“A complete meltdown of humanity"

Karen Murphy, International Director, Facing History and Ourselves

What happens when mass violence becomes background noise, when we become so used to it we don’t even look, don’t listen, and just continue with our daily lives?

The violence taking place in Syria over the last several years has been called one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II. Amnesty International and Mercy Corps, among other organizations, have called Syria’s civil war the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Over the past few weeks, the focus of this crisis has been the city of Aleppo, specifically the eastern portion that is still held by anti-government rebels. As the Syrian regime and its allies have pushed into the city, there have been reports of women and children being burned alive and the executions of civilians. Yesterday, the United Nations described these attacks on civilians as “a complete meltdown of humanity.”

Thousands of civilians, including children and infants, remain trapped in the area without food, water, and electricity and decidedly in harm’s way. There are calls for a ceasefire so that civilians can be evacuated and emergency relief can be provided.

Over the years, it has been nearly impossible for journalists to cover what is happening in Syria, for human rights defenders to monitor activity, and for humanitarian organizations to provide essential, life-saving support. While Syria’s civil war and the related refugee crisis have remained subjects of media attention, sometimes even front page news, and the subject of editorials as well as high level government and UN Security Council meetings, they have also become background noise, a steady simmer that we -- in safer, more secure places -- have somehow gotten used to.

I once heard a genocide survivor talk about how she thought that the earth should have stopped spinning in the midst of the genocide that consumed her family. How does daily life continue, she wondered, in the face of such horror?

The enormity of what is taking place in Syria perhaps inspires paralysis or compassion fatigue. What can I do? What can we do? In the face of uncertainty, in light of so much complexity? Mass violence is never simple, and it never happens at a convenient time. There never seems to be enough information and the victims are often somehow not just like us. It feels far away.

What kind of world do we, do you, want to live in? Do we/do you continue to believe in the ideals and aspirations that inspired the creation of the United Nations? The Genocide Convention? The International Criminal Court? What does prevention look like in this world? What roles do citizens of democracies play?

At a time of heightened divisions in the US and, indeed, countries around the world, consensus on these questions might be harder to achieve. Ultimately, however, as citizens of democracies, these questions must be answered by us.

Concretely, what can you do? First thing, get informed. There is information out there about what is happening. There are reporters and human rights monitors providing information. There are also people on the ground by the minute and the hour using social media to get messages out. How do you know what is true? This is where the skills of media literacy matter, where double sourcing and reading a range of sources is important. There are also organizations that provide humanitarian assistance, elected representatives that you can call. Many UN Security Council meetings are webcast and can be watched if you want to know what representatives of member states are saying. Syria does not have the noise around it that Darfur once had. It does not have the public rage or shame attached to it that came upon learning about Rwanda and how most countries stood by as the genocide unfolded. Few seem to have made the connections between the photos coming in from the field as they did with Bosnia and history itself, the barbaric histories of genocide in the 20th century.

Daily life offers us few opportunities to think about these issues with other thinkers. Yet, this is the work of being a democratic citizen. This is one reason why civic spaces matter so much and why schools and classrooms remain essential for the process of developing an informed, compassionate and morally courageous citizenry.

Karen Murphy is the International Director for Facing History and Ourselves. Karen oversees Facing History’s work outside of North America. This includes our office in London, our partnerships in South Africa and Northern Ireland, our new in-depth school in Mexico and the many collaborations we enjoy worldwide. Karen has a particular interest in countries emerging from mass violence and confronting divisions. She writes, speaks and has taught on this topic, most recently at Columbia University for the International Education Program.