John Jamil Kallas (he/him) /
Salon Syria /
Beirut, Lebanon /
As the conditions suffered by the Syrian people have continually been exacerbated by the local, regional, and global ruling classes for the past decade, one cannot help but reflect on the inevitability of death. What does it mean to live in a land of constant suffering? And, more importantly, what does it mean to avoid death by one weapon when there are dozens more charging to strike the final blow?
No one was left untouched by the war in Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the war and even more were displaced both internally and externally. Those who were able to continue living in their homes had to sit idly by and watch their country descend into ruin by a mix of forces they had no involvement with or control over, leaving them subject to the whims of whoever held the most power over their area. Of course, the physical violence of war—guns, bombs, etc., —eventually died down as the Syrian government slowly reaffirmed their control over most of the country. Of course, as Walter Rodney has documented in his history of Africa, violence becomes a presupposition for underdevelopment in the Third World. That is when the country truly begins to die.
The allegedly “post-war” reconstruction of Syria was not focused on rebuilding homes, hospitals, and infrastructure. Instead, the Syrian government, in their continued coordination with the Syrian bourgeoisie, focused their reconstruction efforts specifically on revitalizing the Syrian economy in service of the rich to maintain the state’s FIRE economy while leaving the poor and displaced floating in water alone. Underdevelopment, however, has not just been a domestic process in Syria. The global economy has been weaponized by the Western world powers against Syrians, as it has been used against Iraqis, Iranians, Cubans, and many others in the Third World, as a way to exacerbate their suffering by way of sanctions.
Working at Salon Syria has allowed me to read on and develop my own analysis on the current situation in the country. At the same time, hearing about the conditions of my own family in the country has allowed me to ground that analysis in the reality of my people, making it clear that the suffering of Syrians in the country has been the product of imperialist violence and insufficient domestic governance. Initially, the sanctions caused intense famine throughout the country, and food became more and more scarce as access to equipment required to develop and reconstruct Syrian agricultural infrastructure was cut off. The national economy suffered doubly alongside the global economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the suffering feels as if it has reached a climax; COVID-19 has been spreading like wildfire in Syria, and the conditions of a destructive war, poorly allocated reconstruction, and international sanctions have converged into a truly devastating situation. Hospitals, few and far between, have little access to the technology they need to handle a pandemic, and even COVID-19 tests are not available in Syria due to the sanctions.
In Syria, if you survive militaristic violence, you might die from the violence of displacement. Even if you are able to stay in your home during the war, you might lose your job and starve due to an economy and reconstructive efforts that take no consideration for the working class. If you are able to feed yourself, you might still lack access to life-saving technology that could help you survive the pandemic.
It is clear that the situation in Syria is one that has been underdeveloped in an interesting way, as much of the Middle East, especially Iraq, has experienced in recent years. Syrian labor in Syria does not profit the local, regional, or global ruling classes. What is profitable is control over the area of Syria and its government. Underdevelopment has been designed to control not Syrians but the body of Syria itself. Thus, the situation in Syria is a necropolitical one; it has not only constructed the rigid conditions that decide one’s death but also makes premature death almost inevitable for all but the ruling class of Syrians.