LIU Global Presents: Global Connections, Syrian Hidden Voices
Going Global Podcast
In the Spring 2020 semester amid the global pandemic of COVID-19, LIU Global students during Prof. Amb. Dr. Colette Mazzucelli’s Contemporary Issues and Theories of International Relations class have partnered with the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF). The SETF is a non-governmental organization created in 2011 that assists the needs of the Syrian people in their struggle for freedom and democracy. This partnership enabled Global students to deepen their knowledge of the Syrian civil war, which is considered by many to be the greatest humanitarian and political crisis of the century. During the interactions between students and SETF, topics relevant to International Relations such as nationalism, sovereignty, and human rights were widely debated. As a result of this partnership and the lively debate, three episodes emerged for LIU Global’s podcast, Going Global, focused on presenting the organization’s efforts within Syria and sharing reports and field experiences with the conflict and its implications. This partnership was only possible due to the wide network of LIU’s teachers who remain attentive and related to global problems at all levels.
The protests today known as the Arab Spring, triggered a series of successful uprisings that marked the history of Arab countries and the world. Such revolts removed authoritarian governments that did not have the support of the population and dictatorships, for example in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. The civil war in Syria started in January 2011 after popular protests escalated to armed conflict. At the beginning of the protests, the main demand was the withdrawal of dictator Bashar al-Assad and his family, who held control of the country for more than 46 years. However, the conflict quickly intensified, adding a religious aspect to the dispute and raising tensions between Sunnis and Shiites. There are currently three main forces vying for the sovereignty of the Syrian state: (a) the forces of dictator Bashar al-Assad, strongly supported by Russia and Iran; (b) the so-called Syrian revolutionary army, supported by France, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia; © and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in 2018 at least 560,000 deaths were officially recorded. Such a conflict is a major contributor to one of the biggest refugee crises ever recorded in world history. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in 2018 the number of refugees reached 6.7 million people mainly allocated in neighboring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Another important fact that corroborates the huge consequence of population displacement caused by conflict is provided by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, which in 2019 recorded that 6.4 million people were internally displaced in Syria who still reside in a risk area, that is, they may be forced to relocate, yet again. Many refugees in other countries and within Syria are at risk both because of the conflict and the sanitary conditions in the camps, which provide little or no health aid.
In view of the information shared above and the current situation in Syria, SETF, through a wide network of contacts and population awareness projects, works to disseminate knowledge about the atrocities that happen in Syria on a daily basis throughout the world, but, especially for citizens of the United States. SETF’s efforts range from legal and juridical representations and the search for justice to humanitarian actions that aim to guarantee the Syrian people’s survival, security, and integrity. Among SETF’s most prominent projects are the Ceaser Files, a set of photos that document the torture of Syrians by the forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime, and The Wisdom House, a project focused on education that seeks to create learning environments for Syrian children at risk. In addition, SETF also has partners and employees who have personal experience in Syria and the armed conflict, such as Omar Alshogre and Mouaz Moustafa, being two key pieces of the functioning of the institution that Going Global had the opportunity to interview.
In this context, LIU Global students focused on better understanding issues such as Syrian nationalism in times of conflict or the participation of external forces in the country. Besides having the opportunity to interact with SETF members. During three class sessions, members of the organization provided data and research from multiple international bodies both inside Syria and outside that provided background of the conflict and current realities of the Syrian people. In addition, members provided important personal testimonies that revealed what the horrors of war are in the Syrian people. LIU’s students connected the projects by SETF with a sense of nationalism that rises when one’s country is dealing with hard moments and when the situation is no longer bearable. In addition, students have also connected the Syrian crisis as an example of how sovereignty is a delicate and difficult thing to achieve and even harder to maintain being directly related to enforcement of one’s dominance over the entire country. The fact that there are three different forces fighting to control Syria illustrates how the sovereignty of the country is shaken and how nationalism can be fluid with multiple interpretations being used in a good way and in a bad way as well.
The Caesar Files project was of special interest to the students due to its deletion of the atrocities of the Assad regime. The Files are a collection of 55,000 photos smuggled in by a former military photographer codenamed Caesar. This anonymous photographer was tasked by the Bashar al-Assad government to take photos of people murdered in police custody in detention centers and penitentiaries around the country, but especially in Damascus. The SETF works to bring justice and hold the Assad government accountable for its actions, tirelessly prosecuting the regime. The impact of the Ceaser Files was such that in 2019 the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019” was approved in the US Congress and ratified by the president, both recognizing and promoting accountability to the Assad regime.
Therefore, the partnership between LIU Global and SETF is yet another example of how International Relations are fundamental to the smooth functioning of the world. Mainly, in turbulent times like these, when new crises, whether humanitarian, sanitary, ecological, political or economic, appear in the world in the most diverse locations and with global impact. In addition, the partnership between LIU Global and SETF also underlines the need for international integration between countries across the globe that aim to respect human rights and oversee the relationship between government and citizen. In the case of Syria, several outside forces are participating in the conflict and making the fight more deadly than it already is. It is, therefore, regrettable to see how thousands of people lost their lives and thousands of others were affected by the game of interest by international forces that took Syria as a stage for their bellicose presentations.
By Tiago Noce
