Lina Sinjab is a Middle East correspondent based in Beirut and a columnist for The National
May 06, 2022
As a Syrian journalist, I followed very closely the decade-long civil war that devastated my country. It was a traumatic experience for everyone involved, right from when the uprising that predated the war began in 2011.
Like many of my compatriots, I wept for every life lost during those early weeks. But it got worse by the day, especially as we learnt about the atrocities conducted by both government forces and some opposition armed groups. What ISIS did in the following years is, of course, beyond anyone’s comprehension.
As a reporter with access to disturbing and heart-wrenching footage of these atrocities, I came to brace myself for the tragedy that had unfolded in Syria over the years. But at one point, I stopped watching such clips, even though the odd one did slip through the cracks. It was partly because I felt I wasn't emotionally strong enough to fathom what was going on, but also due to a helplessness I felt in the face of untold suffering for mothers, fathers and their children. How could any human being sustain such intense suffering, which included bereavement, destruction, bombing and evacuation, and still keep going?
These videos were so traumatic to watch that several media organisations even offered counselling sessions for their staff whose job it was to watch and verify them. One cannot even imagine, then, how people living in Syria felt as they witnessed a number of horrors first hand.
Twins Maha, right, and Mohammad Al Obaid, 11, were born in 2011, the year the Syrian war started. Displaced from Ras Al Ain in north-east Syria three years ago, they are pictured at a school on the outskirts of north-eastern city Hassakeh. All photos: AFP
Nimr Alaywi, 11, who was also displaced from Ras Al Ain three years ago, at a school near Hassakeh.
Amani Mahmud, 11, whose family fled Ras Al Ain, pictured at the school near Hassakeh. According to some estimates, 13.3 million Syrians have fled their homes since the civil war began on March 15, 2011.
Mohammad Issa, 11, who was also displaced from Ras Al Ain, at the school near Hassakeh.
Assil Alaywi, 11, whose family also fled Ras Al Ain for Hassakeh three years ago. Ras Al Ain was the scene of heavy fighting for much of the conflict.
Yazan Khodr, 11, at the school near Hassakeh, after his family fled Ras Al Ain. Various groups, including Syrian government forces, extremists and Kurdish fighters, vied for control of Ras Al Ain.
Liana Ali, 11, in the school building on the outskirts of Hassakeh.
Manaf Mahmud, 11, pictured at the school near Hassakeh. Around four million people, at least half of them displaced, now live in the northern region.
Ahmad Abderrazzak, 11, at the school near Hassakeh.
Fatima Barkal, 11, at the school near Hassakeh.
Ammar Al Khodr, 11, at the school near Hassakeh.
Majd Hassan, 11, at the school near Hassakeh, north-east Syria.
One such horror was recently documented in a report published by The Guardian newspaper. The report is based on a leaked video, date-stamped April 16, 2013, of an army officer shooting and killing more than 40 civilians and throwing them into a pit. It also tells the story of how two academics tracked down the alleged perpetrators, interviewed one of them, and smuggled the footage out of the country.
Once the report was out, I braced myself to watch the video of how one human could mock and kill several of his fellow human beings. In it, I saw the man in question ordering people who were blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs to walk a certain distance before he shot them. I stopped watching after the first man fell to his death, but later learnt that seven women and 12 children faced the same fate.
The Tadamon Massacre, as it was called (named after the neighbourhood in Damascus), has reminded Syrians of the many such instances over the past decade. The methods may have been different, whether they were barrel bombs, chemical weapons or simply guns, but the result was the same.
On the first day of Eid last week, Syrians watched another series of heart-wrenching videos, showing a sea of people eagerly awaiting the release of some 300 prisoners who were given amnesty by the authorities.
These included families desperately hoping to see their children emerge so that they could hold them tight after what seemed like an eternity.
The UN records 350,000 deaths in the Syrian civil war, although it says the real number is likely to be higher. AFP
Some families, who were told that their sons had died in prison a long time ago, were seen outside the prison gates hoping against hope that there might have been a mistake. Some mothers flashed pictures of their missing children asking those coming out of jail to recall if they had seen them inside. Some of those who were released had experienced memory loss and failed to recognise their families.
One man was heard shouting out for his six children, reported to have gone missing inside the prison. "I had six, just give me back one. Anyone of them," he said.
Today, many Syrians have little hope of any accountability or justice. They have little or no faith in any international body to help them reconcile with their suffering. They have been left alone to deal with their losses, traumas and injustices.
Meanwhile, the man shown in the video shooting the civilians in Tadamon is said to be living in the country. Will he, and several other officers like him, face the consequences of their actions? And even if they do, will ordinary Syrians ever recover from the tragedy that has visited them over the past 11 years?
Perhaps one day, but at least in the near future it seems unlikely.
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
