by @anarchyroll
2/16/2014
Peace talks were held in Switzerland to try and bring an end to the conflict in Syria that has claimed the lives of 130,000 people and counting since March of 2011. The talks that took place in Geneva, reached an impasse when representatives of Bashar Al-Assad refused to entertain the idea, let alone negotiate, the concept of a transition to a new regime/government.
The victory was in the fact that peace talks took place at all. Even if they were a facade, with a body count like the one in Syria, anything that could possibly trigger a placebo effect to end the violence is welcomed at this point. With 6.5 million people turned into refugees by the conflict, any signs of light will do, even if it’s a cheap florescent.
I find the situation in Syria fascinating and disturbing. I have been following the story via The Guardian website since the body count three digits. The reason I care about the situation, read, and write about it is that it just amazes me that a conflict like this can exist in the world I live in. So many dead women, children, and civilians; executed by gunfire, bombs, and chemical weapon attacks. The first Gulf War was started for far less, not to mention the second one, and the US involvement in Libya.
I don’t think I’m better than people who don’t follow the Syria story. I don’t think people that don’t pay attention to Syria are bad people or ignorant. Syria is so far away. They don’t have nuclear weapons and we don’t trade with them, so why should we care? That’s not a sarcastic or rhetorical question. It’s something about the numbers of people. Six figures dead, seven figures worth turned into refugees. That just…..grabs me…
So I’m going to keep reading about Syria and blogging about it. Because I care. Because I think other people should at least be aware of what is happening there. What does the fact that this is allowed to happen mean about we as humans? I don’t know, I’m not asking sarcastically like I have a superior answer or opinion. That is a question I keep coming back to. In the same world of hotel suites underwater, nightclubs carved out of ice, iPhones, and the Super Bowl a government has been killing hundreds of thousands of its civilians and turning millions more into refugees.
Something about Syria makes me stop and think. I hope it makes you think too.
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