Mar 4, '14
By Ramzy Baroud
In the early days of the Syrian uprising three years ago, the potential for it to become an intricate regional and international conflict was there for all to see. It was also evident early on that Palestinians in Syria would become pawns in the crisis.
Despite their many differences, two common factors unite all parties in the Syrian civil war. One is that they all contribute, directly or otherwise, to the killing of Syrians with impunity and savageness. Secondly, they all pose as defenders of the Syrian people.
All these "defenders" of the Syrian people have been left scarred by the last three years. No media campaign, speech or amount of money could alter this reality. The regime of Bashar al-Assad can make all sorts of claims, but there is no changing the fact that the Syrian army has killed thousands of innocent Syrian civilians. The same logic applies to the opposition forces.
The Syrian people cannot peacefully co-exist with the Damascus regime or with those offering themselves as the alternative.
Outside parties are equally culpable: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, various Lebanese forces, and Russia, the European Union, the US, and of course, Gulf countries, have done more than a fair share of damage. They often meet in whichever political forum they have concocted to save the Syrian people, yet somehow, their actions - selective and utterly self-involved - seem to achieve the opposite.
Where are the real "friends of Syria" as Syrian children die from the cold in refugee camps? Why are these refugees being treated with absolute neglect, if not revulsion in some Arab countries bordering Syria - to the extent that some elect to flee back to the war inferno at home?
Arab media often suppresses reports of abuse of Syrian women in refugee camps in other countries. Some are kidnapped and sold for prostitution; others are raped with no consequences.
As for the children, one can never overstate the horror of a child dying from cold, hunger or bullet wounds. The Syrian survivors among this generation will grow up very angry, and rightfully so. The consequences are likely to be as severe as the anger following the US invasion of Iraq over a decade ago. Iraq is now caught in an endless fury.
For Palestinians, the anger is compounded. There is the destruction of Syria, a country that despite its many deficiencies, once hosted the "axis of resistance" - the last battle front for those standing up against Israeli militancy and US hegemony.
Regardless of the justification behind their intervention in the Syrian conflict, all these forces have now been discredited. A young Syrian man told me about his cousin, who left Lebanon to fight in Syria and was killed by Hezbollah. "Yes, I cried," he said. "My brother urged me to 'have faith', but I don't see why crying is a sign of lacking faith."
One could have hardly imagined a scenario in which Hezbollah, once celebrated as the liberator of Arab lands, would be mobilized in so miserable a context. The cards are getting more and more mixed up by the day, and, once more, all are tainted, and none are innocent. Israeli leaders must be pleased by the spectacle.
There is the siege of Yarmouk, a large refugee camp for Palestinian refugees and working class Syrians located on the outskirts of Damascus. The hermetic siege will be remembered by historians along such infamous memories like that of Deir Yassin, Sabra and Shatilla, Jenin and Gaza.
Yet this time, Israel isn't implicated in the starvation, killings and humiliation of tens of thousands of Palestinians. Yes, Yarmouk's residents are refugees because of Israel's ethnic cleaning of Palestinians in 1948, but there can be no justification for one of the most suffocating sieges in the modern history of warfare.
Whenever a rumor goes around that a few bags of food have somehow made their way to the camp, thousands of people run around in complete desperation, begging for crumbs. Most of them go back empty handed, and are often greeted by gunfire. Scores have starved to death since the siege was imposed last year. The Syrian government blames the rebels, the latter blame the government. Evidence emerging from the camp suggests they are both liable.
"An old Palestinian woman arrived as we finished distributing whatever aid we managed to bring into the camp," Laila, a friend from Luxembourg who bravely went to Syria to help, told this correspondent. "We had none left, but the woman kept on begging and talking about her grandchildren dying from hunger," she said as she fought back tears. "Suddenly, one government soldier attacked her with so much brutality, beating her up over every party of her body. We were so shocked and terrified by the scene, but we could do nothing."
Not a single Arabic news channel or publication ever takes a break from championing the cause of Palestine, and, now Syria. Arab leaders often wear Palestinian traditional scarves (kuffiyas) as gestures of solidarity. They pay respect to the Palestinian flag at every opportunity, and once in a while, with much fanfare, announce a large financial contribution to build a mosque or a hospital that naturally carries their name. Official Syrian channels still speak of the looming battle to liberate Jerusalem. Yet, Arab fingerprints are all over much of the misery that has befallen Palestinians, whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria or elsewhere.
Syrians need to remember the Palestinian experience that has lasted 65 years and counting, and not only within the Israeli context. All the self-proclaimed "liberators" have come and gone, as have all the slogans, conferences, press statements, poems, mass prayers and generous announcements of aid, yet most Palestinians in the Middle East continue to live in squalid refugee camps. They are the subject of numerous books, articles and documentaries, yet few come to their rescue as they are forced to eat the few homeless dogs and cats in their refugee camps. Yarmouk is a testament to that despondent legacy, which many continue to ignore, while continuously speaking of "Arab brotherhood".
Syrians need only to reflect on the collective Palestinian history of destitute to predict their own future if they don't take charge of their own destiny, independent from all the parties that declare undying love for Syria and its people.
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. He is a PhD scholar at Exeter University, UK. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story" (Pluto Press, London).
(Copyright 2014 Ramzy Barou
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