Syria

 I went to a dinner for Syria yesterday, well the full title was 'Middlesbrough Action for Syria'. A group of Syrian professionals had set up a charity, and this was the perfect way to fundraise, via the entrance fee and also an auction. There are not many Syrians in Middlesbrough, but it was great to see them organise such a great day. Although it was great, I do a have a few issues with how things were presented to us. We were told all money raised only goes towards food, water and medication. It was mentioned that they do not support the Free Syrian Army, and will NOT send money to them. One speaker also said no politics would be discussed, almost as if they were trying to sweep certain subjects under the rug. Why though? If you are against Assad's regime, then that means you are on the same side as the Free Syrian Army. In Libya when all the fighting was going on, anyone against Gaddafi was always on the side of the revolutionary fighters! I don't think you can be neutral in issues such as these. The mere action of sending food and medication parcels means you know the regime  (POLITICS!)  is withholding such items from members of the public, so you have taken it upon yourself to make sure these people are fed, clothed and have medication should they need it, which of course many do.

 The core of the conflict in Syria comes down to politics, so if we ignore politics, we are ignoring the problem as a whole. Bashar al-Assad and his regime are at fault here. Wouldn't it be better not to have to send parcels of essentials to the people of Syria? Why not give money to the Free Syrian Army? I don't see anyone else stepping up to fight, so they need funding in order to get better weapons, or they need someone to arm them. If Libya did not get any help in that way, we would have failed at the very beginning of the revolution, we would be just as Syria are now, more and more killings everyday. I didn't see anyone saying 'no politics, no funding the revolutionaries' in the Libya conflict, that's because we all knew if we didn't help our fighters, how would we succeed? If we didn't discuss politics, how would we succeed? You see when the Gaddafi regime was toppled, things started to get better almost immediately! NATO also had a big part to play, but I don't see them intervening in Syria anytime soon, so the only hope right now is the Free Syrian Army.