After almost two years of conflict, the fighting in Syria has started to lose its place in the headlines of many major news networks in the United States. Many Americans are aware of the conflict, but their familiarity with the details is shaky, at best.

I am lucky enough to have two amazing Syrian teachers who were kind enough to sit down and talk with me — in Arabic — about the current situation.

My Arabic teacher came to Jordan after the violence started in Syria. She has previously been a teacher in the United States and Middle East. During her office hours, she helps me read news articles in Arabic about the war. Reading articles from local news outlets has given me a new perspective on the continuing conflict.

Most people look at the Syrian war and lump it into the category of “another Arab Spring country.” My time here has shown me this isn’t the case. My Arabic teacher is quick to point out that “what is happening in Syria is not a revolution.”

She said that because of outside forces, the ideas of peace and democratic change for the better are gone. She said the war has turned into a mostly religious battle with the Sunni-led rebels on one side and the Shiite government on the other.

The original protests were pro-democracy and secular forces that wanted political change inspired by other countries in the region, but unfortunately, other parties with different agendas have hijacked pro-democracy efforts. The largest outside forces are the Persian Gulf countries that are indiscriminately flooding Syrian rebel militias with weapons while Iran continues to support the Syrian army.

There are also outside soldiers and groups coming to join the fight, including reports the Sunni terrorist group al-Qaeda has deployed fighters from its Iraqi branch into Syria to join the Syrian rebels against the Shiite-led government.

The Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is also a major player in the conflict against the government. It is easy to see why the American government has been hesitant to fully support the Syrian rebels.

My other interview was with the director of my language program. She also does not like to use the word “revolution” to describe the events in Syria. Coming from humble origins with an illiterate mother and hard-working father, she and her siblings have managed to take full advantage of their opportunities and forge better lives for themselves.

She said she loved Syria more than any other Arab country before the revolution, not just because it was her home. The Assad government did not care about religious identity, and she said she never felt afraid because of her religion.

She also said it was an open society in which women could wear Western clothes and hang out with men, unlike in Jordan, where mixed gender relations are unusual. She had Christian, Shia and Sunni neighbors before the war.

Now, she is worried the country will be divided and change. Obviously, government criticism was not tolerated, but she would much rather be muffled about her political beliefs and the take openness and stability that came with her former community.

While the war continues, she talks to her family every day to make sure they are safe. As I talked to her, I saw overwhelming sadness come across her face. I realized she will not be able to go home in the foreseeable future because there does not seem to be a quick end to the war.

Both of my teachers constantly hear news about their country being destroyed and thousands of people being killed. To make matters worse, every day, they hear reports about how people are killed as terrorists and Islamic extremists take over their country.

With all of these factors in mind, I think about how lucky I am that I am able to return to my home in less than a month and see my family. Living in Jordan and talking with my teachers and other Syrian refugees has made the realities of war very clear. I am constantly reminded of the terrible consequences war has on the civilians who want to go to work and raise their families in peace.

Stephen Sydor is a junior international relations major. His column appears every week in Pulp. He can be reached at srsydor@syr.edu.

Published on April 17, 2013 at 12:44 am