With Syria broken into factions and fighting each other for
power in a "proxy" war, people are fleeing Syria and crossing borders
for refuge. The influx of refugees into neighboring countries, especially
Lebanon, was one of the central problems Omar Dahi addressed in his lecture "The
Crisis of Syria's Refugees in Lebanon," in the Commonwealth College
Building, Events Hall -East at 4 pm on Wednesday.
Dahi,
an associate professor of economics at Hampshire College, was born and grew up
in Syria and spent last semester in Lebanon and
spoke to 45 people of the problems that are affecting Syria and
surrounding countries. He first began by explaining how the crisis was not
simply an uprising, like it was at the beginning but is now a "proxy"
war involving the many rebel factions, the government, the United States of
American, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
"Lebanon
is the most effected, besides Syria," said Dahi. The influx of refugees
due to the crisis in Syria has taken its toll on all surrounding countries but
especially Lebanon. Most of the neighboring countries have closed their
borders, not wanting anymore refugees. Lebanon has not.
Before the Syrian crisis, Lebanon was a poor
country, but since the rise in population, money has gotten tighter. "They
don't have the fiscal ability to take care of these refugees," said Dahi,
speaking from his own experience.
But
that has not stopped the flow of refugees into the country. The population of Syria right now is about 4
million people. Out of that number, 1 million of them are Syrian refugees. That
means that 1/4 of the population is Syrian refugees. This number is predicted
to rise, resulting in half the population being refugees.
Dahi
says that there were three things that led to this crisis: the Arab uprising, the
war against Iran, and the decline of U.S. power in the Middle East. The Arab
uprising, commonly known as Arab Spring, started when Tunisia rebelled against
their authoritarian government, and other countries in the Middle East followed
suit. This uprising, which turned into the "proxy war" that it is
now, provided a moral cover for what was happening what is happening in Syria
now.
The war
against Iran also helped to deteriorate Syria. The U.S., Saudi Arabia and
Israel created economic sanctions against Iran in an attempt to weaken their
power in the Middle East. The allies determined that "Syria was viewed as
the weakest link." Therefore, Saudi Arabia used the uprising there to push
for allegiance and to try to put into government a more supportive government.
Iran felt that the Syrian uprising had been hijacked and put money into the
Syrian regime.
The
United States' decline of power in the area is a similar concept because of the
fluctuating support they give to different opposition groups. "You have many different sides pushing
against each other and reaching a stalemate in destruction," he said.
The
best outcome for Syria would be peace talks which recently adjourned in Geneva,
Switzerland. The talks would involve Syria, Russia, The united States, Saudi
Arabia and Iran. There are two possible outcomes, either to create an
opportunity for a new leadership to emerge or to split up the region. "And
the hope," said Dahi, "or the best outcome, is the these processes
create a new space for these voices to be heard."
What
can the United States do? Dahi said that United States citizens can contact
their delegates to urge them to put pressure on their allies, like Saudi
Arabia, for a political settlement. The other part the United States can take
is to recognize Iran as a legitimate country and enter talks with Iran to find
a peaceful resolution.
"I
felt like I learned a lot about the current situation in Syria and that
it has gone from an internal uprising to a kind of international battleground
from Dahi's organized presentation," said Mary Carey, a journalism
professor at the University of Massachusetts.
Morgan
Morselli, a sophomore at UMass, said "Dahi did a great job of clarifying
why the refugees have a big impact."
by Lauren McArdle
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