At his bakery in the Shatila refugee camp, Yasin has no doubts about what the Ukrainians are going through. The Syrians have already experienced this: “The Russians are doing the same as in Syria. They target hospitals, schools, homes with civilians. They are ruthless. 2016.
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Eleven years ago, on March 15, 2011, Syria rose to demand openness and reform. President Bashar al-Assad responded to this mobilization with bloody repression. The country fell into a decade of civil war. The conflict has resulted in over 300,000 deaths and 12 million displaced people inside and outside of Syria. It was Russia’s intervention in 2015 that saved Bashar al-Assad, who is still in power.
“I’m ready to go to fight in Ukraine.”
Zuhair, Syrian refugee
on Franceinfo
In the kitchen behind Yassin Zuhair, a little younger, agrees: “We are for the Ukrainians, we want them to win. We don’t like Russians. a young man filled with hatred for those who saved Bashar al-Assad and his regime.
In Syria and Ukraine, Russia carried out the same indiscriminate bombing, the same scorched earth policy. But Europeans’ treatment of refugees is not the same. “In Europe, Ukrainians are treated like human beings. They are treated with respect and humanity. But Syrian refugees are being treated like animals,” complains Abed, a coffee seller.
This “double standard” is also noted by Zakharia in terms of military support: “Westerners supply Ukraine with the latest, modern and adapted weapons. They let the fighters in. They send professionals to train Ukrainians, but they never did that for us,” he said.
His solidarity with Ukraine is tinged with bitterness towards Europe and the United States, which he says could contain the Russian bear. “If NATO or Europe had opposed Russia when it intervened in Syria, they would never have attacked Ukraine, not even Crimea in 2014,” he concludes.