ISBN 978-1-80526-411-8

Jørgen Jensehaugen

PRIO

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In this part-memoir part-historical account, Rime Allaf tells the story of how Syria was in the grip of the Assad regime until it suddenly was not. Allaf reminds us both of the deep depravity of the Assad regime and the astounding bravery of those who opposed it. All of this is far to easy to forget now that Syria’s future hangs in the balance. But it is a necessary reminder. If we fail to appreciate the exactly how repressive Hafez al-Assad was, or the corruption of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, we will be unable to understand why the demonstrations erupted in 2011. If we forget how Syrians in several rounds had dared express their dissatisfaction but had seen these attempts stamped down, we will fail to appreciate how audacious it was for demonstrators to fill the streets in those spring months in 2011. The reaction of the regime – brutal beyond imagination – dragged the country into a fourteen year long civil war. Allaf is damning in her critique of how the world failed the people of Syria. Obama’s red line against the use of chemical weapons is a clear example. On the one hand it turned out to be rhetorical, as Assad used such WMDs and got away with it, and on the other it was an almost meaningless red-line because it said nothing on the use of barrel-bombs, sieges against Syrian cities or the industrial scale torture facilities. Syria, as Allaf makes clear, will stand as a stain on the consciousness of the world. Making sure post-Assad Syria succeeds must be our common goal. That is a tall order.