Syrian conflict needs attention after being put on the backburner
After the devastation caused by Covid-19 and a scandalous lack of progress in resolving the war, the world must start thinking about Syria again in 2021
For many of us, 2020 felt like a year in which the world stood still. Well-laid plans were put on hold, reunions with friends and families were postponed, careers took a backseat while we figured out how to take care of children and family while juggling work, and for all too many of us, personal loss that ground down our aspirations and hopes. The relief that the year is almost at an end is palpable, if only for the psychological need to turn the page on the calendar.
This collective stalemate, however, also meant that some of the most implacable conflicts in our part of the world have yet to be resolved. Though battlelines may not have shifted much (one of the few silver linings of the pandemic), people continue to suffer in purgatory, unable to resume their lives, fearful of what is to come when the guns start firing again.
No conflict illustrates this dilemma better than Syria, which despite a largely peaceful year on the military front, has grown steadily worse for its people. The crisis has claimed over half a million lives and half the country has been displaced, yet life is becoming more unbearable and more deprived, for a population that has endured a decade of war and now finds little solace in relative peace.
Bashar Al Assad largely secured military victory in Syria thanks to the backing of Russia and Iran. A series of brutal military campaigns between 2016 and 2018 allowed him to reclaim large swathes of territory that had been lost to rebels in Aleppo, the south, and in the area surrounding the capital Damascus. Only Idlib, a province bordering Turkey, and which stretches along the northern border, remained outside his grasp.
A 10-year-old Syrian boy from Raqqa, a former ISIS stronghold, just before leaving the Al Hol refugee camp to return home. AFP
The year began with a renewed push to retake parts of Idlib, which sent hundreds of thousands fleeing to the Turkish border, threatening to create a new refugee crisis. The killing of a dozen Turkish soldiers in an airstrike then prompted a major incursion by Ankara that halted and reversed the regime’s advance back in March, but added to the tensions on the border. Since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, these battle lines have largely held.
The coronavirus has ravaged Syria – despite a low official case count of just over 10,000 infections, independent reporting shows the pandemic has raged through society, both in government-controlled areas and in the destroyed environs of Idlib. The regime, which cannot afford the lockdown measures necessary to arrest the virus's spread, has sought to hide the true extent of the suffering, rather than do anything to stop it.
The plague was coupled with an economic crisis that has left the population increasingly destitute. Neighbouring Lebanon's economy, long a crucial access point for foreign currency and a place for Syrians to deposit their savings, collapsed. Syria's economy also suffered, with poverty and unemployment increasing, access to food declining, and fuel becoming increasingly scarce. Long bread and diesel fuel lines are common.
The economic situation has been worsened by stalled reconstruction efforts. The US Caesar Act sanctions imposed extremely tight restrictions on any business dealings in the country, making it impossible for companies and nations that wanted to continue being part of the global financial system to operate there. The impossibility of reconstruction efforts has made an economic recovery, as a consequence of Mr Al Assad's military victory, largely a pipe dream.
A priest of the Chaldean Church leads the Christmas morning mass at a church in Aleppo. Many will hope, yet again, that a new year brings better news for the country. AFP
Despite the Syria conflict largely standing still this year, life for the country's people has grown steadily worse
Yet even as things got steadily worse for the population, there was no progress on a peace settlement. A constitutional committee established under UN auspices has done little to advance its goal of drafting a new charter for the country. Nor have negotiations involving the main international protagonists in the country, Russia, Iran and Turkey, created any openings for peace, largely because they are mostly interested in pursuing self-serving agendas.
The only cause for optimism has been from outside the country. While hope withers that those responsible for the gravest atrocities of the war will ever be held to account, European courts have begun prosecuting some of the country's war criminals. In Germany, police this year arrested two doctors on suspicion of taking part in torturing political detainees, while two intelligence officers, who were charged with crimes against humanity for their role in the torture, killing and rape of detainees, also stood trial.
There is little basis for hope that in 2021 there might be a resolution to the crisis in Syria. Perhaps the new administration in the US will take an interest after a decade of turning an eye away from the slaughter, and use the leverage of sanctions to push a peace plan in earnest. Perhaps the 10-year anniversary will offer a stark reminder and an impetus for global action to solve the crisis. Then again perhaps the stalemate will continue, relegated to the backs of our minds by the absence of urgency and immediate violence.
But whatever happens, Syrians can ill afford another lost year of desperation.
Kareem Shaheen is a veteran Middle East correspondent in Canada and a columnist for The National
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024. It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine. Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages]. The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts. With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians. Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved. Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world. The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Volvo ES90 Specs
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Red flags
Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
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Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Total fights: 32 Wins: 28 Wins by KO: 26 Losses: 4
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
