Too often we are caught up in the geopolitics of the Syrian conflict: which countries are supporting whom, how do we navigate the complex sub-groups constituting the “rebels,” how concerned should we be with al-Qaeda and ISIS gaining influence, why did Geneva II fail to produce any significant results, and so forth. We forget that this conflict has serious and real effects on people’s lives. A new article by Annie Sparrow in the New York Review of Books is spectacular because it brings humanity back into the conflict. In particular, sheds light on a completely underreported issue in Syria that needs to be addressed immediately: a rising polio epidemic.
Those who are suffering the most from this problem are children: out of the more than 90 cases documented since last May, the average age is two years. And each victim is from an area that opposes the Assad regime, while areas loyal to the regime have not reported a single case. President Bashar al-Assad is completely to blame. Since the beginning of the civil war, he ordered the withholding of immunizations for preventable diseases in rebel areas. This is an abomination—an obvious crime against humanity. The world should be outraged.
But instead, the United Nations programs in Syria are set up in a manner that supports the regime’s agenda. Sparrow’s article points out that the UN’s current polio vaccination program is “fully orchestrated by the Syrian government, and in opposition-held areas, it is dependent on volunteers from the government-dominated Syrian Army Red Cross.” Even more troubling is the fact that the World Health Organization is going along with the Syrian government’s claims that there was no incidence of polio before October, and that there have been no new cases since October 8. They maintain, just as the Syrian government does, that the spread of the illness is under control.
Data shows that it is clearly not. By taking these positions, the UN is nothing less than an accomplice to the crime. This article should be a wakeup call to the world. It is time that we stop making it easy for Bashar al-Assad to tighten his yoke on the Syrian people. It is our responsibility to hold him accountable for his crimes. And when the time comes, it will our job to make sure that justice is served where justice is due.