Syrian
Refugee Crisis- How did we get here and what should we do now?
Its only
now coming into the Australian public conscience that there is a
refugee crisis in Syria. The war that caused this crisis started in
2011 within the context of the Arab Spring. However there is a wider
context which should inform Australia's reaction.
From Rome
to the Ottomans
Here is a
map of the region in 1914. You'll notice that there is no Syria. The
whole area of modern Syria was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. In
fact no matter how far back into history you go, you won't find the
state of Syria. You will find the area of Syria held by the Mamluks,
Ayyubid, French, English and the Romans.
Anzac Day
1915
During WWI
the Ottoman Turks aligned themselves with the Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Winston Churchill conceived of a plan to knock the
Ottoman Turks out of the war. So on April 25 1915 Allied forces
landed on the Gallipolli Peninsula in Turkey.
A British
led local campaign was also started against Ottoman holings in the
Levant. This campaign was made famous by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of
Arabia).
Australian
forces were also involved in another campaign, winning a famous
victory at Beersheba and peeling it off the Ottoman Empire (the
charge of the Light Horsemen).
Faced with
this kind of pressure both to their Imperial holdings and to their
homeland the Ottomans fell back. The British and the French were very
keen to gain a foothold in this area. Britain in particular had
decided the oilfields of Mesopotamia (Iraq) would benefit from British
rule especially.
Treaty of
Versailles
At the end
of the war Syria and Lebanon were given to France. The border
between Syria and Iraq was layed down arbitrarily. The
border took no account of the local populace's needs, only the needs
of France and Britain were considered. People were cut off
from one another in the same way that Berliners were when the Berlin
wall went up.
France
Breaks the Deal
In 1936
France and Syria negotiated a treaty of independence, however France
refused to ratify it. This didn't stop the Syrians, who duly elected
a President. The momentum for a free and Democratic Syria was
building.
WWII
Syria
passed to Vichy France in 1940. It was then re-occupied in 1941 by
the British and Free French forces during WWII. Sadly the French
forces had no intention of leaving.
A
Difficult Birth
The French
forces bombed Damascus and tried to arrest the democratically elected
leaders of Syria in may 1945. However world opinion had turned and on
24 October 1945 The United Nations was ratified with Syria as a
founding member. This is the founding date of the Syrian Republic.
Remember that France, Syria's last colonial power fought tooth and
nail every step of the journey\ towards independence, but happily was
unable to stop the founding of the Syrian nation.
United
Arab Republic
Syria
joined with Egypt in 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. Egypt
President Gamal Abdul Nassar was extremly popular for standing up to
Britain and was advocating for a Pan Arab identity and nation. The
national merger was ratified by popular referendum. However this
experiment did not work as intended. It was brought to a halt in 1961
when disgruntled army officers enguaged in Coup D'etat to bring back
the Syrian Republic. This pan arab failure, was self inflicted.
Self
Inflicted Injuries
The 1960's
were a tumultuous time in Syrian affairs. Their were military coups
in 1961, 1963, 1966 and 1970. This final Coup was instituted by Hafez
Al-Assad. His son Bashar Al-Assad is president of Syria to this day.
One Party
State
Hafez
Al-Assad instituted a one party state. He promoted people of his own
ethnicity (alawite) in the intelligence agency. By doing this the
Alawites could dominate the Sunni's approx 70% of the population with
15% approx Shia. A mirror image of Saddam Husseins Iraq. Al Assad's
regime was brutal, but it did provide stability in a nation that
needed it.
George
Bush
In 2003
George W Bush's USA invaded Iraq. There actually were 4 nations who
provided troops. The USA, The UK, Australia and Poland. The invasion
was nominally to disarm Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction,
but in truth it was a campaign to defeat Saddam Hussein and gain
access to the same oil fields that the UK had coveted 85 years
before. A third stated objective was to plant a western style
democracy in the middle east.
Win The
War But Lose The Peace
The
Alliance had no problem brushing aside the forces of Saddam Hussein s
Iraq. However, once the Alliance held the nation it was difficult
thing to control it. As Saddam Hussein knew only too well, Iraq was a
disparate set of peoples, who had no real bond to remain together in
a nation. It could only be held down by violence and fear. Soon the
country erupted into chaos.
ISIS in
Iraq
Iraq was
held down by the Sunni minority. Some 30% or so of the population
controlled the other 70%. when the USA implemented a voting republic,
it failed to conceive the danger. The majority Shiites formed by far
the largest group in the Iraqi Parliament and elected the President.
The Shiite President was unable to work with the Sunni's. Being in
the minority, the Sunni's worried that it was only a matter of time
until the Shiites (whom they had ruled since the treaty of Versailles)
turned on them and committed genocide. This is the catalyst which
makes ISIS so dangerous, they feel if they lose, they will be wiped
out.
Back to
Syria
Remember
those borders between states laid down in 1919? When Syria was
running smoothly, it could still manage to keep the undesirables out.
But then the Arab Spring happened. Suddenly the majority Sunni's were
marching on the streets. The government cracked down hard. The reason
was simple and logical. They knew they were the minority and they
believed that if they allowed the majority to rule there might well
be a genocide committed on them. That's why chemical weapons were used
so early in the conflict. It also destroyed Syria's capability to
keep the border closed to the warriors of the civil war in Iraq.
Unification
So we had a
minority Sunni militia fearing genocide in Iraq (ISIS) and we had a
majority Sunni militia who had been the target of WMD's in Syria. We
also had a porous border between the 2 nations so that the 2 wars
unified into one enormous CLUSTERFUCK.
Back to
the Original Question
So how are
we in Australia to react to the refugee crisis erupting out of Syria
now. Well I'd suggest some self reflection for a start. I would
suggest that we have been used by the dominate empires of the day in
their empire building. However, some nations seem to have a special
responsibility to the Syrian people today.
Debt of
Empire - France
France
really should be taking a larger amount of the refugees. From 1920
until 1950 France fought for the right to exploit the Syrian people
and land for it's resources. Now is the time to pay that debt.
Debt of
Stupidity – USA
What in
God's name George W Bush and his idiotic VP Dick Cheney thought they
would accomplish when they invaded Iraq and de-stabilised the whole
region will be a question that vexes historians thousands of years
from now. The debt of stupidity has come due. It's time for the USA
to pay through showing it's humanity, not its engines of war.
Debt of
Ages – Turkey
I would say
that Turkey owes Syria a great deal and it's time to pay up, but then
look at the nation doing the heavy lifting here.....
Debt of
Enabling – Britain
Britain
helped France in peeling Syria away from the Ottoman Empire. It also
helped the USA in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A special mention for
the nation who sent in soldiers in to take over Iraq in 1920 and then
sent their great grandsons and daughters back there in 2003. Learning
nothing in the preceding 83 years. This crisis comes at a time when
Britain is troubled by isolationist ratbags(some of them in the
government), but humanity needs to prevail and the debt needs to be
paid.
Debt of
Fear
Australia
has meddled in middle eastern affairs almost since federation. A
nation on the far side of the world, we fought hard to open up Syria
for western plunder. We campaigned in Palestine, Turkey and Iraq for
oil Britain and the USA. Why did we do this? Ultimately I think we did
it because we were afraid of the world without our big protector, so
were always at their beck and call. It's a shame we are so afraid,
but also means we owe Syria. Suffering from a leader who makes George
Bush look like Albert Einstein whether humanity will prevail here is
definitely an open question.
