My heart is breaking over Syria, and it was already broken over Gaza. I watch the television reports of the ‘joy’ in Damascus and wonder what alternative planet the mainstream media inhabits.
The head-chopping salafists of yesterday are today’s ‘rebels’ against a brutal dictator and the ‘liberators’ of the long suffering Syrian people. I watch their toned-down, media-trained, inclusion-loving pronouncements and I think of the Taliban leaders’ interviews at the time they signed the 2020 Trump deal in Doha.
I mourn a Syria cut to pieces ruled by rival armed gangs of former Islamic State and al-Qaeda jihadists, a Syria emptied of its Christians, numerous minorities, and ordinary Moslems, a Syria destroyed to preserve Israel’s hegemony and America’s geopolitical interests in the region.
Once the cradle of civilisation, the Middle East is now a collection of decimated failed states ruled by medieval fundamentalists, a raging Israel ruled by racist zealots, and millions of oppressed people ruled by US minions. There seems to be no end to the handiwork of the empire and its allies in the Middle East.
I pass by my book shelves and spot one of my treasured possessions; The Complete Works of Syria’s great poet Nizar Qabbani. In his political work, he was scathing about Arab dictators and western colonialism in the Middle East. He wrote “America is a god and a thousand cowards kneel at its feet.” His tributes to his beloved jasmine-scented Damascus were incomparable. I think of his romantic poems and wonder what the whitewashed jihadists would make of them. Will they burn his books? If he were alive, he would have been worth a fatwa or two. I recall a Syrian friend playing the oud and singing one of Nizar’s poems. The music, his voice and Nizar’s words made for a truly heady mix. Will the ‘rebels’ ban music and singing? I read that Al-Jolani ruled in Idlib along strict Wahabi lines and my heart goes out to the well-educated, professional women of Syria. What does the future hold for them?
Syrians have endured unimaginable hardships for decades. The US crippling sanctions together with its occupation of Syria’s oil fields and agricultural land devastated the lives of Syrians. A majority fell into extreme poverty. And with poverty came corruption. Anything to eke out a living. Enormous funds have flowed to the ‘rebels’ to help them ‘spontaneously’ execute the orchestrated regime change. Will these funds now flow to improve the lives of Syrians? Will the US lift the severe sanctions against Syria? Or will it leave yet another Middle Eastern country, in ruins, with poverty and hopelessness fuelling extremism?
To really understand an event, we are told to follow the money. I would add to that, follow who is happy about the event, and follow who is being praised in mainstream media. Today, many Syrians who have suffered the brutality of the Assad dynasty are happy. Their happiness is understandable. They trust that justice and freedom are within reach. And today, Israel and the US are also happy. Their happiness has nothing to do with justice, freedom or the fall of a brutal dictator. After all, their best buddies in the region are brutal dictators. Turkey and the Gulf States are also happy. Their happiness has nothing to do with justice and freedom. After all, their human rights records are as abysmal as that of Assad’s.
In mainstream media, it is all about those wonderful ‘rebels’ who rose against a dictator to bring freedom and prosperity to Syrians. Having seen the errors of their ways, they are now promising tolerance for all the minorities in Syria and apparently are door knocking to check on the well-being of Christian households. As for analysis of the real reasons for and the real players behind the regime change, not a whisper in mainstream media. For this, one has to go to the usual trusted independent journalists and experts.
As mainstream media provides wall-to-wall coverage of the now familiar scenes of statue-toppling, cheering crowds, the world becomes oblivious to the incessant hum of Israel’s exterminating machine. For Palestinians, it is business as usual. Another day, another massacre. Their starvation, ethnic cleansing and genocide merit a mere couple of minutes on the News. If that.
For more on Syria, Pearls & Irritations recommends:
Sawsan Madina
Sawsan Madina is former Head of SBS Television
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