The Biden administration left the crisis festering
US sanctions on Syria are absurd and increase the difficulties
Syrian refugees in Belarus are desperately trying to enter the European Union.
AFP
The Biden administration has done nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
AFP
Children are suffering from hunger in Syria.
Getty
picture
At the height of the Syrian civil war, many Syrians fled in fear of heavy bombing for their lives, but most of those who remained inside the country were determined not to leave, despite the extreme poverty they lived in.
More recently, Syrians were among the migrants gathered at the EU border from Belarus.
It is believed that this crisis was orchestrated by several parties, the most important of which are Russia and Belarus, but the Syrians' flight from the devastated economy inside their country was a clear fact for all.
The international community washed its hands of the crisis
Syrians' despair has not dissipated despite the lull in the armed conflict.
This crisis revealed the failed Western policies.
The international community cannot wash its hands of it simply by imposing sanctions.
He must think more realistically, and find the appropriate way to lift those sanctions, in order to improve the lives of Syrians, instead of just keeping them and saying that the world did something important to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for what he did in that war.
According to the Associated Press, the administration of US President Joe Biden has left the crisis festering.
82,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2019
Although the number of Syrians heading to Europe has decreased, compared to what it was five years ago, their numbers have gradually increased, and reached their peak last year, given the increasing suffering from difficult life conditions.
According to the Associated Press, 82,000 Syrians applied for asylum in the European Union in 2021, of whom 66,000 applied for the first time.
This is a 70% increase over last year, despite the high number of ships crashing and sinking on the high seas.
According to one of the statistics, 64% of Syrians inside the territories controlled by the Syrian government want to leave the country for another place.
Europe is now home to about a million Syrians, and there is no desire to accept more of them on the old continent.
Trips in rickety boats are the only way out of the country.
Swimming in a frozen river
The Syrian engineer (Abu Zaher - 33 years old) tried to cross into Germany from Belarus three times, but he was arrested or deported.
On his first attempt, smugglers abandoned him in a forest on the Polish border.
A few days later, the Belarusian army forced him to swim in a semi-frozen river, to cross into Lithuania.
He was arrested by border guards in Lithuania, and returned to Belarus.
On his third attempt, he made it to Poland, but was beaten by the Polish police, and again expelled into the woods.
He spent all the money he had, and suffered from exhaustion from jogging.
However, he says he will try to get to Germany at all costs, rather than go back to Syria, where there is no electricity, no basic foodstuffs, and fuel is a precious commodity.
price hike 100%
90% of Syrians live in poverty, unable to afford the necessities.
The value of the local currency decreased sharply during the past year, in parallel with the collapse of the Lebanese currency, and food prices rose by more than 100%.
The state's economy collapsed as a result of the civil war, in addition to the collapse of the banking sector in Lebanon, which led to the loss of not only the savings of the Lebanese, but also the Syrians.
But Western sanctions, which prohibit the return of all forms of reconstruction, including energy facilities and devastated cities, have exacerbated the misery of Syrians and eliminated any chance of recovery.
foreign investors
The Syrians hope that foreign investors will help them build their state, allowing them to live an acceptable life.
But this hope evaporated, when the Caesar Civilian Protection Act was imposed in June 2020. This US law threatens to impose sanctions on every American or other company, if it provides financial, material, or technical assistance to the Syrian government.
There is no dispute over the imposition of penalties on individuals who have committed crimes.
Some experts believe that the perpetrators of crimes in the Syrian war should be tried in Europe, under international jurisdiction.
But imposing Caesar's law appears controversial.
A way to alleviate the suffering of the Syrians
Some legal experts believe that a practical method must be developed to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, and to avoid the departure of large numbers of them to other countries.
They believe that there must be a more precise policy to alleviate the suffering of this people.
And if the United States wants to maintain its sanctions, as a kind of pressure on the Syrian government, this crisis will worsen with the passage of time.
But if these sanctions are lifted appropriately, and the misery of the Syrians is alleviated, it may encourage the Syrians to stay in their country.
Some time ago, the International Crisis Group recommended that the United States put concrete and realistic steps that the Damascus government and its allies must abide by, in exchange for easing sanctions.
Of course, the Syrian government will not hold all those accused of war crimes to account, nor will it release all prisoners, but it can respond to other demands if properly encouraged.
The International Crisis Group says the Syrian government could be incentivized to allow international humanitarian organizations to operate freely, to allow fleeing people to return home, and to stop air strikes on areas outside its control.
The need to clarify the positions of the West
Senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, Darren Khalifa, says that Western countries currently have a lot of influence in Syria, as a result of the military presence of the International Coalition, and these countries' control of the flow of funds for reconstruction in Syria.
But to make better use of this influence, America and the European Union need to clarify their position more, and make sure that the Damascus government will not get anything for free, and it must respond to the demands of the international community, and make some concessions, as long as they do not pose a threat to it.
Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the most vocal advocates of lifting sanctions on Syria. He says, “Syrians must be allowed to extricate themselves from despair, which means lifting these sanctions on them.
In doing so, regional investors will start operating in this country, which will lead to an improvement in the Syrian economy.”
Regional investors are eager to participate in rebuilding Syria, in exchange for the Syrian government's containment of Iran.
Biden's administration is troubled
The administration of President Joe Biden has tried to distance itself from the extreme pressure sanctions policies instituted by former President Donald Trump, but it has done nothing to benefit the Syrian people.
All it did was continue the Caesar Act, which former President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2019. Biden's Syria policy has been described as turbulent, failing to find a balance between carrots and sticks to work towards a change in the behavior of the Syrian government.
• 90% of Syrians live in poverty, and they are unable to afford to buy necessities. The value of the local currency decreased sharply during the past year.
• Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the most vocal advocates of abolishing sanctions on Syria. He says, "Syrians must be allowed to extricate themselves from despair, which means lifting these sanctions on them."
Anshal Vohra ■ is a freelance writer on the Middle East based in Beirut
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