November 2016 Philadelphia Chapter of Pax Christi U.S.A.
Syria
The following is not a book review but some insights from an excellent book on Syria; by Janine DiGiovanni, The Morning They Came For Us. The author is a courageous woman who gives an onsite account of a vicious war with atrocities committed by all sides. The participants are a melting pot of ethnicity: Greek Orthodox, Christians, Sunni, Kurds, Shias, Alawites, Jews - and this doesn’t name all the parties to the fighting. DiGiovanni was in Syria from 2012 to 2015. She takes on a monumental task to describe the events in Syria, given the complexities and multitude of actors. The incredible violence, both by revolutionaries and other supporters of a democratic Syria and Assad’s military dictatorship are a constant. The U.S. and a host of other nations are in constant conflict with Assad’s supporters - Iraq, Russia and Iran to name a few. The United Nations has been unsuccessful in achieving a cease fire. But as of this writing, Secretary Kerry has achieved an agreement with Russia, a temporary truce in bombing. How long will that last?
There are so many parties involved; it is at times difficult to know their agendas. The common denominator on all sides has been killing, and massive violence. Deaths in Syria are judged to exceed 470,000 and over 3.9 million have fled the country
Syria became a French colony after World War 1 with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It finally gained independence from France in 1946 as a parliamentary republic. In 1963 the Arab Republic of Syria was established. In 1970 the Assad family took control and began their domination of Syria under Hafez Assad. Following Hafez’s death in 2000, his son, Bashar, took power and remains in control of the government. “In 2011 the thaw in diplomatic relations with the West came to an abrupt end as the U.S. renewed sanctions against Syria, saying that it supported terroristic groups.”
DiGiovanni writes of human interest events that give one a sense of the chaos and never ending violence that haunts the country and the vast separation of competing groups for power. Assad remains the official head of the government. There are thousands of Syrians like Nada, a loyal Syrian who with her friends sought a more democratic country. She joined the uprising in 2011 and became a carrier of medical supplies to solders of religious and revolutionary groups.
The title of the book refers to Nada realizing she is suspect by the authorities and her waiting for the morning they will come to her home leaving her father with no choice but to say good bye to her. In prison Nada received beatings, sleep deprivation fierce kicks to all her body, butts to the head, face, and kidneys. “She knew she was entering a place from which, psychologically, she could never return … The lowest depth that a human being can reach is to perform or to receive torture. The goal of the torturer is to inflict horrific pain and dehumanize another human being … By early 2012, reports began emerging of mass rape in Syria … While the crimes have been cited by both sides, they seem to be perpetrated pre- dominantly by President Assad’s men … Nada was released, after eight months and three days; a horrifically long time to be held captive and tortured ... Perhaps the worst part was that her jailers delighted in telling her that her family had been notified she was dead … The psychological torture was more terrifying than the physical abuse. She was continually threatened with rape. She could hear screaming from adjoining cells where people were being tortured which was a continuous nightmare…”
Ending with another dismal quote from the author’s conversation with a young Syrian Jewish man: “Now, several years on and with hundreds of thousands dead, something has changed irrevocably in his country. It will not return to what it was, not now, not ever. How can Syria ever be what it once was? It has been burnt alive by hatred.”
Let us pray and hope for the resurrection of Syria!
Just Peace - Not Just War
The Nonviolence and Just Peace Conference held in Rome in April was co-sponsored by The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and Pax Christi International. Eli McCarthy attended and reported for the National Catholic Reporter and he gives a good summary of this first phase of the synod.
“The vision emerging from the conference is a new and bold commitment to Jesus’ nonviolence – the centrality to the heart of the Gospel and its centrality to the life and mission of the church. One thing that flows from this is to let go of using and officially teaching the ‘just war theory’ as a Catholic approach…”
There is a need to plumb the depth of the meaning of nonviolence. The group urged Pope Francis to write an encyclical on nonviolence and no longer teach the ‘just war theory.’ Not all are on board as yet to end the use of violent force.
Eli McCarthy says it well:
“If the Catholic church were to recommit to the centrality of Gospel nonviolence and even develop a just peace approach to conflict, it would enable us to more effectively witness and draw people to Christ, to develop more effective non-violent practices to transform conflict, and to better draw the broader society, including politicians, toward less violence and more sustainable peace.”
We need to recognize the violence within ourselves and its connection to war. It could be our spouses, children, or friends who are recipients of our unconverted hearts that fail to recognize the call to love and forgiveness in our personal lives. If we love as Christ loves us, we are to put on the mind and heart of Christ which is nonviolent love of friend and enemy alike (1 Cor 2:16).
This synod is the first step of the church universal toward just peace; there are meetings and much more to come. The peacemakers who met in April provide a list of actions for Catholics to take including:
Promoting nonviolent practices and strategies in all aspects of our lives;
Incorporating these themes in our intellectual and sacramental lives;
Replacing the use and teaching of "just war theory" with a "just peace theory"; and
Continuing to advocate for the abolition of war and nuclear weapons.
The Just War criteria began with St. Augustine in the 5th century and has been the Churches’ guiding light in relation to war for 1500 years. To replace it with a Just Peace teaching will be a monumental accomplishment. Only a Pope Francis could bring it about with leaders and teachers within the Church support.
See: Just peace approach can elicit better strategies than war - Eli S. McCarthy, NCR, Aug. 24, 2016
Pray for peace!
Joe Bradley
