There is a horrifying picture of a wounded Syrian child circulating in the social media. As per claims, veracity of which is doubtful, the child died moments after the picture was taken and his last words were “I am gonna tell God everything.” Whether or not this is true, the humanitarian crisis in Syria is very real. Like most of the political crisis, the human aspect of the Syrian crisis has somehow taken a backseat. This is not to say that nothing is being done to address the situation but the magnitude of the crisis calls for more efforts on part of the international community and the neighboring countries. It is so sad to see women and children getting caught in the crossfire and becoming a victim of selfish interests of men.

Be it the Syrian regime or those fighting it, all are responsible for the miseries of innocent Syrians. The inaction of the international community should have made the warring sides realize that they must act in the larger interest of their countrymen. Unfortunately, dictators like Bashar Assad can never be expected to think about the loss of human lives. He is just interested in clinging to power. In such a situation, the opposition should close ranks to effectively counter Assad’s forces. Although this is wishful thinking, this is never going to happen. I fear Syria is going the Afghanistan way. The longer this issue lingers on, the more the situation will get worse. Fear of radicals taking over the country in the wake of a possible and imminent ouster of Assad is not completely unfounded. However, just on the basis of this fear we must not allow the Syrian people to suffer. The international community must equip the moderate elements to fight Assad’s forces and the radicals. This is the only way to put an end to the crisis. I doubt there is any political solution to this issue, as is evident from the failure of the Geneva talks.

Ahmed Khan

Dammam