War in Syria and the loss of Life

Wars seem ridiculous options sometimes, or maybe always. It’s January 2014 and currently the Syrian delegation is meeting with the Opposition in Switzerland. The Assad regime is backed by the Russian in the talks and the opposition is backed by the western powers, led by the USA. Currently, what I gather from whatever I am hearing in the news channels is both sides are arguing and blaming each other for the mess. Assad has his own support base in Syria while the rebels also have their own support base. While these talks are going on, the war is still on inside Syria and people are dying on a daily basis. The rebels are saying that they are fighting against a mass murderer and a very authoritarian regime, the regime is saying that they are fighting against terrorists. So, who is right here and who is wrong.

If you examine it closely, both are right from their point of you and both are wrong from each other’s point of view. I mean if you look at it from the point of view of the regime, it’s the opposition fighters who started the fighting while trying to overthrow the regime. For, them they are definitely terrorists and war mongers. Now, from the point of view of the opposition, they have been suppressed since a long time by a very oppressive regime, so its time they break free. So, you see both are correct from each other’s point of view. So, both want to win this war, or rather both will have to give it their best shot to win this war. The one who is going to win is definitely going to go after the leaders of the loser. So, if this war ends with one side winning then the leaders of the other side will have to run out of the country or hide out someplace where they can’t be found. So, these talks seem to be a way out of the mess for both. When I say mess, what I mean is the prolonged agony which has happened in Syria. When the war began everyone thought that this would be like what happened in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt and would get over soon. But, Assad has proved himself to be a tougher nut to crack.  

The loses are mounting on both sides, but the biggest loss currently is the loss of civilian life, the life of people caught in the crossfire. The exodus is enormous. Check the number of people trying to flee to neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon and you’ll know what I mean. The death toll is in millions and it cannot be verified independently as well because no news channels are allowed inside Syria. The talks currently going on in Switzerland is a way out for both parties, but for that to find any success, both sides will have to leave their ego’s aside and keep in perspective the loss of human life, which I seriously doubt anyone has taken into account.  These talks I feel are going to replicate what is going on in the battlefield, both will be at each other’s throats and in the end there will be no solution. Assad is not part of the talks himself, so whatever his foreign minister says is not going to stand ground unless Assad himself says so. The opposition want Assad gone and that is their primary demand to Assad’s foreign minister which I find highly impossible.

Having said that, I would like to say that I am no expert on Syria or the region as a whole. All I would like to say is whoever wins this war, its humanity which is going to lose. The amount of death and destruction the war has caused in the past three years is just too much. It’s the common civilians who are dying the most. They are the ones who are suffering the most. That happens in every war doesn’t it. Government’s fight and people die. Phew, and we call ourselves one of the most intelligent beings on this planet.  Being, the poet I am some lines come to my mind, here goes

The streets are deserted, the day is dark,

The demons are out, and the dogs bark,

Man is killing man with ease,

The cruelty makes my blood freeze.

Schools were full, not long ago,

Happy places for children to go.

They are still full, from what I see,

The fear within the walls baffle me.

Graffiti on the walls looks so gory,

The  splattered blood has a story.

Why do we fight, why do we kill,

Why do we go to war at will.

Whoever wins,

it does not matter,

When humanity is crushed

 and served on a platter .

Hope the suffering ends soon and everyone gets a better life.