Prolonged crisis widens gap among Syrian people

The longer the current crisis in Syria lingers, the wider the gap grows among the Syrian people, as the topic of who is with and who is against the government has become the main talk of the country. The 15-month bloody unrest continues with no foreseeable end so far. It began as peaceful protests, but is getting more complicated and intractable with every single day that passes.

The majority of the Syrian families, at least in the capital Damascus, have members who are against the government and others supporting it.

The people backing the government neither trust any new comers nor believe in their means to seize power and drive out the current administration by force. They believe that all that the country needs is reform without dragging the country into chaos in order to get freedom.

The people against the government have from the beginning opposed its crackdown policy towards the anti-government movement. They say that the government could have handled it differently had it tried from the very beginning to channel people’s anger rather than oppress it. Those opponents have sparks in their eyes and they laugh with cynicism and revenge every time the government is condemned by Western powers over the ongoing violence.

Most of the families’ quarrels start when they gathers around the TV to watch what is going on, some want to watch the pan-Arab satellite TV channels, which tend to highlight the negative and passive aspects of the conflict and opinions of the hard-line opposition, while others want to watch the official and pro-government channels that also tend to assuage the grave concerns of people and instill trust and hope in the Syrian administration’s ability to overcome the turmoil.

“My brother-in-law has stopped coming to our house, simply because we are not sharing his point of view over what is going on! ... He is totally against the government and he knows that we are not like that,” 30-year-old Mohammad said with anger.

“He didn’t even call me to wish me happy birthday,” he added. “When my sister came with him to visit us, she would tell our mother in whisper while she kissed her on the cheek to switch the channel and not to get into political matters while he is there,” Mohammad said.

Many similar stories are being told about family disputes over different points of view, however those small and in some cases ridiculous brawls are becoming bigger and more serious division in the society, given the complexity mix of the Syrian people, who comprises a dozen of beliefs and sects.

These fights have turned into armed confrontations and crimes in many areas, specially the areas that have a variety of sects and searing anti-government attitude.

Opposition protesters have become more reclusive in their own circles and look in disdain to the government supporters, who are for their part also look down on the protesters as ignorant mob, who are taking the country into a muddy future. The escalation of the Syrian crisis to an all-out civil war is something a lot of analysts and human rights officials have warned of, especially after the recent massacre in the central village of Houla that claimed the lives of more than 100 people, almost half of them were children.

The carnage’s circumstances are still murky with the government and the opposition trading barbs over it. The international community, however, has blamed the carnage on the army and a pro-government shadowy militia allegedly comprises a number of ex- security agents and mercenaries from the ruling Alawite minority, an offshoot of Islam.

Houla, a cluster of villages, mostly Sunni, located some 25 km West of Homs city, has emerged as the tipping point in Syria’s 15- month unrest. A barrage of international condemnation rained down on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the bloodbath in Houla.

Courtesy: Xinhua