Having family that lives in Syria, Iman Jebara ’17 did not realize how much the Syrian civil war affected her family until recently.
“I logged onto Facebook and saw a thumbnail of my uncle, and he’s my favorite uncle, and he was saying he was a terrorist,” said Jebara.
Shocked, Jebara and her family immediately contacted their family abroad to find out her uncle “was taken from his home in front of his seven children,” and forced to lie about his political beliefs by stating he was affiliated with a terrorist organization.
Jebara spoke about her experience regarding the Syrian conflict during the “Dialogue on Syria” discussion that took place in Barone Campus Center’s Lower Level on Thursday, Nov. 14.
“A week later my other uncle was taken and my third uncle had to flee the country,” Jebara continued. “We had people that threatened my family … [and] we still haven’t heard back from my uncle that was on TV.”
Junior Kaneez Fatema Anwar, co-president of the Muslim Student Association, said, “What’s going on in Syria is real. It’s constant and it is a crisis and will continue to be one unless other actors will step in and take responsibility for crimes against humanity.”
MSA worked with the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network to organize the discussion in order to educate students and community members on the Syrian conflict. It included expert panelists: Dr. Marcie Patton, professor of politics; Drs. David McFadden and Silvia Marsans-Sakly, professors of history; and Gary Shaye, senior director for the Humanitarian Response for Save the Children.
According to McFadden, however, it is a difficult task for other countries, including the United States, to step in and attempt to resolve the conflict.
“The American people may have short memories, but they have long memories for war,” McFadden said. “They’ve seen the impact and seen their boys come back” having been affected by these conflicts.
As of August 2013, more than two million people have fled Syria and taken refuge in surrounding countries, with an average of 5,300 people fleeing each day, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Each day this goes on, more children and their families are hurt,” said Shaye. “You have to put a face on this conflict because the numbers themselves are staggering, but there isn’t a face to it.”
The nearly three-year long civil war that has taken more than 100,000 lives began with protests in March 2011 where demonstrators were killed by security forces, which led to nationwide protests demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, according to BBC.
Save the Children has been working to “restore basic services” to Syria and the bordering countries affected by the crisis by providing shelter, child-friendly and youth-friendly spaces and food distributions, Shaye continued.
“We want the children return to as normal a life as possible,” he added.
With about 150 students attending, Anwar deemed the dialogue a success.
“The Fairfield student body is absolutely apathetic to anything that does not directly affect or concern them, and this event was to serve as an awareness campaign in putting a face on the crisis,” said Anwar. “It serves to remind people that we have a moral obligation to take care of each other.”
“I had not anticipated such a huge turnout, and the fact that we had such a big turnout is a sign of progress,” Anwar added.
Students found the discussion with the expert panel educational.
Sophomore Heather Mooney, who found the talk “incredibly insightful,” encouraged students to become informed, saying, “With information you can form an opinion about the crisis, and with an opinion you can use your voice to help speak out and inform others about the crisis as well.”
Sophomore Kathryn Spoelstra enjoyed the discussion on the conflict because it gave a “thorough understanding [that] would have been very difficult to find in one place.”
“I also appreciated the different perspectives that were given by each panelist,” Spoelstra added.
Jebara, who lived in Syria for six months when she was five years old, explained that she wants to return to the country.
“They said put a face on [the conflict], and this has been a nightmare for me,” she said.
Two years in the Syrian conflict:
March 2011 – Security forces kill protestors in Damascus and Deraa, sparking violent unrest. Protestors demand resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.
December 2011 – Opposition forces accuse Syrian government of being responsible for two suicide bombings that killed 44 in Damascus.
May 2012 – United Nations Security Council denounces Syrian government for using heavy weaponry and militia to kill civilians. President Assad calls conflict a “real war” in June.
August 2013 – More than 1,300 people are killed in Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack, confirmed by U.N. weapons inspectors, bringing death toll to more than 100,000 killed.
October 2013 – Following a United States-Russian agreement, President Assad permits having Syria’s chemical weapons destroyed by international inspectors.
Source: BBC News
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