In March 2011, a seemingly small act of defiance in the
southern Syrian city of Daraa sparked an uprising that would unravel the Assad
regime and ignite a brutal civil war. The incident was triggered by the arrest
of 15 children, aged between 10 and 15, for writing anti-government graffiti.
What began as a local protest in Daraa quickly escalated into a nationwide
revolution that would span over a decade.
Atef Najib, the head of Political Security in Daraa and a
cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, could not have predicted that his
decision to arrest these young protesters would become the catalyst for one of
the most significant uprisings in the region. Had Najib acted more wisely,
perhaps the Assad family’s grip on power could have endured longer. Instead,
the harsh crackdown on children’s simple acts of rebellion fanned the flames of
revolution across Syria.
The political climate in Syria had been gradually heating
up, influenced by the revolutions that had already swept through Tunisia,
Egypt, Yemen, and Libya—countries where people rose up against long-standing
authoritarian regimes. In Syria, any action perceived as challenging the regime
was met with extreme force. On March 6, 2011, the same day the children were
arrested, their parents went to the police station to demand their release.
Instead of being met with compassion, they were met with mockery. One officer
suggested that the parents should simply “make more children” if they wanted
them, underscoring the brutal and dismissive nature of the government’s
response.
The injustice sparked widespread outrage. On March 18, 2011,
a protest erupted in Daraa demanding the release of the children. The response
from the authorities was violent, with the police opening fire on the crowd,
killing at least four protesters. The violence fueled even greater anger,
leading to further demonstrations and the burning of key regime symbols, such
as the Ba’ath Party headquarters and the Syrian telecommunications building
owned by Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad’s cousin.
As protests spread to other cities, including Damascus, the
situation rapidly escalated into a full-blown revolution. What began as calls
for political reform soon turned into demands for the overthrow of the Assad
regime. Over the course of the following years, the situation in Syria spiraled
into a devastating civil war, leaving the country in ruins.
By the time the dust settled from the initial protests,
Syria had lost more than 1,000 lives due to police brutality. Over 13 years,
the death toll would skyrocket to over half a million people, including 164,000
civilians, 25,000 of whom were children, and 343,000 combatants. Furthermore,
half of Syria’s 23 million citizens were displaced from their homes, becoming
refugees in neighboring countries or internally displaced within Syria itself.
The Syrian revolution was part of a wider wave of protests
known as the Arab Spring, which saw uprisings across the Arab world. Unlike the
revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, Syria’s struggle would last
much longer, taking 13 years to finally bring down the Assad regime that had
ruled the country for over 40 years.
Bashar al-Assad, who had trained to become an
ophthalmologist in London, became president in 2000 after the death of his
father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for nearly three decades. Despite a
law that required presidential candidates to be at least 40 years old, the
Syrian parliament amended the law, lowering the age requirement to 34, which
allowed Bashar to take power.
Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, was a key figure in Syria’s
military and political history. He rose to prominence through his connections
with the Ba’ath Party and became the Minister of Defense in 1966. After a coup
in 1970, Hafez became president and solidified his power through the use of the
military, secret police, and harsh repression of political opponents. His
regime was notorious for its brutality, including the use of torture,
imprisonment, and execution to silence dissent.
One of the most notorious acts of repression under Hafez’s
rule occurred in the 1980s, when the Muslim Brotherhood launched an uprising in
the city of Hama. Hafez responded by bombing the city for weeks, killing an
estimated 20,000 people and leveling much of the city. This event became one of
the most infamous examples of state violence against civilians in modern Arab
history.
Hafez al-Assad’s approach to governance also included a
system of control through security forces, collectively known as the
mukhabarat. These agencies, which had 22 branches and employed thousands of
full-time agents, were tasked with monitoring every aspect of Syrian life. The
mukhabarat kept the Syrian population in a constant state of fear and
suspicion.
The repression continued under Bashar al-Assad, though
initially, there was hope that he would bring reform to the country. However,
Bashar quickly proved to be as authoritarian as his father, maintaining the
family’s tight grip on power. When protests broke out in Daraa in 2011, Bashar’s
regime responded with violence, further escalating the conflict.
In the chaos that followed, Syria also faced threats from
extremist groups, particularly the Islamic State (ISIS). Originally a remnant
of al-Qaeda in Iraq, ISIS took advantage of the civil war to expand its
influence and controlled large swaths of Syrian territory, including the city
of Raqqa, which became its self-declared capital. The group’s reign of terror
left thousands dead, and it wasn’t until the international coalition, led by
the United States, intervened that ISIS was finally pushed out of Syria.
The story of the Assad regime and its brutal crackdown on
its own people is not just one of political tyranny but also of a nation’s
descent into chaos. From the streets of Daraa to the halls of power in
Damascus, Syria’s revolution marked the beginning of a new chapter in the
country’s troubled history. As the civil war continues, the country remains
deeply divided, with millions of people displaced and countless lives lost.
The Assad regime, once thought to be invincible, has been
shaken to its core, though it remains in power—largely through support from
Russia and Iran. But the legacy of the revolution, and the suffering of the
Syrian people, will continue to haunt the regime for years to come. The story
of Daraa’s children and their role in sparking the revolution is one of
courage, sacrifice, and the enduring desire for justice in the face of
overwhelming oppression.
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