geography

MIDDLE EAST HOMEWORK – DUE November 6th – SYRIA AND THE CIVIL WAR

The focus of this assignment is to help you understand what has been happening in Syria. How the war started and who is involved. There is no current discussion about chemical weapons and what is happening this month in the articles I have assigned. If you want to update yourself on very recent issues you will need to look up more current articles.

Read this article from Canada – it explains the basics of what has happened in Syria (FEEL FREE TO LOOK UP OTHER SOURCES IF YOU NEED MORE BACKGROUND – BUT I WILL BE LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE OF YOUR HAVING READ THESE AND WATCHED THE ENTIRE VIDEO.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/from-spray-paint-to-civil-war-syria-explained-in-5-questions-1.1237292

Then read these -

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21572198-sectarian-divisions-deepen-war-changing-country-beyond-recognition-country

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/23/here-look-at-key-players-in-syria-civil-war/ you can look at this for information on who the main players are in the war – question 3. This is the most recent article.

Then watch this Frontline video – it is 53 minutes long. Be aware that some of the scenes are very hard to watch. War is violent.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/syria-behind-the-lines/

Write a one page minimum essay answering these questions. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED IN THE SOURCES I HAVE ASSIGNED AND TALKED ABOUT MANY TIMES IN THE VIDEO. I WOULD SUGGEST YOU READ THROUGH THE QUESTIONS AND THEN READ THE ARTICLES AND THEN WATCH THE VIDEO.

All the same rules apply to this assignment as did to the previous ones – title, minimum one page, font, etc.

1. Who is Hafez al Assad, how did he come to power and how did he run the country?(nice, kind or what?)Who is Bashar al Assad and how did he come to power and how did he run the country when he first came to power?(nice, kind or what?) What changes did he try to make in Syria – did it work? Then what happened, why and how did he change his methods?

2. What was the starting point of the civil war? How has Syria changed since the civil war?

3. Who are the majority population of Syria and who are the minority? What makes them “different”? Are they the only ones involved in the war (who else lives in this country?). Who sides with whom? (opposition/rebels versus regime soldiers)

4. Why is one group so afraid of the other? What do Alawites believe will happen to them if the rebels win the war? (video)

5. What does the regime (Assad and “current” government) tell their people about who the opposition are? You should answer this by referring to the main characters in the documentary – what are their thoughts about the situation? People in the video include Ahmad (in the Rebel free Syrian Army), the young man in the high school and their motto, Mohammed the Alawite militia man, what is he and other Alawites convinced of as far as his Sunni neighbors and what they are planning to do? Which foreigners do they think are fighting against them?

6. Look up a current article to see how many people have died in this conflict and how many refugees there are currently – the articles and video have old numbers.

7. What do you think of this situation in Syria, do you think America should help either Assad or the Rebels, or should they not get involved) – explain/justify your thoughts . (you will earn reasoning points for this section – your job is to show me that you understand the topic and have given it some thought).