[Publisher's introduction: Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]: This year will come to mark ten years since the outbreak of the unrest in Syria and subsequent civil war, referred to by various appellations in Arabic, such as 'ahdath' ('events'), 'izma' ('crisis') and 'thawra' ('revolution'). In this post, I present an interesting guest contribution by my friend 'Odoacer' from the originally Druze village of Qalb Lawza in the Jabal al-Summaq area of north Idlib countryside (the site of the infamous 2015 massacre). Of course, the opinions expressed in this article are solely his own and do not necessarily represent my views or those of anyone else.
Return to the law of the jungle from Idlib
In the beginning I write this article from an independent basis and far removed from the narrow and personal accounts and in an objective way to a certain extent.
It has been 10 years since the beginning of the demonstrations fighting against the ruling governments in the Arab homeland and what they have come to from bad results and lack of attaining their desired aims for transition to a free, developed and fair society that leads the land to a better situation. And we find this in Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Tunisia, after the demonstrations overthrew the ruling systems in them, and after they became affairs of bloodshed in Syria and Iraq, with the interference of the religious demands to establish the states on an Islamic foundation, and the destruction of these lands by these causes after the Arab peoples looked to Turkey as a sponsor for them through the Justice Party in it and its attaining of authority, but that process did not occur in the Arab countries
This failure may be because of the interventions by the active regional states like Iran and Turkey or the great powers like America and Russia, or because of the nature of these peoples that have not understood the religion and have not translated its true teachings into rising to become an active nation on the international stage.
Let us stop here with the case of Syria and what it has come to, we find that it is among the most complicated international cases because of the geographic position or the nature of the multi-sect Syrian society and the system of rule that has continued for decades.
You find a great class of the educated and wealthy who did not applaud the idea of the revolution or regime change for accounts that they know in that the alternative will be worse.
And among them are those who have chosen to flee to a safe place as they believe also in the difficulty of achieving justice in this land, or through a good reading of history and understanding of the reality.
You notice with me also the overlap of the demands of the Syrian people with the demands of the surrounding states, so you have found that to be a reason for intervention, not for the sake of the people but also for the sake of protecting their interests.
After 10 years and much change of faces and the death of the other, we find that the case is still heading to a place we expect to be most like Iraq or Lebanon and it may be Afghanistan. We find foreign armies and we find interim governments and cartoon governments and personalities working for the interest of foreign agendas whose aim is to gather money and flee.
What if this state of affairs were to remain in Idlib and northern Syria and in Syria generally speaking and just as we expect that they have agreed to prolong the Syrian crisis for the long-term?
It means more ignorance, more poverty, and a new generation will come out, not knowing anything about matters except some of the hadiths and photos.
A people using the Internet a lot and very afraid.
Incapable and not innovating.
Inactive.
And not able to improve their situation.
And we have in the Palestinian situation an experiment in that.
And we have in the lack of the formation of the national government in Lebanon as well examples of that.
The Gulf is turning inwards and does not concern itself with regional distance.
Therefore, perhaps we have understood what they want and what is happening.
The will of God remains and it is what will lead to us what is determined and ordained.
And perhaps the will is connected with work.
If we wish to rise again, we must:
Forget what has happened and begin again.
Stand with each other as Syrians whatever their orientations.
Be rid of those who sow corruption and the ignorant and give the opportunity to the educated and people of specialisations and non-partisans in terms of tribe, sect or place.
We must be pragmatic and not demagogues.
Let us make our country rise to a prosperous future before it is too late.
And God is the One behind the intention. May you be well.