The Syrian Civil War has been all over the news for the past five years. It is
clear that the help the Syrian people get doesn’t match the amount of that
coverage, but that is another story. There is one group though, that almost
gets no reporting in the media, although they have been hurt beyond measure
in this war: They are the women of Syria. We now know that the conflict has
claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people, caused millions to lose their
loved ones and homes, and what’s been left in its wake is a broken, hollowed
out country. However, despite the relentless air strikes, barrel bombs,
chemical weapons and fighting, women continue to be beacon of hope for
many.
In most cases they have lost their parents, their spouses, their children or
siblings, their homes and lives and their careers. Amongst the 2.8 million
people that have left Syria in the past three years, four in five of them had
been women and children. UN reports that there are now 145,000 Syrian
refugee families headed by a woman in neighboring countries. The men in
their families are killed, injured, or imprisoned. In addition to having to deal
with that trauma, which many Westerners wouldn’t care to even imagine, they
also now have to think about their families and how to take care of them.
Not only that, they can be subjected to inexplicably outrageous crimes. In
addition to losing everything they knew, and their lives, and despite the
poverty, difficulties of being a refugee now, they have to deal with threat of
sexual violence as well. In Syria especially, they face unimaginable crimes at
the hands of the regime forces. Arbitrary arrests and enforced
disappearances, torture in detention centers for confessions are
commonplace. Furthermore, they are often actively pursued by the regime’s
forces to put pressure on their husbands or brothers, and sometimes used as
human shields. They are held in jails without charges most of the time, and
most die due to torture.
Yet, they haven’t lost their resilience and strength. Take 17-year-old Mazoun
Almellehan, who lives with her family in a refugee camp in Jordan. Although
she is only a teenager, and despite the fact that she lives in a desolate camp
in less than favorable conditions, she has a constant smile on her face with
her bright eyes and an unbridled enthusiasm for life and a desire to help
others. In a display of courage that could put many adults to shame, she took
it upon herself to protect young girls in her community from abuse,
mistreatment and deprivation of education. Due to her commendable efforts,
she is now known in the international community as the ‘Malala of Syria’.
She is definitely not the only one. Syrian women were known to help organize
anti-regime rallies before the civil war, and they’re now focusing on
humanitarian efforts, supporting others to help them get the help they need.
They are, in some cases, even called the ‘leaders of humanitarian efforts’.
They run schools and other places housing large numbers of refugees, and
organize educational efforts targeting women and children.
Yet, the strength and resilience of these great women should not make the
world think that they do not have any responsibility of helping them.
Remember how the world collectively said ‘never again’, after the WWII then
once again after the Bosnian War, after Darfur and after Rwanda? So what is
happening now? Why is the world letting this go on and not do anything to
help? And worse, how is it possible that in some places of the world, Syrian
refugees are being shockingly mistreated, turned back on their heels and
blamed for the actions of the terrorists? How can a European politician say
that ‘Women and children should be bombed because ISIS is there’ and get
away with saying that?
Let’s keep one thing in mind: as human beings, it is our duty to help the
Syrians get out of this incredibly difficult situation even though they are doing
a great job maintaining their dignity and strength despite facing the most
appalling conditions.
