How devastating is the world in which we live right now? I mean, we are dealing with a lot here in America, but I dare say that what we are going through (for now) fails in comparison to the situation the Syrian people of Aleppo are facing. The way their government continues to treat them is a travesty and why more countries haven’t intervened on behalf of the rebels opposing Bashar al-Assad, and the citizens stuck there is a big part of this ongoing problem. My heart feels for them, and in the midst of grieving for a people destroyed, I pray to the universe that America does not fall victim to the same fate; a notion that could very well turn into a reality if we don’t pay attention.
I have sat and thought to myself more times than anyone should, “This must be what it felt like during the Holocaust.” To be in America and hear about the things happening in Germany in the 1930’s can’t be much different than what we hear about now. The situation in Aleppo is disheartening, to say the least. Honestly, there are no words to describe the wreckage that has taken place in that country. People have sent their goodbyes via social media because they didn’t know if they were going to make it through the day. Last week, reports swirled that citizens were being pulled out of their homes and shot in the streets and that women were killing themselves because they’d rather commit suicide than fall into the hands of the Aleppo government. It’s all so disgusting.
What’s going on in Syria has been going on for four years now, but it seems that recently, things have intensified to the point of total genocide by their own government. What does all this mean? What is all this for and how can we prevent it from happening here? These are valid questions.
My fears of an Aleppo type situation in America are not doom and gloom rhetoric. Perhaps my cynicism has gotten the best of me, but yes, I wholeheartedly believe that we can easily be in a similar situation with the incoming Donald Trump administration. The error that we make is that we don’t think it can happen. That is the first step in how these conflicts materialize. People ignore the signs.
There is a lot to learn and know about what’s going on, but when it comes down to it, the Syrian government is acting with only its interests in mind. That means the lives of its constituents are an afterthought in the grand scheme of whatever al-Assad’s overall goal is.
I don’t know if there is much that we can do to help the Syrian people in their plight. Those who are moved to action on their behalf should do whatever they feel is right in their hearts. At this point, I imagine that even the smallest of gestures will give big hope to those still in the vicinity of the conflict. With that, what we can and must do is remain vigilant that we do not become an Aleppo. When you have a government led by people who are more concerned with their own advancement and that of those who support what they do, the odds are always in their favor, and we have to remain vigilant. When the man running the country has no experience, does not care to watch his words and unfamiliar with diplomacy, we have to remain vigilant. One of the things about Aleppo is that the rebels who opposed Bashar al-Assad’s leadership were winning at one point. In the summer of 2015, many reported that it looked like al-Assad’s forces were losing and as a result, the long sitting president might soon lose power. Then Russia sent warplanes and artillery pieces and attack helicopters. Did you hear what I said? RUSSIA sent warplanes and artillery pieces and attack helicopters. The country that has been rumored by many, including official federal agencies like the FBI and CIA, to have played a major role in getting Donald Trump elected, intervened and their involvement turn the tide of the conflict in al-Assad’s favor. From there, al-Assad seized Aleppo around February of this year.
Let that has happened in a once thriving country be a warning to us. No place is ever so safe that it can withstand infighting. And from the looks of the civil unrest that continues to happen in America and the kind of reaction that Trump incites from his supporters and his opposition, it is as if we are being set up to be the next Aleppo. I pray to God that I am wrong.
The people of Aleppo are in my thoughts, as I remain cognizant of the real possibilities America faces. This is not just a topic to ponder and dismiss or for sensationalism’s sake. A government led annihilation of a people is never too far fetched when dealing with a privileged narcissist on a power trip.