Name:QuebecIndieAnna •
Title: Syria in 2012 and since •
Date posted: 08/31/13 11:16
Q: .
August 31st 2013
Hello friends.
I have spent the morning reading about Syrian history.
Protests in 2011, calling for the removal of the country's ruler, calling for democratic rule, was met with deadly force. In the months since, civil war and ravaged the country.
The use of chemical weapons in Syria over the last months of this year (2013), and the now more focused attention in recent days (August 2013) of the world on chemical attacks (which are outlawed internationally) seem likely to have as result some kind of military "strike" by entities outside of Syria.
In reading about the modern history of Syria, it is not easy to get a grasp of the ethnic landscape of the land. It is complex.
If anyone out there in cyber-space has the time, I'd be interested in your explanations. Sam, I know you come from Lebanon. Despite having lived in Canada for many years, I am guessing you might be able to shed light on the origins of the civil war in Syria.
Thanks.
Indie
.
Name:sam •
Date: 10/01/13 14:51
A: Dear Indie,
You asked the followings:
“Sam, I know you come from Lebanon. Despite having lived in Canada for many years, I am guessing you might be able to shed light on the origins of the civil war in Syria.”
Before the end of WW1 , the Ottoman ruled most of the Arab countries for hundreds of years, And Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine as we know them today as a separate states did not exist, and that was the case before the Ottoman occupation.
The land of those four states used to be known as “BELAD AL-SHAM”, and were divided into many parts called “WILAYATS” {as states, as in the United State}, and ruled by governors called “WALIS”and given the title of “AMIR” or “BASHA”, and those Wilayats has no fixed boundaries, for example Wali of Damascus might govern small part of today’s Syria & Lebanon, or ‘IF’ he was strong his Wilayat can be stretched to include more land and might include a big part of Palestine and Jordan.
In this land ,“Belad Al-Sham”, there are mountains,[Mountains in Arabic called “JEBAL” , or “JABAL” for one], as “JEBAL LUBNAN” [THE EAST & THE WEST], which been known for thousand of years, and the majorities who lived in the western mountain are Christians, then “JABAL AL-DRUZE” which got its name from one of the a religious sect who are the majorities, and “JEBAL AL-AALAWIYIN” which got its name from another Muslim sect who are the majorities,
note: Since there were no boundaries in Belad Al-Sham [Syria, Lebanon, Palestine & Jordan], people moved freely, because for them it was one county, and one family members might stretch north, east, west and south, either for work or through marriages.
Dear Indie, I will give two live examples:
The first; is about my family.
Are we Lebanese?.
I know my Grandfather [my father side] and his older brother whom he live in our town Baalbeck [Lubnan] came from Damascus, also I know his three younger brothers in Damascus and their many grandchildren which I love the time when we meet in Damascus or Baalbeck, and we feel the greatness of the family ties, and the other brother in “JARASH” [Jericho] Jordan whom we met occasionally.
The same can be said about my mother side, half of the family in Baalbeck Lebanon, on the west side of the east mountain and the other half whom I know very well live on the east side of the mountain [40KLM away] in Zabadani area in Syria today, that is the fact.
The second; is about my wife family. The AZEM family.
{You can get a lot of information about this family on the internet}
Both her father and mother are “AZEM”, the father from the city of “HAMA”, and the mother from “DAMASCUS”, and this family is well known not only in the Middle East, but by many political figures and historians in the west, and the reason, because from this family came many of whom got the title “BASHA” [we got the family tree, and I can bring their names later on if you like], and some became ‘WALI” to big part of Syria Lebanon & Palestine, and one of them took his army to Egypt to fight against the french [Napoleon].
The Azem family - Few line from the internet:
“Azem Palace is in Damascus, Syria, located in the heart of the Old City just south of the Umayyad Mosque's qibla wall near the Suq al-Buzuriyya, It was built in 1749 by Assad al-Azem Pasha (one of the last great Ottoman governors of Syria).
In 1951, the Syrian government bought* the remainder of the palace from the family for a sum of $30,000 with the intention of creating a national folk museum there.
There was an average of 5,000 to 6,000 visitors daily during the peak period of September. In mid 1980s,... “
* It was not bought, but it was taken, and the family were forced out. HOW I KNOW?.
My wife mother, and her brothers and sister were born there, in the AZEM PALACE. The friendship between my family and hers was very strong and for many generation.
What I said in the above two examples about the spread of our families can be said about most of the other families, Christians, Druze, Arminians, Kurds etc.
After the WW1 the British and the French occupied this part “Belad Al-Sham” between them, The British took the south part to divided it in two, Palestine and Jordan . The French took the north part and divided it in two , Syria and Lebanon and both did their best to create a division within the population by taken sides and spread the hate, and if that was not enough , they both planed to divide the whole Middle East by bringing a third factor, and that was to bring another group from Europe and create a state, and put millions of refugees in camps in Lebanon , Syria and Jordan, the many wars and conflicts which been created by the super powers, the East and the West. They made a fortunes by selling arms to all side, it is a big business . I think you know the other factors, because the truth cannot be covered for a long time, the Iraq Iran war, and the two Iraq wars and the many others, and all the fighting around the world are a fair example.
If the people of this land did not come under the occupation and all the new states was not created, then the picture of this land look much better, and that is for sure, but we should not forget the power of the super power countries , and their needs for resources to keep them well and in charge, for them killing of millions is worth it if their factories and workers are doing well.
Last few days , I watched a lot of news about the report that came by scientists about global warming and it is effect of many parts of the world in the near future, and the millions of people who live in low land, as Florida or Bangladesh, and it might be too late if we start today, but do you think anyone will listen and acts ?.
The west will blame the East, and the north will blame the South, and their argument never ends,
until......
“The origins of the civil war in Syria.”
I did write some of what I knew, and after that I came to a simple conclusion:
THE ORIGIN OF THE CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA, IT IS LIKE ANY OTHER WAR , AND IT CAME AS A RESULT OF MANY FACTORS, SOME ARE CLEARLY SEEN BY THE MASS [As one political group fighting another group - or-Christians/Muslims ...Sunni/ Shia....Jews /Arabs etc.] and the super power are behind every conflict, buying some with a lot of $$$, and that is easy when there are those who sell their country, and that happen even in the US, England , Russsia etc., WHILE THE OTHER FACTORS ARE HIDDEN, AND THEY ARE THE WORKS OF SOPHISTICATED INTERNATIONAL POLICIES MAKERS, [US/Russia....China.... England,,,France....Iran/Israel, etc.], It is a chess game mainly played by the super power and every movement on the chess board is measured by how much they win, the loss of life, even when they are by millions, and the destruction of countries, and the sufferings of the women and children those are not an important part of the chess game.
What is happening in Syria today was in plan for many years, by Russia which regards Syria as a place of interest, first as a big market for it is military products, and second for the need of a marine base for it is fleet in the Mediterranean sea, and by the Iranian [supported by the Russian], to widen it is influence over the region in which the Shia became the majority in Lebanon, and helped the new elected president of Syria [Hafez Al-Assad] as a Shia/Allawait to hold into power for many years by creating an army and a secret service mostly from their sects, and with the help of other minorities to depress the Syrian people by using the guns [ in Hama 30 000 people killed by the Assad forces]
Under the gun, the Syrians forced to chose the “SON’ , Bashar Al-Assad to replace his father, and nothing changed but it became worse, more people arrested for no reason*, many vanished without a trace, many killed, and there was no other choice except to stand up hopping that the son will listen, but the son cannot decide, Russia and Iran and Hizbulla and others cannot and will not accept any change, because for the Russians they might lose their base, the arms sales, and their only place in the Middle East, and the Iranians their hands will be cut off from the area and a loss for their Shia in Syria, Lebanon and other Middle East countries.
* At the time of Hafez Al-Assad, my cousin was working in his father store when the secret service came and took him for questioning, and he disappeared for two years, and after his release he get married and moved to Lebanon, he never mention anything except that he is glad to be free [the Syrian army and its secret services were in force in Lebanon, and any word from him could send back , and he might not survive.
My family moved from Iraq to Syria in 1958 after the Military coup which resulted in the killing of the King Faisal and the took over by the Baath party.
Me and My two younger brothers studied in Damascus University, it is half an hour walk from the our home, sometimes we take the bus , other times we walk, that is to eat or to do window shopping or see a movie, all that on the main street half the way home.
One day my youngest brother did not come home, we went to check , and his best friend was not home too, so we went to the police station, who asked us to check in the old prison downtown, he was there for few hours, but he was taken away, we been told, where? , No one knows .
One of my friend, knowing that his father is a member of the party and the manager of Damascus international airport, he came to me with the news that he is fine, and told what happen, and in couple days there will be a court hearing. With my friend father help I was allowed to be in the court.
In the court, students appear one at a time, and they been questioned, and all their stories are the same walking home with friend and passing by the “Hamidiya Street”, in their way home, and their friend/friends will be brought out for more questions. All those been questioned were released, and out and happy , but still I am worried because my brother is Lebanese and his friend is Algerian, and my mind was going in all directions..
Many hours passed, and at last, my brother and his Algerian friend brought together into the court. I thought that there is something wrong because they are outsiders and they might get the blame for what is going on in the university, and thrown out of the country.
Their both answers to the many question by the court, “ that we are here to study and we are in the fifth and the last year, and we are not a part of what is going on, and we love Syria who gave us a grant and a seat in their university.”
All ended by a good words from the judge, and apology.
My brother went to Paris and got his Doctorate degree from the Sorbonne [Paris Univ.]
His Algerian friend M. Semard finished his study in Algeria, and became Algerian ambassador to France, and the last contact between us is a post card I receive from him several years ago.
The people of this part of the world lived under the nozzle of the gun from the outsider and from insider whom been brought to rule them from the outside, and every time they try free themselves, Russia, Iran, and even china came to keep the chain on the Syrian people.
The world which we live in today is not the world of LOVE&DOVE, but the world of the HATE & HYENA
