{"id":17576,"date":"2013-05-01T01:56:25","date_gmt":"2013-05-01T00:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/?p=17576"},"modified":"2013-05-01T01:57:02","modified_gmt":"2013-05-01T00:57:02","slug":"who-will-protect-the-syrian-majority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/2013\/05\/who-will-protect-the-syrian-majority\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will protect the Syrian majority ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Foreign governments, especially the United States, have been vocal advocates for the protection and safety of minorities in Syria. But many Syrians can\u2019t help but feel that the international community does so at the risk of missing the big picture. Of course minorities are in danger\u2014 all Syrians are in danger. This Friday, peaceful demonstrators across Syria rallied together on the specially dedicated \u201cFriday for the protection of the majority.\u201d Their point is simple, but profound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Western concerns over dangers to Syria\u2019s minorities are well-founded and the UN has\u00a0<\/span><\/span>attested<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to the sectarian dimensions of the conflict. Militias often target recruitment by sect and fears of violence arise out of ethnic identifications, though not as definitively nor as homogeneously as many writers portray. Narratives of victimization have also focused on religious identities, as in in a recent statement by the American Center for Law and Justice\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>asking<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria \u201cto pay particular attention to the \u2018vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities.\u2019\u201d The statement was couched within a larger appeal for the general\u00a0<\/span>well-being\u00a0and safety of all Syrians, and there is little to fault in the passionate document. What is dangerous, however, is privileging minority narratives at the expense of recognizing the full scope of the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

The apparent disconnect between international concern for Syrian minorities and broader inaction contributed to last week\u2019s \u201cFriday for the protection of the majority.\u201d The\u00a0<\/span><\/span>rallies<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>, which took place in communities across the country, were only the latest in a tradition of dedicating peaceful Friday demonstrations to emphasize a message nationally and to broadcast it the international community.<\/span>One sign<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>from the rally pointedly asked, \u201cDoes protection of the minorities mean extermination of the majority?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Another sign<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>depicted the international community dictating to massacred Syrians that, \u201cWe want guarantees from you for the protection of minority rights.\u201d The caption pleaded, \u201cWho will protect the Syrian majority?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the international communities\u2019 insistence on protecting minorities could further marginalize minority populations. The emphasis on \u201cprotection for minorities\u201d is making the minorities look, in the eyes of some Syrians, partly \u201cresponsible\u201d for what is going on. The more the international community heightens this focus on minorities, repeating the theme at conferences and in statements, the more vulnerable some minorities may feel in their communities while the conflict continues. Worse, many Syrians worry that such minority-centric logic risks playing right into Bashar Al Assad\u2019s hands. The self-styled \u201cdefender of minorities\u201d has excelled in deftly using rhetoric to fan sectarian narratives and has sought to tie associations of Alawite identity to the regime. He even\u00a0<\/span><\/span>proclaimed<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in a recent interview that, \u201cI am an Arab and a Muslim, an Arab and a Christian.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In reality, it is complicated, if not impossible, to paint a precise picture of how the conflict affects Syrians along sectarian and religious lines. Despite its title,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>this article from the Atlantic<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>presents a fuzzy picture of religious dimensions without generalizable distinctions, quoting one Christian man saying, \u201cI have no problem with Jabhat Al-Nusra, is better than Bashar [al-Assad] 100 times.\u201d Another Christian says, \u201cWe don\u2019t know about the fighting groups. All we want is the fighting to stop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Protecting \u201cthe majority\u201d isn\u2019t about the country\u2019s predominantly Sunni population\u2014 it\u2019s about focusing justice and accountability efforts on what matters. It is not only minorities that have been victimized, but Syrians from all backgrounds. Scud missiles, car bombs, chemical weapons, bullets, and shrapnel do not see the world along ethnic lines<\/span>\u2014<\/span>\u00a0and most of the time the perpetrators of violence don\u2019t either. When crimes are committed, it can be useful to understand the possible sectarian dimensions, but this is surely secondary to establishing the evidence that can point to the victim, the culprit, and the damage done. From there, healing can begin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Signup to receive the SJAC\u2019s Weekly Updates<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0he<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a>re<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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#previous #articles #videos #minority rights #humanrights<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foreign governments, especially the United States, have been vocal advocates for the protection and safety of minorities in Syria. But many Syrians can\u2019t help but feel that the international community does so at the risk of missing the big picture. Of course minorities are in danger\u2014 all Syrians are in danger. This Friday, peaceful demonstrators […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17576"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deinayurveda.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}