Category: Letters

• By Kene Obiezu

Sir: On the night of December 6, Syrians slept in chains and woke up the next day on the cloud, specifically on cloud 9. As rebels encircled Damascus, the country’s capital, a decades-long dynasty disintegrated.

Who was it that had to scamper down from the high horse of power in Damascus and scurry like a terrified rat, tail between his legs to Moscow? It was Bashar al-Assad, the former strong man of Syria, suddenly reduced to its fleeing scoundrel.

How Syrians wished they could have laid their bare, burning fingers on the spoiled scion of a family complicit in the ruin of one of the world’s most iconic countries, very much like Libyans did with Gaddafi in 2011.

As the volcano of freedom vaporized the barriers of the infamous Saydnaya prison, which a ruthless dictionary had turned into his personal holding pen, the prisoners, some of whom were broken by their incarceration, suddenly felt the air of freedom waft in, something they had considered impossible.

The world has also borne witness to how terminal tyranny is.

Together with his family, al-Assad has been granted asylum in Russia, a country that seems to be a magnet for all manner of illegalities and fugitives at the moment  thanks to extremely ill-informed decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022.

For long-suffering Syrians who have somehow managed albeit painfully to keep their faith through a slow disintegration of their country at the hands of a ruthless dictator who succeeded his father in infamy to serve as Russia’s pawn in the proxy war in his country, it is freedom at last.

There are definitely lessons out of Syria for the world at this time. Territorial sovereignty may be a key cog of international law and relations but in the interest of the most vulnerable of humanity, it must become impossible for dictators that have neither respect for their people nor regard for any principles to hold people to ransom in the name of dubious leadership.

Democracy has many devils driven into its details. For the impatient and impious, democracy may seem a lot of drivel, especially when there is the temptation to hasten things up.

 In the history of the world, the most enduring lessons of democracy is that the patience to build institutions, put rules in place and hold people accountable which democracy does expertly have its merits after all.

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 Without the languid but luminous lines which democracy recites to leaders and the led, haste by dictators masquerading as pragmatists would make waste of society. History is replete with such scoundrels exporting their execrable expediencies and exigencies.

For years, Syrians had watched their country’s fragile institutions come under heavy attack by al-Assad and his supporters

Now that the dynasty that destroyed everything they held dear for years has been dismantled, they have to pick the pieces and rebuild their country.

They must be determined to move on from the debris of dictatorship and rebuild their beloved country, which had the terrible misfortune of falling into the hands of a debauched leader.

The rebuild will be slow, painful and tasking, but it is necessary for the memory of Syrians killed by the regime, for the present generation of Syrians who have survived everything thrown at them and the unborn to whose magisterial promise Syria will be entrusted to.

Crucially, Syrians must remember that vigilance is the price for freedom and must be ready to pay this price. Their unflinching vigilance will protect their country and ensure that its future will become their past.

Now that Satan has finally fled Syria to Russia, another country where devils are in charge, may the long-suffering people of Syria and their many homesick exiles hit the long but luminous path to discovery and recovery.

•Kene Obiezu,

keneobiezu@gmail.com

Sir: In the annals of modern history, few nations have endured a chapter as bleak as Syria under the rule of Bashar al-Assad: Once a beacon of ancient culture and civilization, Syria has been transformed into a land of ruin, despair, and displacement. Assad’s reign, marked by authoritarianism, war, and unprecedented human suffering, is a chilling tale of power, oppression, and survival at all costs.

Bashar al-Assad was never meant to rule. Born in 1965 as the second son of Hafez al-Assad, Syria’s long-serving president, Bashar pursued a career in medicine and trained as an ophthalmologist in London. His elder brother, Basil, was the designated heir to the presidency. However, Basil’s untimely death in 1994 thrust Bashar into the political spotlight, forcing him to abandon his aspirations and step into the shadow of his father’s authoritarian legacy.

When Hafez al-Assad passed away in 2000, Bashar was swiftly elevated to the presidency. Young, soft-spoken, and Western-educated, he initially inspired hope for reform and modernization in Syria. Those hopes, however, were soon dashed as he consolidated power, silenced dissent, and maintained the oppressive structures of his father’s regime.

The turning point came in 2011, during the Arab Spring, when pro-democracy protests swept through the Middle East. Inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Syrians took to the streets to demand greater freedom and an end to corruption. Assad’s response was brutal and uncompromising. Peaceful demonstrations were met with bullets, arrests, and torture.

What began as protests escalated into a full-blown civil war, with rebel groups forming to challenge Assad’s regime. The Syrian Civil War would become one of the most devastating conflicts of the 21st century, drawing in regional and international powers and leaving the nation shattered.

The Assad regime employed every tool of oppression to cling to power. Assad’s forces targeted civilians, bombed cities, and carried out mass arrests. The infamous siege of Aleppo and the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 shocked the world. Assad manipulated Syria’s sectarian diversity, portraying himself as a protector of minorities against Sunni extremism. This strategy deepened divisions and fuelled the war.

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Russia and Iran became lifelines for Assad, providing military and economic support. Russian airstrikes and Iranian-backed militias turned the tide of the war in Assad’s favour. The regime portrayed itself as a victim of terrorism, using state-controlled media to spread its narrative and undermine opposition voices.

The statistics of Syria’s suffering are staggering: Over 500,000 people have been killed. More than 13 million Syrians have been displaced, both internally and as refugees. Entire cities, including Homs, Aleppo, and Raqqa, have been reduced to rubble. An entire generation has grown up knowing only war, with schools, hospitals, and infrastructure destroyed.

The global response to Syria’s crisis has been mired in paralysis and geopolitics. The United Nations condemned Assad’s actions but failed to take decisive action due to vetoes from Russia and China. Western powers, while supporting rebel factions, were reluctant to intervene militarily after the costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, regional powers like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran pursued their own agendas, turning Syria into a battleground for proxy wars.

Today, Syria remains a shadow of its former self. The economy is in tatters, with hyperinflation and widespread poverty. Millions of Syrians remain in refugee camps, uncertain if they can ever return home.

Bashar al-Assad’s rule will be remembered as one of the darkest periods in Syria’s history.

The end of Assad’s reign will not erase the scars left on Syria. Rebuilding the nation—physically, socially, and politically—will be a monumental task requiring decades of effort.

Bashar al-Assad’s story is not just the tale of a dictator but a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the devastating consequences of global indifference.

•Dare Adelekan,Lagos.