the impending airstrikes, and the rebels said that weapons transfers to the Free Syrian Army had begun.
THE TOLL OF WAR
There have been consequences following the ongoing war including human rights violations and of many massacres, economic and social consequences.
Economic and Social Consequences
The conflict has inflicted significant damage to the Syrian Arab Republic’s physical capital stock (7 percent housing stock destroyed and 20 percent partially damaged), led to large numbers of casualties and forced displacement (between 400,000 and 470,000 estimated deaths and more than half of Syria’s 2010 population forcibly displaced), while depressing and disrupting economic activity. From 2011 until the end of 2016, the cumulative losses in gross domestic product (GDP) have been estimated at $226 billion, about four times the Syrian GDP in 2010.
Human Rights Violations
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have stated that 60,000 people had been killed ever since the civil war began up to 2013. However, Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for human rights, revealed that the real toll was guessed to be over 100,000.
Now, a study conducted by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research was released last February 2016 which estimated the death toll to be 470,000, with 1.9 million people to be wounded. With this number of people, it is said to be 11.5% of the entire population in Syrian is either wounded or killed.
All of these are happening right now in Syria. The question is when are we going to extend our help? In every minute, innocent lives are taken. More and more children are deprived to have a normal life, education and peace. This is no long a fight for power but a fight for survival. Let's not be silent! Help by spreading awareness of what is happening right now!
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring
https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186
