“In international conflicts, the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about themselves. […] But the day has passed for superficial patriotism. He who lives with untruth lives in spiritual slavery. Freedom is still the bonus we receive for knowing the truth.” Martin Luther King, April 1967
Four years after Reverend Martin Luther King had his renowned dream, he addressed the congregation at Riverside Church, New York, with a heavy heart. The United States of America was in the midst of its involvement in the three-decade-long Vietnam War, sending half a million troops to the country to fight and using high explosives and toxic chemicals against civilians, including the infamous napalm manufactured by DOW Chemical Company. By the time the war ended, the number of dead was “beyond counting”. Dr King pointed out just how murky the reasons for war were, the truth of which took years to emerge from behind the official deceit. Like Syria, Vietnam reminds us that there is nothing new about ‘fake news’, which has been vociferously deployed in the rivalry between world powers.
In many ways the Vietnam War was the start of a new, counter-cultural anti-war movement in the west. But half a century later, the response of many anti-war proponents to Syria has been deeply disturbing, rooted in dated notions of Cold War loyalties that fail to appreciate the highly evolving, interconnected and polarised world of politics. This has manifested in a range of responses, from outright simplification that dismisses untold humanitarian suffering through a simple ‘west vs. anti-west’ formulation, to hesitating ineffectually in the morally vacuous zone of ‘complexity’. The anti-war movement and many branches of the British Left stand upon the precipice, and have failed to state clearly and decidedly that the Syrian people’s right to survival and self-determination is a priority.
These failures are not unique to the Left, but follow a pattern of general inaction that has seen numerous grave human rights violations carried out across the globe. The British media and leading politicians have barely remarked upon the atrocities of the civil war in South Sudan, a state which has been riddled with vast bloodshed since its independence in 2011. The past year has also borne witness to heightened violence against the ‘stateless’ Rohingya, a calculated annihilation legitimised by Aung San Suu Kyi. What the conflict in Syria adds to the inaction is proof that we can witness indiscriminate killings and chemical weapon attacks in real time through social media, and yet feel utterly powerless if international leaders and key institutions do not take action – or are, in fact, complicit.
The Left has a proud historic tradition of being at the forefront of many anti-imperialist struggles from Vietnam to Iraq, traditionally leading the opposition to foreign wars proposed by their governments. Yet on Syria, the usually loquacious Left seems to have lost its voice. It is not only the restrained criticism of aggression committed under the sponsorship of Putin’s Russia – often voices on the Left appear to falter as mounting war crimes present themselves in a tide of incontrovertible evidence. This silence has led to a moment of deep hypocrisy.
As the British Labour Party returns to its popular left-leaning roots, it must counter this, especially under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn who has historically been a staunch anti-war figure – most recently shedding light on UK weapons sales to Saudi Arabia which are explicitly being used to destroy thousands of lives and vital infrastructure in Yemen. During the week that the world watched aghast at the biblical destruction of Aleppo, Corbyn’s six questions to Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions were all based on social care. It was a strong political performance no doubt, but one that missed the severe humanitarian situation in Aleppo. It isn’t a secret that Corbyn’s dominant anti-war credentials attracted many to the Labour party, and his double win against all odds came from the large scale mobilisation of voters disenfranchised by a hawkish political establishment. With his position on Syria, he risks alienating anti-war activists, many Syrians, and segments of British society seeking real political change through the Left.
More problematically, Stop the War Coalition’s spokesperson Chris Nineham used his slot on the Today programme to refuse to call a protest against Russia’s actions, concluding amid the bombardment that our task remains “opposing the west”. Not only is this a betrayal of the Syrian people by the Left at a time when they needed every ounce of support, it is a potentially suicidal blindness to the fact that we live in a world where grand global ambitions supplant marginalised voices. Founded by the late Tony Benn, Stop the War has been at the forefront of anti-war lobbying and has a moral responsibility to stand up for the innocent, especially if it does not want to lose its role as a credible organisation.
In a month when Putin’s greatest international friend, Donald Trump, will take up residence in the White House, the shifting dynamics of this new world cannot be ignored. The Left must be seen as a moral force that champions humanitarian values unequivocally, and it must call out whosoever seeks to damage the human rights and self-determination of a people.
To help the victims of the Syrian crisis here in Britain, you can:
1. Search for an active and trusted charity in Syria and provide a donation. The International Rescue Committee, Karam Foundation, Syria Relief, Islamic Relief UK, Preemptive Love Coalition and MSF UK are among those on the ground providing emergency relief and long-term support.
2. Search for an active and trusted charity to volunteer your time with. Help Refugees UK are currently looking for volunteers to travel to Greece.
3. Support refugee resettlement in the UK by searching for voluntary work with refugee communities. If you are willing to foster an unaccompanied refugee child, please contact your Local Government Association or Home for Good. If you speak Arabic, you can also offer translation services for aid organisations.
Image from: http://bit.ly/2iQNDr0