Earthquake in Syria: And again they are faced with rubble

After the earthquake, aid for the people in Syria has only started slowly. And whether it will even reach every part of the country is questionable. This is mainly due to Syria’s ruler Assad, who is using the crisis for his own purposes.

Many would not have expected that President Assad was still firmly in the saddle twelve years after the start of the Syrian civil war. Syria observer Heiko Wimmen from the International Crisis Group says: “The strategy that Assad and his Russian allies have been pursuing for years is to rehabilitate the regime.”

Assad announced years ago that he wanted to retake every inch of Syria. At that time, the Syrian civil war was in full swing – and observers in the West smiled a little at the ambitious plans of the skinny dictator with the pointed chin, who clung to power so cruelly and ironically.

Today, Assad is seen as the de facto victor of a brutal struggle against his own people that has shattered the country. “President Assad is the strongest man in Syria today,” says Lebanese military expert Amin Heteit. He managed to secure his power.

After twelve years of civil war

And with the help of his allies: Russia, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah are the Syrian President’s big supporters. Critics accuse him of cruel brutality in the civil war: non-stop bombardment of the civilian population, use of poison gas, torture. In order to secure his power, Assad and his supporters seemed to be doing everything they could. But at what price?

Twelve years of civil war have marked Syria. “We have people who are traumatized by war and displacement who live in refugee camps,” says Oliver Hochedez from Malteser International. Even before the earthquake disaster, millions of people in the country were dependent on humanitarian aid. The economy is down.

Divided Country

The country is fragmented into different spheres of power. “Four cantons make up Syria today,” says Syria observer Wimmen. Most areas are controlled by President Assad – he continues to rule Syria with an iron fist. In the northeast, the Kurds hold large areas. This is a thorn in Turkey’s side – it also controls parts of the border region with the help of militias and takes military action against the Kurds. And the Syrian opposition?

After the long years of war, it is mainly the extremist groups that are left that are in charge of the north-west in the Idlib region. Sealed off from the rest of Syria, the only way to the outside world is the Bab al Hawa border crossing in the direction of Turkey, from where UN aid has so far reached the desperately poor civilians – internally displaced persons from all over Syria who have been living in the north-west under catastrophic conditions, some of them for years. And it is precisely this region that was hit hardest by the earthquake in Syria.

north-west of Syria on their own

Hochedez from Malteser International says: “These are the people who have the least to live on and are now suffering the most from the earthquakes and the harsh winter.” The people in north-west Syria have been on their own for days, only now is there finally hope: roads have been repaired, aid supplies can reach the region from today.

In Aleppo and Damascus, on the other hand, aid planes have been landing for days – but the aid has so far apparently remained in the areas controlled by Assad, contrary to government promises.

Critics say: Assad reacted far too late after the earthquake, the rescue work got off to a slow start and international help was requested too late.

Assad uses the crisis for his own interests

And instead of helping its own people effectively during the crisis, the Syrian government is using the catastrophe for its own interests. Observers say the government is politicizing misery for Westward propaganda and militant rhetoric. Above all, there are calls for the sanctions imposed on Syria to be lifted. The EU and the US reject this. Even Syria observer Heiko Wimmen is not convinced by the Syrian government’s demands:

Power games and propaganda, critics say – the victims are the people in the earthquake zones, those buried under the rubble, for whom any help will soon come too late in Syria.