Human Rights Watch: Syria, Covid-19 & the power of storytelling

We spoke to Sara Kayyali, Syria Researcher at Human Rights Watch, who shares about their latest work, the potential impact of Covid-19 on Syrian civilians and what part For Sama can play in the Human Rights Watch mission…

What do you see as the biggest issues on the ground in Syria right now, as the threat of Coronavirus outbreaks loom?

A decade of conflict and human rights violations have not been easy for the country to deal with, and Covid-19 and an unprecedented economic crisis have exacerbated people’s suffering on the ground.

As I discuss below, the Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on the systemic fractures in Syria borne out of a failure to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. It has also made it all the more urgent that these issues be addressed urgently – including the debilitating impact of destruction of essential civilian infrastructure by the Russian-Syrian military alliance, including hospitals, the Syrian authorities’ system of control in place that prevents aid from getting to where it is needed, and the continued reliance by the state on detention and torture to prevent people from expressing dissent.

People are struggling to find enough to eat and to protect themselves from the coronavirus while dealing with the insecurities brought about by the ubiquitous threat of violence in northwest Syria and the continued threat of arbitrary arrest and torture in areas under government control.

So many violations of human rights continue and, due to Covid-19, many escape the news.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THOSE AND WHAT HRW IS currently working on?

Human rights violations in Syria continue unabated. In areas held by the government, people are going hungry, while the Syrian government continues to arbitrarily arrest and harass individuals across the country. In the northwest, Syrian-Russian attacks on healthcare facilities have rendered the ability of the region’s residents to respond to Covid-19 almost null.

The unprecedented number of people displaced by the hostilities that took place over the last year means that thousands are without adequate shelter. We continue to document these violations and call on all parties to protect civilians in hostilities. In the northeast, Turkey has periodically cut off water supplies to Kurdish-held areas, while restrictions on humanitarian aid as a result of discriminatory bureaucratic obstacles enforced by the Syrian government on delivery of aid to the region and a Russian veto of an essential mechanism to provide aid means that humanitarians in northeast Syria are struggling to get the necessary aid in to prepare for Covid-19.

As we advocate for pragmatic, rights-respecting solutions on the ground, we are also deeply committed to seeing perpetrators held accountable for abuses committed in the past and ones that are happening today, and the first criminal trial of a high-level Syrian official in Germany provides us with a important potential step towards justice (watch Waad’s report for Channel 4 on the trial here.)

Photo by Talha Nair via Unsplash

In For Sama, we see the human cost of the brutal war in Syria.

What work has Human Rights Watch done to document the effects on affected children and families?

As For Sama shows, in the Syrian conflict civilians pay the highest price. But for children, the cost is two-fold: they are not only experiencing the violence, death, and destruction that are the hallmarks of the conflict, but also that the conflict has put their futures at risk.

There are children in Syria who have not been to school since the conflict started - whose schools were bombed by the Syria-Russia military alliance or who has had to leave their homes and schools behind to save their lives.

Human Rights Watch has focused on documenting attacks against schools inside Syria and highlighting gaps in access to education for Syrian refugees, spotlighting key protections and steps that need to take place in order to give children in Syria an opportunity to build a future.

What does a film like For Sama mean to the Human Rights Watch mission?

Telling strong stories of real people is one of the most powerful ways we can show why human rights matter, and why it’s so important we work to end violations of people’s rights. For Sama is probably one of the most important films you can watch to truly understand what the Syria conflict is, and the brutal cost it has exacted on civilians.

The film captures the suffering, the terror, and the hopes of hundreds of Syrians that Human Rights Watch has interviewed, and puts the abuses they faced into terms that everyone can not only understand but relate to. Most importantly, For Sama serves as a reminder that more needs to be done for Syrians, whose primary demand is for freedom, justice, and dignity.

For people who want to help Syria and Syrian civilians, what can they do to make a real difference?

It is important to keep speaking out against ongoing human rights abuses in Syria. Almost a decade in, the causes that led to the uprising – disappearances, torture, oppression – are still the rule, not the exception. Unless these are resolved, Syrians will continue to suffer. Everyone can help by calling on their governments to pressure Russia, Turkey and Syria to protect civilians.

Finally, getting justice for the violations already committed. Those responsible for abusing the rights of Syrians think they can get away with it, but there are many out there actively working to ensure that these perpetrators are held accountable.

OUR THANKS TO SARA KAYYALI. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HERE.