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2010 marked the beginning of a series
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of protests in the Arab world against
authoritarian regimes
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in the spring of 2011,
the rebellion also took hold in Syria.
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The regime arrested and tortured
children caught spraying graffiti.
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People took to the streets.
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In response, they demonstrated against
the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
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Bashar al-Assad has ruled the country
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with a number of competing
intelligence services.
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He inherited the system in the year 2000
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after the death of his father, Hafez,
who had come to power in a coup in 1970.
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Initial hopes for reforms under Bashar,
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who was 34 at the time,
were quickly dashed.
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The Syrian regime,
abducted and tortured many civilians.
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In the first two months alone,
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regime forces killed more
than 1000 demonstrators.
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Despite the massive use of force
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by the regime, the demonstrators
remained true to their motto.
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Silmiye, silmiye.
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Peaceful, peaceful.
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Deserters formed the Free Syrian Army,
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which conquered areas in the north
and east of Syria by 2013,
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in the liberated areas,
local councils and civil initiatives began
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taking care of the needs of local
residents, including first responders
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who rescue people buried
under rubble or injured.
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The more prominent they have become,
the more they have become a thorn
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in the side of Russia and the regime
with propaganda and lies,
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they've been trying to deprive the Syrian
white helmets of international support.
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While Assad's allies intervened on his
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side, there was no significant support
for democratic forces in Syria.
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The U.S. no longer wanted to be involved
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in the Middle East, Europe found
itself unable to act on its own.
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The words of support for freedom seekers
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have therefore been
followed by little action.
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Turkey and the Gulf states have been
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filling this vacuum with their own agenda,
the Islamist groups they mainly support
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have been gaining influence as a result,
playing right into Assad's hands.
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He has referred to the demonstrators as
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terrorists from the start and actively
has worked to radicalise the uprising.
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In March 2012, Assad accepted the six
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point peace plan of U.N.
special envoy Kofi Annan.
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It called for an end to military force
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and a peaceful transfer of power to be
negotiated in the Geneva process.
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It formed the basis
for U.N. Resolution 2254 in 2015.
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However, Russia,
as a member of the Security Council,
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has repeatedly blocked U.N. resolutions
or obstructs their implementation.
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Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah have also
been intervening in support of Assad.
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Still, the regime has
been on the defensive.
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It continues to use weapons
banned under international law.
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Assad's poison gas attacks in Ghouta
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in August 2013 claimed
more than 1200 victims,
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but a deal between Russia and the U.S.
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prevented Assad from being
held accountable.
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Starting in 2013,
the group known as Islamic State
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infiltrated the north of Syria
and proclaimed a caliphate in 2014,
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where the IS brutally ruled over
more than seven million people.
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In 2017, the IS was driven back by Arab
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forces and defeated by Kurdish forces
and the international coalition.
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As a result,
the internationally supported,
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Kurdish dominated Syrian democratic forces
control the areas east of the Euphrates.
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At the beginning of 2017,
Russia agreed on de-escalation zones
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with Iran and Turkey in what is
known as the Astana process.
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These are the areas that the regime has
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been besieging and systematically
starving for many years.
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These de-escalation zones do
not serve the purpose of peace.
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Instead, they allow the regime to focus
its war on one area at a time.
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The Russian Air Force,
which has intervened directly
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in the military conflict since 2015,
plays a leading role in these efforts.
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In 2017 2018, the regime forced one
zone after another to surrender.
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In return, Russia has tolerated Turkey's
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occupation of parts of the Kurdish regions
in Syria
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10 years after the beginning
of the conflict, the fate of the Kurdish
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regions and those east of the Euphrates
have not yet been decided.
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This accounts for 40 percent
of Syrian territory.
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More than 400.000 people have been killed,
over 130.000 have been abducted mainly
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by the regime, and they are
still missing to this day.
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More than half of the Syrian
population has fled.
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Many refugees are not prevented
from returning solely by the war.
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But due to the fear of political
persecution, the challenges are enormous.
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But many Syrians believe
in a better future.
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It is unclear how people are supposed
to overcome the grief and hatred
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and whether there can still be
a future as a united country,
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and yet the activists continue to work
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for justice and freedom
in exile in Idlib and wherever they can.
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Democratic change can begin
when Assad is no longer in power.