The world has still not awakened from the shock of seeing a three-year-old Alan Kurdi lying on the sand. It’s been almost four years and still the cry of Syrian people has not able to melt the hearts of the personals behind the long struggle.
The main figures behind this seven-year-old struggle are the supporters of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, rebels – those who are against him (Jaysh al Islam and Ahrar al Sham), and the global fear – The Islamic States (IS). There is a power struggle going on between these triangle players to gain the control over Syria. The clashes in the country started as a civil war between the government and anti-government groups which became a part of Arab Spring. It had repercussions against Assad’s government as he added violence to the peaceful protest after his breakdown. The problem was further worsened with the involvement of other countries supporting the two groups, not to see Syria free of this mess, but only to protect and achieve their personal interests. The best examples are Russia and Iran. Russia supports Assad not to lose its control over Middle East and to protect their only Mediterranean port – Tartus. For Iran, it was for countering the influence of Saudi Arabia and to increase theirs. During that time, The Islamic States was already in Iraq and was trying to spread its geographical space by getting into Syria capturing Raqqa. Now, most of the territories have been seized from them, but they are still a serious threat.
Another important group of people who die to fight are the Kurdish population in the North – Rojava. They are around 20 million people who were denied citizenship in the country. Their main fight is for autonomy and against IS. YPJ out of YPG which is a women military group also gained worldwide attention. In September 2014, IS captured the city of Kobani and Kurdish army was able to recapture it with the support of US. Kurdish fighters were able to drive out ISIS from most of their places, expanding their territory by incorporating various ethnic groups like Assyrians, Arabs etc.
Statistics shows that by now 11 million Syrians has become ‘refugees’ in different countries. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 4.8 million have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, and 6.6 million are internally displaced within Syria. There are other countries as well which have opened their boundaries for Syrian refugees. US stand on accepting Syrian refugees was a debatable issue for a long time and even now it’s relevant. Migration and following crisis have helped in bringing out the brutal disposition of the people. It is said that around 70 percent of fund given to them went missing. This shows the real face of social animals. When millions among them are dying of hunger, many just want to fill their pockets. Many questions can be raised on the Syrian issue. The role of United Nations, other organizations, countries, leaders and actions are still in question mark.