It’s the most gut-wrenching tragedy on the global theatre of war right now. From 7-year-old Bana Alabed, who has been positioned as a modern-day Anne Frank, to devastating pictures of children affected by the fighting, portraits and stories from the conflict in Aleppo, Syria.
But how and when did it all begin? What led to the constant airstrikes and the endless, bruising battles? A video from Fairfax Media offers some perspective, tracing the events back to the Arab Spring in 2011. Of course, this is the Western gaze, and, as a lot of recent commentary has pointed out, there is another perspective on the conflict too.
This video starts with a message from the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, castigating Syrian president Bashar Hafez al-Assad and his allies on December 13. She asked, “Are you truly incapable of shame? Is there literally nothing that can shame you? Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin?”
Starting with the Arab Spring demonstrations in Damascus to the current crisis in Aleppo, it’s been a battle that, no matter which side you are on, has led to the slaughter of innocents.
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