© Eva Bartlett
Although the West has waged 10 years of war on Syria, and there is much destruction, the entire country isn't in ruins and the pulse of life continues, albeit strangled by brutal Western sanctions.
After Eastern Ghouta's liberation in 2018, the Western media predictably went silent on the return of internally displaced Syrians and the rebuilding that had occurred. Today, in towns in the region outside the capital Damascus, behind dusty, battered metal shop shutters, I saw glossy new windows and even more rebuilding than I had when I was here in 2018.
In Douma, I saw lovely, smiling children, excited to practice their English with me. Given that they were born during the war and lived under the
horrifically savage rule of the rebel groups Jaysh al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman, and their co-terrorists, their exuberance was remarkable. The traumas they endured they have either deeply buried within or miraculously healed from.
Since both the media and leaders in the West made such a big deal over the
Douma chemical hoax, it was particularly rewarding to see life in the streets again.
Comment:
Too late for these female athletes, but it appears that commons sense is beginning to reassert itself, at least at the state level. Not so much internationally.