Happiness in The Little Things
The Civil War first broke out March 15, 2011 because of nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The protesters gradually morphed to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges.
In 2013 Iran-backed Hezbollah entered the war in support of the Syrian army. In September 2015, Russia, Iraq, Iran and Syria set up a joint operation room in Baghdad. Russia started its own air campaign on the side and at the request of the Syrian Government.
More than 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced, more than 5 million have fled and millions more have been left in poor living conditions. Rebels have committed various crimes and have on many occasions called for the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Christians, Alawites, Shiite, Druze and other minorities.
Faced with this going on with your country would you uproot your entire life (and the life of your family) to flee? Or would you stay? If you flee it’ll be a long journey and the possibility that you might die is very high. If you stay you might be a victim of the war and the possibility that you will die is very high.
The human body can go twenty-one days without food and can last eleven to thirty-two days without sleep; however we can only go three days without water. The brain needs water to keep your memory sharp, keep your mood stable and so you can think through problems more clearly. Water keeps your throat and lips moist and prevents your mouth from feeling dry. Dehydration lowers your blood volume so your heart must work harder to pump the reduced amount of blood and get enough oxygen to your cells which make everyday activities more difficult. Water is important for lubricating your limbs. Your kidneys need water to filter waste from the blood and if you are dehydrated your kidneys may stop working. Without food and sleep you would have no energy and would not get very far. Would you be willing to risk all of that? Or would you stay knowing very well it might be your town that gets targeted next?
When humans are faced with tragedy there are two paths you can take, you can give up or you can keep fighting. Most people give up as that is the easier path but there are still those who fight. That is what the Syrian refugees are doing; they are fighting to have a normal life again.
They want to have a place where they can be safe. They want a place where their kids can have the chance to know what it’s really like to be a kid. They want a place where they can be themselves and not worry about getting attacked. They want what we have. They just want to be free. They shouldn’t have to be fighting.
Why do we think fighting is the answer? Why does it matter what nation we live in or what color our skin is? We are all human. We all cry when we’re sad, we all bleed when we’re cut. We are the same on the inside. When it comes down to the end it won’t matter how much money you have or how much power you have. In the end all that matters is who you were and what legacy you’re leaving behind.
All those kids have now is the hope that when they finally get to where they’re they will be safe. They will be able to be kids again; they will be able to grow up in a safe environment. They will be able to have long and happy lives. They will be able to have what we have. I’m not saying that there won’t be more problems, there will always be problems, but things will get better. It all depends on who they are and what they grow up to be. People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to affect but actually from a non-linear, non subjective viewpoint it’s more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.
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