By- Mythili Iyer
How beauty can be replaced with terror with a snap of a finger
الشعبيريدإسقاطالنظام
People want the regime to change
This slogan was sprayed on a wall by 15 school students in 2011 who wanted nothing but that. Some were as young as 13. Some were older, around 16. They did not harm anyone. They just wanted the regime to change. (McLeod and Flamand 2011)
They were brutally tortured by the government they spoke against. They lit a spark that became a raging fire. This was the beginning of many events that eventually led to the Syrian Civil War.
Before the war, Syria was a dictatorship, not unlike North Korea and in 2000, Bashar al-Assad took the reins of Syria from his father. People had tolerated the Al-Assad family’s regime for 40 years but in 2011, after the advent of the Arab Spring, people took to the streets.
People were horrified by the torture of the students and other atrocities committed by the Al-Assad government. They had primarily four demands – And end to governmental corruption, the abolition of the so-called ‘emergency law’ that let the Assad family remain in power, the release of political prisoners and finally more freedom. The government was quick to respond in Daraa (deemed the ‘Cradle of the Revolution’)– tear gas and water cannons were initially used and when the protesters didn’t budge, the soldiers opened fire.
The fire spread to other parts of Syria and the face-offs between the protesters and the army escalated. The government tried to ease tensions by introducing reforms to meet the demands of the protesters. Al-Assad finally signed a document to abolish the emergency laws. But, the activists were unsatisfied with these weak reforms (Oweis 2011)
Now, war became imminent. Tanks rolled into Daraa. Shells blew up the city. This continued until the dissidents were ‘suppressed’. This continued until the ‘Free Syrian Army’ was formed by defected soldiers and protesters turned rebels. This was the beginning of the full-blown conflict.
Kofi Annan, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who was the then UN envoy to Syria, attempted to bring a ceasefire, but he eventually resigned out of failure and frustration. (Times of India 2012)
Over the few months, the civil war intensified with no clear winner or loser. Even small children were asked to handle guns. June 2012 was by far the more violent phase of the war.
For almost two years the fighting did not cease and in early 2014, a fanatical Islamic group known as ‘the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ (ISIS) took notice of the power vacuum and became the third party involved in the conflict
©Mythili Iyer 2020
Meanwhile, the United States and other countries join the war against ISIS and the war became bloodier.
At this point, somewhere in May 2015, something terrible happened. The ISIS took control of a paradise lost. Palmyra was an epicentre of trade and cultural exchange. It was where the trade routes of Persia, Rome, China and India merged. The UNESCO Heritage Site stands cold and impassive, no longer the city with bustling streets, it’s sanctity desecrated. The Roman theatre in Palmyra might have hosted wonderful plays, but now it has become home to public executions. (Carissimo 2015)
Source- The Independent
It is not the ISIS alone – Even the Syrian Air Force (Under the Assad government) has been reported to have bombed an ancient temple. (Loveluck 2015). This reminds me of two things – Thanos and the infinity gauntlet and a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Thanos could wipe out half the universe’s population in a few seconds. Even we have the power to destroy beautiful, mystical things within seconds. Take an antique vase for example. It wouldn’t take anything more than a push to destroy it. But most don’t do that, intentionally at least for most know what it is worth. Unfortunately for Palmyra, some thought that it was nothing – but a bunch of ruins. But some did know what it is worth – like Khaled al – Asaad (not to be confused with the al-Assad political family). He was the retired antiquities chief of Palmyra and he remained there throughout the sieges, until his death at the hands of the ISIS. Even when he was captured he saved Palmyra’s spirit, despite being brutally tortured to reveal information about the famed treasure of the city. He spent his whole life restoring the ruins, and seeing them destroyed would have been heart-wrenching. (Withnall 2015)
The other thing this reminded me of is the poem Ozymandias. The poem is about a vain king who builds a grand statue. But, years later nothing of the stature remains but a pedestal, an inscription and two large boulders. Was Palmyra eventually going to fall? Was it worth the efforts of the international community to ensure there is no further damage to the site?
And the most troubling question of all. Is this conflict worth the fight? Some fight it for power, some fight for dignity and freedom and some fight it for their religion. But, in the end does it all matter?
Works Cited
McLeod, Hugh, and Annasofie Flamand. 2011. Tortured and killed: Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13. May 31. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html.
Oweis, Khaled Yacoub. 2011. Syria's Assad ends state of emergency. April 21. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria/syrias-assad-ends-state-of-emergency-idUSTRE72N2MC20110421.
Times of India. 2012. Kofi Annan resigns as UN Syria Envoy. August 2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Kofi-Annan-resigns-as-UN-Syria-envoy/articleshow/15329904.cms.
Carissimo, Justin. 2015. Isis propaganda video shows 25 Syrian soldiers executed by teenage militants in Palmyra. July 5. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-propaganda-video-shows-20-syrian-government-soldiers-executed-in-palmyra-by-young-islamists-10366533.html.
Loveluck, Louisa. 2015. Syrian regime 'launches air strike on the world famous city of Palmyra'. June 16. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11679477/Syrian-regime-launches-air-strike-on-world-famous-ancient-city-of-Palmyra.html.
Withnall, Adam. 2015. Isis executes Palmyra antiquities chief and hangs him from ruins he spent a lifetime restoring. August 19. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-executes-palmyra-antiquities-chief-khaled-asaad-and-hangs-him-from-ruins-he-spent-a-lifetime-10461601.html.
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