A Rochester-based activist and political analyst just back from a fact-finding mission to Syria will stop by Syracuse Tuesday evening to share observations from her week-long visit. Judith Bello suggests all aspects of Syrian life seem to be struggling five years into the civil war. This was her second visit to Syria in about two years. She says one recurring theme despite the unrest is that Syria has historically been a religiously tolerant country, with different sects living in harmony. Bello has seen it on the streets…
"You see a young woman in a hijab walking hand in hand with another young woman with her hair flowing down her back, and a short skirt over a pair of tight slacks," Bello said. "So you see a lot of diversity there, and people functioning together in society."
But Bello says economically, the country is in shambles. She says it’s painfully clear that the U.S. sanctions aimed at Syria’s government have been taking their toll on the Syrian people. Bello says it’s impossible for Syrian companies to do conduct trade because they’ve been cut off from the international banking systems. and, any remaining factories are idled…
"Sophisticated technological machinery requires not just replacement occasionally, but it requires regular maintenance from the manufacturer of the machinery," Bello said. "If the manufacturer of the machinery is in Europe, then they can't get maintenance. So they have a lot of burdens on their ability to do business."
Bello says it’s also difficult to get medical supplies and equipment…from simple bandages and disinfectant…to chemotherapy drugs and dialysis filters. On the legal side, Bello says the lawyer’s syndicate in Syria is upset because they’ve been cut off from the international court system.
"Say if they wanted to take their cause to the international criminal court to complain about the fact that Saudi Arabia is sending mercenaries into their country, or Turkey has been harboring extremists over the border and allowing them to go back and forth, they are not in a position to do that because they don't have access to the international courts."
While in Syria, Bello went to the university, and found out students and faculty can’t have exchanges with Europe or the U.S.
"It wasn't safe basically for people to go back and forth, and no one would be received in the west that they were ready to advocate to go there and stay there," Bello said. "So they have lost part of the intellectual discourse that is important to them."
Bello says the U.S. has a mistaken policy on Syria that’s based on what she calls misapprehension.
"We have to let go of our prejudices about Arabs and about Syria and allow them to find their own way, because tolerance and open society is really their goal," Bello said. "We may not understand the way that they're pursuing it, but forcing them into an intolerant, sectarian mold is a big mistake."
Judith Bello will report on her visit to Syria Tuesday evening starting at 7 p.m. at the ArtRage gallery on Hawley Ave. in Syracuse. The event is free and open to the public.
