Whenever I’m tempted to relax in the thought that God is in His Heaven and all is right with the world, I remind myself of two things – the enduring torture of Julian Assange, who continues to suffer for the crime of telling the truth, and the ongoing pillaging of Syria – a country that is still paying the price for attempting to maintain independence.
Before the violence began in 2012, Syria had a largely self-sufficient economy and no foreign debt. Now it teeters on the brink of economic collapse, due almost entirely to two factors – the years of violence that were funded and maintained by foreign governments, and the ongoing regime of sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.
On top of these vile acts of aggression we must add the ongoing theft of Syria’s oil by the US. It was under the Obama administration – in November 2015 – that the US began its occupation of North-Eastern Syria (the most oil-rich area in the country). According to the Syrian Oil Ministry, the US has been stealing an average of 66,000 barrels of oil per day since then – amounting to around 80% of Syria’s overall oil production. On a geo-political level, the goal is to destroy the Syrian economy, thus advancing the US agenda in the region. For the average Syrian, the oil theft means food scarcity, as there is insufficient fuel to power farm machinery, and it means people dying from the cold during winter as they have no way of heating their homes.
In some ways the most depressing thing about the US theft of Syrian oil is that successive US administrations haven’t even bothered to come up with a reasonable excuse. It’s like the bully in the playground who steals your lunch money without pretending that he needs it. He does it because he can, and because he knows no one will try to stop him. Even so, things are changing across the Levant, and the recent reproachment between Iran and Saudia Arabia is an indication that the US is losing its relevance. They would have done well to follow the Chinese example of investing their billions in roads and infrastructure rather than on the machinery of war.
From this distance it’s often hard to see where the Spirit of God is at work in Syria. The country seems to stagger from one crisis to the next. After a dozen years of war, fires, earthquake, and all the deprivation caused by sanctions coming from the US, the fires are back! They have hit Lattakia province again – such a beautiful part of Syria, and the same region that was at the centre of the earthquakes.
I remember friends in Syria telling me how, during last year’s fires, families were crowding into the only vehicle they could find that had fuel and trying desperately to attach an olive tree to the vehicle so that they would have some food as they fled!
The natural disasters have been terrible. The man-made disasters, caused most especially by US sanctions, seem to me more terrible still. I find some comfort in the report of I’ve pasted below of the good work being done by Don Bosco House in Aleppo, which is a reminder of what the church, and other international religious organisations, can still accomplish.
While sanctions still make it impossible for most of us to send money to Syria, the church can get money across the border to fund works like this. If there were ever a time for the Christian community worldwide to step up and make a difference for people in need, now is the time!
In the immediate aftermath, Salesians opened the doors to Don Bosco House, and hundreds of people found security, companionship and relief. Five months after the earthquake, Father Alejandro León, superior of the Salesian Adolescent Jesus Province of the Middle East, reflected on what he experienced and what the country continues to need, as well as extended his gratitude for all those who have provided support.
Fr. León said, “One sentence I heard made me think. I entered a formation meeting with a group of teenagers aged 15-16. I don’t know what topic they were discussing, but one girl said, ‘Here we were taught to see the glass half full, rather than half empty, but the problem is that our glass is not only empty, it’s really broken.’ The sentence may seem to be exaggerated, or an outburst after the experience of the earthquake. However, I do not share this, but there is something in it that makes me reflect and empathize with the existential situation of these young people.”
Fr. León noted everything these youth have been through in their young lives. “They are young people who have no recollection of life without war. They have lived for years without electricity, without water, with scarcity of food and fuel. They have lived in a besieged city and have feared attacks with chemical weapons or missiles. They all mourn a family member who died during the war and live in constant economic depression. They have experienced cholera epidemics and the COVID-19 epidemic. What now? A large earthquake and other earthquakes, at least four, that exceeded 6 on the Richter scale.”
It was 4:17 a.m. on Feb. 6 when the earth shook. Immediately, the courtyard of Don Boco House filled with people seeking safety. There was anxiety and uncertainty. Father Mario Murru, rector, assured them from the outset that the Salesian house would be open for all those who needed it. At lunchtime, there were already 50 people in the house, and by dinner, there were 300. This number grew steadily in the following days to reach 500 people. On Feb. 21 another strong earthquake renewed fear, and 800 people found shelter at Don Bosco House.
Youth in the region had been attending programs at Don Bosco House for years. They were involved in youth camps and were familiar with the Salesians. Through their own training, they were natural leaders in the emergency, helping their families and neighbors. Fr. Murru said, “It was moving to see the respect that the adults paid to young people. Not because they were designated authorities, but because of the moral authority acquired through their generous service.”
He added, “Love has made us overcome barriers that none of us could have imagined. For the love of children, for the love of parents, for the love of friends, for the love of God. At a time when there was no reason to hope for anything, they found people to fight for with hope and everyone, rich and poor, became needy and shared what they had.”
Almost 2.4 million euro was raised by Salesians around the globe for emergency projects in the aftermath of the earthquake. In June, most of those emergency projects concluded to make room for reconstruction, educational projects, and summer camps for children and older youth affected by the earthquake.
I only just came across this documentary on Syria, produced by Mark Taliano. It is excellent. It’s not a shiny, big-budget production, but it’s powerful, nonetheless.
“Crimes Against Syria” is built around the anecdotes of several Americans who have become aware of what has really been going on. It features a journalist friends of mine such as Eva Bartlett and Steven Sahiounie, who are people of courage and integrity.
Having visited Syria nine times between 2013 and 2019, I am in complete agreement with the perspective of the filmmaker. Mark Taliano is a research associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and the author of “Voices from Syria”.
my daughter, Imogen, at the home of Ananias in Damascus
As Steven Sahiounie points out in his article below, the fighting in Syria has all but ended and yet Syrian refugees remain spread around the world. This is entirely the result of the US and European economic sanctions. The stated aim of these sanctions is to cause civil unrest, resulting in the Syrian people rising up and overthrowing their government – the government of Bashar Al Assad, which does not meet with US approval. I refer to this as the ‘stated’ goal as it’s hard to believe that the US is this naïve. There are zero examples that I am aware of where sanctions imposed by a foreign power lead to this kind of revolution. On the contrary, foreign aggression generally leads to a closer reliance on the government, which has indeed been the pattern in Syria over the last 10+ years of strife.
The sanctions damage ordinary Syrian people. I have many friends across Syria who struggle on a daily basis due to the sanctions. They have no fuel for their cars. They can’t heat their homes during winter. Their jobs (if they can get a job) pay next to nothing. Moreover, those who are sick have little chance of getting their necessary medications.
I remember when I was last in Syria, talking to a wonderful young woman who was part of a group supporting kids with cancer. She explained that for the most part this now involves only sitting with the children as they die, as they cannot get the necessary medications. Of course, those who impose the sanctions will tell you that food and medicines are exempt from sanctions which is true, so far as it goes, but those who impose the sanctions know full well that this option is never taken at a company level. The fines for trading with a sanctioned country are so high that they are designed to bankrupt any company that is caught doing so overnight. No board of directors in their right mind will allow their company to ship food and medicine to a sanctioned country lest they accidentally include a sanctioned widget (or lest their competitors tie them up in court, claiming that they did).
Sanctions thus far seem to have only strengthened the Syrian government and they do immense damage to ordinary Syrian people. Beyond that, they are also at the heart of the global Syrian refugee problem – a problem that shows no signs of abating. The chaos Sahiounie refers to in Germany is a good example, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. When will the US do the world a favour and drop these demonic sanctions. They don’t accomplish their stated aim and they do damage ordinary people in Syria and around the world. I assume that it is American pride that keeps them in place – a dogged refusal to abandon their regime-change policy and to allow the Syrian people to determine their own future. O God, have mercy.
Father Dave
The Syrian refugees in Germany face danger
Lebanese clans living in Germany, who are involved in drug trafficking, have caused death and mayhem. The German police responded to a massive brawl which broke out on June 16 in front of a restaurant in Essen that left a 23-year-old Syrian man dead, several German police officers injured, and 150 Lebanese arrested.
A Syrian family became involved in a dispute with the Lebanese, and the fight began involving hundreds of people on both sides of the conflict, and spread to other areas.
Syrian refugees number 800,000 according to a March 2021 survey. It is the largest refugee community in Germany.
The largest influx of Syrian refugees arrived in Germany from walking on foot across Europe after taking Turkish smuggling boats to Greece in the summer of 2015 when about 350,000 arrived asking for asylum. From the outset, the illegal smuggling activity is what got them to Germany. They were rewarded for breaking European immigration laws.
The Syrians since then have continued to arrive. The fighting in Syria has been over since 2017, but the country was never allowed to rebuild because of US and EU sanctions which prevent any reconstruction or creation of new jobs. The Syrians are economic migrants. They are not fleeing war, they are fleeing poverty and the sanctions which are designed to keep the Syrian people suffering. The US and EU foreign policy on Syria is to keep the citizens so poverty stricken, that they will rise up and overthrow the Damascus government. That was unable to be accomplished by the terrorists that the US and NATO employed since 2011, and it will not be possible now that the terrorists are gone.
Why is it only the Chinese Global Television Network (CGTN) that is covering the US theft of Syrian oil. This has been going on for years now. America has been stealing another country’s sovereign resources, yet nobody outside of China (and Syria) seems to have noticed!
Of course, there is nothing new under the sun. America is only behaving as Empires have always behaved – occupying weaker countries and stealing their resources. The only difference is that the warlords of old were more honest about what they were doing. The Vikings didn’t claim to be ‘spreading democracy’ when they plundered and murdered a village.
The influence of Christian morality on the West, and on America in particular, has been deep and profound. It is a good thing that our leaders don’t want to be seen as liars, thieves and murderers, even if that does lead them to torture truth-tellers like Julian Assange.
So … Assange rots in gaol while the Syrian people continue to be suffocated by sanctions and have their natural resources plundered. How long, O Lord …?
Another term for Recep Erdogan in Turkey. Is it good news or bad news for Syria?
To my reckoning, Erdogan is a war-criminal who has brought misery and death to countless Syrian people over the last twelve years. He worked alongside the Obama administration to orchestrate regime change in Damascus. He allowed weapons to flow into Syria from Libya through Idlib (which is still enemy-occupied territory in Syria) and he backed Muslim Brotherhood militants on the front line of the Syrian insurrection. Even so, his election in 2023 may be good news for Syria!
As astounding as it may seem, Erdogan seems to have changed tack on Syria. Along with Syria’s other great nemesis, Saudi Arabia, the Turkish president seems to have lost interest in the US agenda for Syria and is strengthening Turkey’s ties with Russia and Iran! It was Erdogan’s opposition that was pledging to uphold the US agenda! Strange times indeed!
Dave
More wisdom from Steven Sahiounie:
The secret of Erdogan’s success in the 2023 election
Erdogan decided to focus on an underrepresented group. Turkey is a large country, and has several sizeable and important big cities; places as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. However, the country has thousands of small villages, and the villagers are generally under-educated, Islamic fundamentalists, holding conservative values, and have felt their voices were unheard in Ankara.
Erdogan had been religious as a young man, and it was easy for him to identify with the religious people living in rural areas. People felt marginalized because their wives and daughters wore a headscarf, and this had been banned in government institutions.
A similar tactic was employed successfully by Donald Trump in 2016. He focused on supporters in rural areas, under-educated and with fundamentalist Christian values.
Mustafa Kemal, Ataturk, is considered to be the father of modern Turkey. After the 400-year reign of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey fell at the end of WW1, Ataturk came into leadership and had a new vision for the collapsed country. He banned the headscarf and banned using the Arabic alphabet in writing, instead writing in the English alphabet and from left to right, like in Europe. Ataturk wanted Turkey to look west, follow Europe, and turn its back on the old ways of Asia and the Middle East. He was a visionary and transformed Turkey into a secular, modern, and Western-looking nation.
However, the Turkish villagers didn’t fully embrace the secular vision Turkey came to represent; a 99% Islamic country, but organized as a secular democracy. The villagers, the backbone of Erdogan’s support, were happy for modern improvements, but they clung to their fundamentalist religious beliefs as a badge of honor. Erdogan knew how to harvest their votes, and they kept him in power for two decades, and they got him re-elected on May 28, 2023.
It is hard to believe that the world continues to be fooled by these people. Of course, has been the pattern since the violence against Syria began more than ten years ago. Everyone gets their news on Syria from sources based outside of Syria! If you listen to the Syrian people, you hear a very different version of reality from that sold to us by mainline international media.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Vanessa Beeley a number of times in Syria. She has been tireless in her advocacy for the Syrian people and has devoted her life to listening and retelling the Syrian side of the story. Unlike most international reporters, she operates from inside Syria.
Father Dave
Father Dave with his daughter, Imogen (L) and Vanessa Beeley (R) in Damascus in June 2019
I Speak to a REAL Syria Civil Defence Officer in Aleppo
Captain Walid Houri of the REAL Syria Civil Defence in Aleppo with one of his young volunteers who worked with him to locate people trapped under the earthquake rubble. Photo| Vanessa Beeley
20 Feb 2023 – The REAL Syria Civil defence has been usurped in public consciousness in the West by the White Helmets – a shadow state construct established in Turkey and Jordan in 2013 by a former British Military Intelligence operative, James Le Mesurier.
Since then the White Helmets have been embedded with the Western-proxy armed groups dominated by Al Qaeda rebrands and they have been tasked with the criminalisation of the Syrian government, forces and allies in order to bring about regime change as part of the UK/US-led agenda in the Middle East.
The REAL Syria Civil Defence was established in 1953 inside Syria and is the only recognised SCD in Syria by the International Civil Defence Organisation in Geneva. While White Helmets have an annual budget from their handlers in the West of $ 35 million for less than 3000 alleged volunteers (who have a stipend of $ 150 per month, 3 times the salary of a Syrian Arab Army soldier), the REAL Syria Civil Defence have a budget of $ 50, 000 for 10,000 volunteers who do not receive a stipend much of the time.
The RSCD covers an area of Syrian territory that is home to approximately 80% of the Syrian population. The White Helmets are in a pocket of territory in the north-west of Idlib governorate that is (according to Brett McGurk) the largest Al Qaeda haven since 9/11.
Since the earthquake the West has seized the opportunity to resurrect the White Helmet brand that had been severely tarnished by their role in staging alleged chemical weapon attacks since 2013 including the much discredited claims of Syrian government chemical weapon use in Douma 2018.
Additionally Syrian civilians have accused the White Helmets of multiple crimes including organ trafficking, child abduction, theft, murder, torture and desecration of Christian churches under their control.
Read the rest of this article, and watch the interview with a member of the Syrian Civil Defense Services on Transcend Media Service
I pray every day for the restoration of Syria. Specifically, I pray for an end to the crippling sanctions and to the theft of Syrian oil by the US, and for the departure of foreign troops. It seems that all those prayers may finally be being answered, but not in a way I had anticipated. I have been truing that humanitarian concern in the US and EU would ultimately win out over greed and political expediency. Instead, it seems that the key to new life and peace might be the economic ambitions of China!
China’s brokering of a peace accord between Iran and Saudi Arabia last month is possibly the most significant indicator of the shift in the global balance of power that we’ve seen in this generation. Ever since the CIA-led overthrow of the Iranian government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, the US has been at the centre of Middle-Eastern turmoil, with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Israel all being pushed around like pieces on the hegemon’s chessboard. Now a new player has entered the game, and the newcomer isn’t playing by the same rules.
I am excited with the implications of the new global balance of power, most especially for the people of Syria who have shown such extraordinary resilience over twelve years of violence and deprivation resulting from foreign interference.
Steven Sahiounie writes in his article, “Bridge of peace and prosperity proposed from the Arab world to Syria”:
Syria is on the brink of recovery as Saudi Arabia plans to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Arab League summit in Riyadh on May 19. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus soon to hand Assad a formal invitatio’n to attend the summit, in what will be the most significant development in the Arab rapprochement with Assad.
Riyadh and Damascus are in talks to reopen embassies in both countries, in a culmination of diplomatic meetings, statements and policy shifts demonstrating new and independent positions on Syria.
The people of Aleppo say that they went to bed one night, and they woke up under occupation of armed fighters supported by the US Obama administration, Turkey and Qatar.
In December 2016 the city was liberated from Al Qaeda and their affiliates, and they have been trying to recuperate, but with US-EU sanctions opposing their reconstruction plans, the recovery has been slow going.
The people of Aleppo have hoped that as quickly as their lives were turned upside down by outside forces, the turning point of recovery and prosperity would be just as quick. Syria stands today on the threshold of a recovery which may hold peace and prosperity in the near future for 21 million inhabitants.
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) urges the American, British, Australian, Canadian, Swiss and some European Union and Arab League governments to lift the unjust, immoral sanctions against Syria in order to lessen the immense sufferings of the people caused by the massive earthquake of 6th February 2023.
A number of local groups including the Syrian Red Crescent Society have already made this call. Among individuals and groups at the international level who also want sanctions lifted is Helga Zepp LaRouche of the Schiller Institute. It is reported that the US and EU have suspended temporarily their sanctions. But this is not enough because it means that they can be re-imposed at any time. If sanctions have to be terminated once and for all, it is because there were no justifications for them in the first instance.
The US began targeting Syria in 1979 by placing it on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. This was largely because of the support that then Syrian president Hafez Azad gave Palestinian, Syrian and other Arab freedom fighters seeking to liberate Palestine, Syria’s Golan Heights and other Arab territories from Israeli occupation. It is an indication of the degree of influence that Israel and Zionism exercise over US foreign policy in West Asia and North Africa (WANA). Between March and August 2004, sanctions were intensified as a result of new allegations of Syrian interference in Iraq and Lebanon which impacted upon Israel. By this time, the Syrian government’s relationship with Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon and its close fraternal ties with Iran were at the core of US animosity towards the resolutely independent minded nation. Needless to say, Israeli interests were prominent in all these US stances.
However, it was only after 2011, camouflaged by the so-called Arab Spring, that organised, aggressive US led attempts to overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar Azad, supported by some of its European allies and WANA friends, gave birth to a whole range of new sanctions from travel bans and asset freezes to prohibitions on exports and restrictions upon the oil sector. The EU also joined the US in embargoing the oil sector. 20% of Syria’s GDP came from oil. It has been estimated that the country has lost 107 billion US dollars from its oil and gas earnings since 2011.
Some Arab League states also froze Syrian government assets as did Turkiye in 2011. But none of these actions had as severe an impact upon the Syrian economy and State as the capture of territories containing oil and producing wheat and cotton by rebel groups linked to governments, ethnic movements or terrorist outfits in the region. These groups collectively known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are led by Kurds with longstanding grievances against both the Syrian and Turkish governments and are supported by the US. They occupy parts of North West Syria badly affected by the earthquake.
It is this fractured and fragmented country that Bashar Azad presides over. It is a country in which 15.3 million people out of a population of 21.3 million are in need of humanitarian aid. Bashar’s power and authority have been further weakened as we have seen by loss of control over vital resources and by crippling sanctions. It is understandable why his government was not able to respond quickly and effectively to the earthquake catastrophe which as of 11th February has killed at least 3,500 people. It is of course much smaller than the more than 22,300 children, women and men who have perished in neighbouring Turkey.
Nonetheless, the Syrian tragedy demands a response that goes beyond rescue and recovery operations. It is a colossal tragedy complicated by sanctions which impede not only on-going operations such as the flow of basic necessities and the arrival of much needed personnel but also hinder medium and long-term relief and rehabilitation work. This is why sanctions have to be lifted immediately. This is why both peoples and governments everywhere should make this their priority plea.
The conflicts between competing groups the majority of which are armed should also be brought to an end as soon as possible. It is not going to be easy. One hopes that this mammoth catastrophe will persuade some of the principal actors in these conflicts to reflect deeply on what has happened — the unfathomable suffering of millions of human beings on both sides of the Turkey-Syria border. If their suffering is to have any meaning at all, let it herald the end of conflicts and killings along the border and in other parts of Syria. In this regard, it is encouraging that the United Nations has appealed to all warring parties to observe a ceasefire with immediate effect to enable humanitarian assistance to be channelled to the victims of the earthquake.
There is another glimmer of hope. Even before the earthquake, on the 5th of January 2023, the president of Turkey, Recep Erdogan indicated that he wants to meet up with the Syrian president, Bashar Azad, to discuss and resolve their differences. Let us hope and pray that both men will work towards such a meeting — a meeting which will result in a mutually acceptable solution to their problems. If the two leaders who enjoyed a close friendship some time ago make peace with one another, there is a strong possibility that Turkey and Syria will be able to come together on a firm footing and most of the other protagonists will also be able to bury the hatchet.
If that happens, the deaths of thousands — especially little children — in one of the greatest tragedies in recent times would not have been in vain.
I had resigned myself to never having a nice word to say about the house of Saud. Even so, the recent initiatives taken by the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) seem to be genuinely progressive. He even seems to be reaching out to Syria!
According to Steven Sahiounie, whose article appears below, MBS is cracking down on religious extremism, granting more rights to women, and he’s trying to build friendly relationships with his neighbours – even with Syria!
In truth, Syria can do with all the friends it can get at the moment. With the US-imposed sanctions still crippling the country, an enormous number of ordinary Syrians are now food-insecure. It will take Syria’s neighbours, like Saudi Arabia, to shun US sanctions and revive trade before the crisis can end.
Dave
Saudi Crown Prince defies the US policy against Syria
by Steven Sahiounie
In November 2022, Saudi Arabia formally changed its stance on Syria. Saudi Arabia is the political powerhouse of the Middle East, and often shares positions on foreign policy and international issues with the UAE, which has previously re-opened their embassy in Damascus.
“The kingdom is keen to maintain Syria’s security and stability and supports all efforts aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the November Arab League summit in Algeria.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 following the outbreak of conflict instigated by the US, and portrayed in western media as a popular uprising of pro-democracy protesters.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, “The developments in Syria still require a pioneering Arab effort. It is necessary to show flexibility from all parties so that the economic collapse and political blockage can be dispelled. Syria must engage in its natural Arab environment.”
The next Arab League summit will be held in Saudi Arabia, and there is a possibility of Syria once again taking its seat at the round table.
On January 16, the Syrian Foreign Ministry agreed to resume imports from Saudi Arabia after over a decade of strained relations, and Syria planned to import 10,000 tons of white sugar. This development signals a new beginning between the two countries.
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