Think
your life is complicated? Try figuring out the Syrian war. Only then
can one really know what complicated means.
Burning
Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, coauthored by Robin
Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami, tries to lucidly dissect the state
of the nation as at 2016. Sure, it's hard for academic works to keep
pace with the fast changing ground realities of the country. However,
Burning Country does provide a summary of events which led to
Syria becoming a playground for opposing forces, including Assad,
Islamic State (ISIS) and Kurdish Leftist groups.
Both
authors suggest the present state of affairs is a byproduct of a home
grown revolution designed only to overthrow the Assad patriarchal
state. Due to the Assad regime's brutally violent
counterrevolutionary response a power vacuum ensued. It's this power
vacuum which has been filled by opposing domestic forces as well as
the (none too invisible) hands of foreign influences.
The
Gulf monarchies, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the US exercise varying
degrees of influence to protect their interests. The authors' are
cynical of virtually all foreign countries indicating no nation
recognizes the Revolution as indigenous and none does much to address
the humanitarian crisis tearing Syria apart. Indeed, the book
suggests foreigners play a dirty, selfish game by maintaining a
balance of power between several domestic players – as long as ISIS
is kept in check.
Burning
Country underscores the complexities of modern Middle Eastern
politics. It's a sad book to read as the reader clearly sees the
train wreck arising out of the many missteps and gradual
militarization of an erstwhile civil disobedience movement. The slow
destruction of a state with the consequent impact on millions of
lives is apparent for all to see (refugee crisis anyone?).
Undoubtedly,
Syria has now gone the way of Afghanistan (Iraq?). It ceases to be a
'normal' nation state and will be difficult, if not impossible, to
fix in the coming decades. Not least because of the substantial
depopulation and sectarian hatred besetting today's Syria.
Imran
is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in arts and
history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his
career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by
train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his
interest in photography. He
is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram(@imranahmedsg) and
can be contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.