The World At War

     It is so easy for us to ignore the pain and suffering.  It is half a world away, even though the images are before our eyes on our TV and computer screens.  But it is easy to argue that the Syrian civil war has become a "world event"; it certainly is at the center of the Middle East chaos and threatens to engulf the most powerful governments of the world.  We are certainly seeing the strife and tension that it is inflicting upon the consciences of our world leaders.

    Even if we, the American people, are having a hard time deciphering what the truth of the situation is ... who exactly are the "good" guys and "bad" guys? ... there is no doubt that the Syrian people themselves are paying the price.  While the superpowers jockey for position and the radical terrorists take advantage of the chaos, several million Syrians have been displaced from their homes.
     Refugee camps in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are overflowing with refugees --- and half of them are children.  They have witnessed atrocities by both their government and those who claim to be fighting on their behalf, but as I said before, it is unclear what the motives of either side are.  No longer can we trust photos or videos to tell us the truth.  Chemical weapons have been used; but by whom, and are the death tolls accurate, or have the images been staged?  It is a sad state of affairs that people all over the globe cannot ascertain the truth.
     All that the children know is that their lives have been disrupted by death and violence; and much of it before their very eyes.  The Syrian children can no longer count on their parents to protect them from the bombings and the attacks; if their parents are even still alive.  Their communities have been destroyed, schools no longer exist and if they are lucky, they have been able to escape to live in a refugee camp.
     It doesn't take a clinical psychologist to tell you that these children will suffer long-term affects from what they have witnessed.  The emotional trauma will be great, as will the risk that these children will grow up believing there is no justice in the world.  That provides a strong breeding ground for future generations of fanatical fighters.  
     It just seems so sad to me that while the UN and world leaders continue with their diplomatic wrangling and sword rattling, over 93,000 Syrians have died in the conflict.  I know that this is what happens in civil wars.  They are bloody and violent; we suffered through our own.  But when you combine the evolution of weapons of war, dictatorships at stake, and religious extremism, you no longer have armies lined up against each other.  You have an entire population of people caught in the middle of a battle for power --- and a generation of children, subjected to the misery and hardships of refugee camps, who may well lose their country and their identity.  Pray for the children.

Psalm 144:1-2     Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.