As I was reading this article I kept thinking about the new orgs & institutes that have been formed by diaspora Syrians who oppose the government — most of which *claim* to be advocates for Christians, Alawites, & minorities in general (with figures like Sally Obied working for them now). These groups, which I believe are funded by UAE & Israel & groups in western states, have been lobbying the US & EU to place sanctions back on Syria, to hurt the government, who they imply or outright claim are a threat to all minorities — totally ignoring the nuanced situations & intercommunal dynamics that you often right about.
And I kept thinking about how those groups, and what they advocate (sanctions) are taking the exact WRONG approach, because they aim to make the economic situation even harder for all Syrians, while claiming the problems lay in the Sunni religious ideology of the gov administration rather than focusing on the real issues, like economic dispair & transitional justice. I'd suggest to them to actually speak with people, as you have, but Im pretty sure they act in bad faith, and only want the government to fail, rather than actually improve anything.
Yes, there's a huge disconnect and it should raise a red flag for any western official or policymaker who hears this from organizations claiming to represent minority rights. Quite literally every single Alawi and Christian person I have met with inside Syria has told me they oppose sanctions - this includes many people who hate the current government. I once asked an Alawi activist in rural Jableh (who hates the government and wants it to change) what he thought about the Alawi organizations in the west advocating for sanctions, and he simply replied, "let them come here and live like us for one day and then see what they say."
As I was reading this article I kept thinking about the new orgs & institutes that have been formed by diaspora Syrians who oppose the government — most of which *claim* to be advocates for Christians, Alawites, & minorities in general (with figures like Sally Obied working for them now). These groups, which I believe are funded by UAE & Israel & groups in western states, have been lobbying the US & EU to place sanctions back on Syria, to hurt the government, who they imply or outright claim are a threat to all minorities — totally ignoring the nuanced situations & intercommunal dynamics that you often right about.
And I kept thinking about how those groups, and what they advocate (sanctions) are taking the exact WRONG approach, because they aim to make the economic situation even harder for all Syrians, while claiming the problems lay in the Sunni religious ideology of the gov administration rather than focusing on the real issues, like economic dispair & transitional justice. I'd suggest to them to actually speak with people, as you have, but Im pretty sure they act in bad faith, and only want the government to fail, rather than actually improve anything.
Yes, there's a huge disconnect and it should raise a red flag for any western official or policymaker who hears this from organizations claiming to represent minority rights. Quite literally every single Alawi and Christian person I have met with inside Syria has told me they oppose sanctions - this includes many people who hate the current government. I once asked an Alawi activist in rural Jableh (who hates the government and wants it to change) what he thought about the Alawi organizations in the west advocating for sanctions, and he simply replied, "let them come here and live like us for one day and then see what they say."