It’s shocking to see what once felt impossible change so suddenly. Over the last few days, I’ve seen Syrian political prisoners run freely through the streets for the first time in decades as people celebrate the end of the Assad regime. Syrians in exile talk about returning home for the first time. I can’t help but feel joyful with them. How can I not, when the right of return is something I wish for my people every day? But like clockwork, the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes and land grabs, continuing their long history of destabilizing the region for their own interests.
Don’t be fooled by the U.S. and Israel’s celebrations over Assad’s fall — they are exploiting Syria for their own interests, not for the Syrian people’s future. U.S. intervention in Syria is entirely undemocratic, bombing under the guise of "security," while Israel airstrikes and land grabs, utterly disregards Syria’s sovereignty. Syrians deserve to rebuild and decide their own future free from imperialist intervention, but propaganda, occupation, and air strikes rob Syrians of their ability to do so.
We’ve seen this playbook before: U.S. invasions in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan have only left destruction and instability. In Syria, Assad’s violence has been compounded by years of foreign meddling, sanctions by the U.S. and its allies, and airstrikes. The hypocrisy is clear — while claiming to want stability, U.S. and Israeli bombs fuel suffering and chaos. The same propaganda that justifies Israel's genocidal bombing in Gaza is now being used to justify bombing Syria. As we watch events in Syria unfold, we must resist propaganda by the war machine, stay grounded in anti-imperialist, feminist values, and not forget about the people of Gaza.
We must oppose U.S. intervention in Syria and demand the U.S. immediately stop bombing Syria, remove U.S. troops, and lift U.S. sanctions which are exacerbating an already difficult situation for the Syrian people. The U.S. has sowed chaos in Syria and the entire region for years and the Biden Administration ordering ongoing airstrikes is a disappointing sign that you have no intent on reversing your deadly policy of interventionism. The recent airstrikes are a reckless escalation in a region already destabilized by decades of harmful U.S. policies. .
My best friend is Syrian, and her jido (grandfather) has been living in exile in the U.S. for decades. He spends all his free time watching videos of his hometown in Syria. He gave up on the idea of ever returning home and seeing his family a long time ago. But a few days ago, he mentioned returning to Syria for the first time. While I’m bracing myself for what’s to come, never giving up on your homeland is something I can understand.
I can’t help but have hope — not in any specific group or government, but in the renewed conviction of the people across the SWANA region. Maybe that’s crazy, but the world we have been living in is far crazier. We always knew endless conflict wasn’t sustainable, but now, I find myself eager for what’s next — perhaps naively. I understand the sense of relief Syrians feel, like they’re breathing freely for the first time in decades. I hold onto the hope that we live in a world where imperialism can be defeated in the future. Our job is to keep inspiring that hope into action — and that starts by holding the U.S. accountable for their interference world-wide.
Nour Jaghama is CODEPINK’s Palestine Campaigner. Nour graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies in June 2022. She has been advocating for Palestinian liberation for over 5 years, including organizing within her university. She also organizes around related issues, such as abolition.
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