The revolts in the Middle East are not new, but the current conflict in Syria started with the uprisings in different Arab countries in North Africa in 2011, has intensified. The importance of this country in the stability (or the opposite) of the area is key, in fact - in the opinion of the writer Hussein Ibish - "in Syria, everything is at stake, including the future of the Middle East."
It is a country whose inhabitants belong to several religious communities, and whose opposing sides are violently confronted: we have all heard of the Assad leader (belonging to the dominant dynasty since the 1970s), and of the 'rebels'.
We know that in the wars the civilian population, hospitals and culture are targets of the attacks, but in Syria things are happening that make us put our hands to the head. Our daily life is reduced to the most immediate environment, and in the West we tend to be quite 'embedded' with the progress we make, and also (of course) with the economic crisis we suffer. But nevertheless 'Are our health cuts comparable with the fact that 30 months ago premature babies died in Hama (in western Syria) due to the cut in the electricity supply? And if we did not know this fact, surely the case of Rena sounds to us, that four-year-old girl who died a few days ago in Aleppo due to a bullet she received on the cheek while at home. After being taken to a rebel hospital, and subsequently treated in two hospital centers of the regime, she died, becoming a symbol of barbarism.
I I refuse to get used to this kind of news, I can hardly admit that cruelty has no limits, because in this country armed groups enter hospital wards and shoot inmates. But even more intolerable it turns out that the Syrian regime recruits children for war, also using them as human shields (although it is not new for minors to be used in this way)
According to the independent international organization 'Human Rights Watch', it is estimated that since the conflict began in February 2011, 1176 children have died in Syria because of the war (this information is from last June)
A conflict of these characteristics is very difficult to understand in all its dimensions, and even more to explain. Though a biased view of hospital care during conflict, shows us families who are afraid to take their children to government hospitals because they fear reprisals, and on the other hand private hospitals that are unable to attend to everyone who arrives at their doors (whether children or adults). It all depends on what area the establishment is located, and an example of this we have in Dar alShifa, which has seen reduced supplies for being located in rebel territory.
And a priori, if I had to choose examples of people with courage able to fight for the true ideals that ennoble the human being, I would opt for doctors who in clandestine hospitals fight every day to provide the best possible care for children. Without the right instruments (and with hardly any medication), they can only go with the pain and watch over death, although sometimes they hope to send some wounded to Lebanon. Can you imagine how it should be to receive entire families with shrapnel wounds while the center where you attend to the victims presents multiple impacts caused by the weapons?
Unfortunately, the evolution of Syria is very uncertain, there are too many interests at stake, and many factors that are interspersed. But abuse of power against families and contempt for the rights of children is a common denominator in conflicts of this kind.
