Some reactions to the exhibition « Voices from Syria and the region, 10 years later

It has surely not escaped you that our societies love commemorations, anniversaries and memorials of all kinds: not a month, a week without reminders of « historical » events six months, a year, 5, 10, 20, even a hundred years and more …

And this with the enthusiastic participation of leaders and their media dripping with good-natured indignation, « empathy » for the victims, and especially, above all, fine speeches about what we are allowed to think about these events and what it is better to forget: what is in store for us, but what will we suffer this next September 11, 20 years after… but of course not the memory of the death of Allende and the coup d’état in Chile on September 11, 1973.

Tribute ceremonies, such as the recent one of « March 22, 5 years later », and the reminder of terrorism can also be useful to keep the population under surveillance, when the Covid pretext will be worn out…

The signs, photos and texts « Voices from Syria and the region, 10 years later » that have recently blossomed on the squares and walls of the Brussels metro are no exception to the rule. We read such hackneyed phrases as

« One of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history

Oh, and the Yemenis, and the Rohingas, and the Venezuelans, and the Ukraine, and Rwanda, and Somalia, and Nigeria, etc., etc., all these peoples and countries that our inspired journalists have alternately elected as the « worst humanitarian crisis »?

« Syrians constitute the world’slargest population of refugees and displaced persons from a single conflict »…

Not a word of explanation on this « conflict »; this war to call things by their name; where does it come from, who had an interest in stirring it up: Westerners, Russians, Turks, Saudis, Iranians, not to mention the Israelis? However, if the conflict in Syria has its roots in the Arab Spring, somewhere in March 2011, it was quickly used by some to destroy a regime that was too independent from the Western powers. And let’s not talk about coming to the aid of populations wanting to get rid of a dictator. Dictators, such as the Saudis, have never bothered the West and the USA, nor even terrorist factions and groups, as demonstrated by the secret operation « Timber Sycamore », in which Western secret services, notably the CIA and Mossad, as well as their counterparts in the Gulf States, participated. With a budget of $1 billion per year, it consisted of supplying arms to the opponents of Bashar Al-Assad, mainly members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). But these weapons soon fell into the hands of some of the most radical groups, including a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria known as the al-Nosra Front. These deliveries continued after August 2014, helping to fuel the Islamic State Organization (ISO), which was then being fought by an international coalition, as a backlash. ⁽¹⁾

 » Fleeing their homes and countries to find refuge around the world…over 970,000 in Europe »

How many in the sinister camps of Turkey that we pay for it; how many have received their papers in our welcoming countries?

« The vast majority 5.5 million in neighbouring countries. .…

Fortunately, we cannot accept all the misery of the world, but don’t worry, poor people, we will help you!

« Behind these numbers, human lives, … resilience… moving forward and hoping for a better future »…

...Riad who thanks God for being alive, but remembers that before he had a home and land that he could work and had a comfortable life in Syria ;

…Basem who was helped in Jordan by the Norwegian Refugee Council to get access to water;

…Maria, 11 years old, Palestinian, twice expelled from Palestine and Syria where her family was refugees;

…Rasha last year in high school in Damascus when she had to flee: « Our life was good and we were happy in Syria »; etc., etc..

 » Since 2014 the European Union and its member states (including Belgium) »

Which, let’s remember, sent Belgian F16s to carry out bombing raids on Daesh positions — where civilians also live — in Syria as early as July 2016.

 » As well as Turkey and the United Kingdom have mobilized more than €2.3 billion for the European Union’s Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis to help neighboring countries. »

Great art: fuck up a country, destroy it, sell weapons and pocket the money, then become the benefactor respectful of human rights and convince the possibly skeptical European citizen of the generosity and usefulness of the EU, like this good man I met while reading these signs and who told me  » it’s good to help these poor people « …

« More than 7 million refugees and vulnerable people…benefit…from access to education, health care, clean water, protection, social assistance...

In short, everything that we destroyed and that we will rebuild, all to the benefit of our NGOs, our companies and our unemployed.

« The fund contributes to stronger social cohesion with a particular focus on women, youth and children »…

Of course these people, Syrians, do not protect their women, their children or their youth, fortunately we are here to show them how we protect our vulnerable populations…

Two figures to conclude: in 2011 the Syrian population amounted to 21 million; in 2019 to 17 million…

An extremely effective counter-poison to these nauseating commemorations and a masterful lesson in historical memory that we warmly recommend: for the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune and the Semaine Sanglante, watch the 13 fabulous episodes of « La Commune » by Henri Guillemin, reedited by « Les Mutins de Pangée.⁽²⁾