The Syrian Civil War portfolio page
Problem
Syria, a relatively small country in the Middle East, has been experiencing civil unrest since March of 2011. The initial uprising began as a continuation of the Arab Spring movement, and Syria strove to pursue the same lofty ideals as its neighbors who have succeeded in overthrowing their old regimes and installing unstable, yet arguably more democratic governments. The Syrian opposition, or the rebels in Syria fighting against their country, is united in the goal of overthrowing Syria’s current president, Bashar al-Assad, and establishing a new government. However, Assad, with the support of his own Syrian army, has vehemently tried to suppress the rebellion. His strategy has, up to this point, consisted of strikes on Syrian towns controlled by rebel forces. These strikes have certainly deterred many advances on the part of the Free Syrian Army, the name of the rebel fighters’ group, but the strikes have also caused civilian casualties en masse. Thousands have been killed, and thousands more have already fled Syria as refugees, seeking safety in bordering countries such as Turkey. As the war goes on, the Free Syrian Army continues to become more organized, but the Assad regime’s forces, too, have amped up their attack methods, and no side seems to be capable of quickly ending this macabre affair. Many other nations, particularly in North America and Europe, have united together to assist in the termination of the Syrian Civil war, but, with disagreements in international committees like the United Nations, little definitive action has yet been taken by the outside world to assist either the Free Syrian Army or Bashar al-Assad. Until one side gains an advantage, the end of this bloody war does not appear to be soon, and Syria, as well as the rest of the world, will be at a loss.
Need
Though geographically distant, the problems experienced in Syria are of upmost importance to the entire world, and, without solving the problem of Syria’s Civil War, the entire world will be harmed. As the world has already witnessed in Egypt and Tunisia, among other nations, unstable governments act as a catalyst for harmful terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Hamas. If Syria’s government remains in disarray, then these terrorist organizations will have a strong foothold in the country, and their hegemony over the Middle East will spread. This occurrence would directly cause the collapse of global markets that depend on Middle Eastern resources, like the oil market, because investors will not trust the stability of the oil resources when under the control of terrorist organizations or regimes that support them. The hike in prices this could cause would have crippling effects on all economies. Another detrimental impact of the Syrian War is the morphing of Syrian culture. This does not pose as much of a threat as other aspects of the Syrian Civil War, but it is still important to preserve Syrian culture as a tribute to humanity as a whole. Cultural heritage and recognition for every culture in the world is becoming increasingly important as the world becomes more unified, thus becoming more similar. Every group is invaluable to the world because of the insights the particular culture gives on the human condition. Without Syria’s precious culture, the world will have a piece missing in its own global culture. Though culture is important,
the most important and pressing reason why the Syrian Civil War needs to be resolved is the fact that crisis in Syria is a human right’s violation. The acceptance of the actions of Bashar al-Assad by the international community is unacceptable. By refusing to take definitive action, the international community has communicated the message of their own indifference to similar regimes all around the world. Now, various other countries that experience uprisings will be impelled to take action comparable to the perverse actions taken by the Assad regime. This will cause pandemonium for international affairs, potentially leading to wars that could have been prevented had the countries involved taken decisive action earlier on. Refusing to act on this problem is a fickle solution, and, if the international community continues on their current path, then Syria, and the rest of the world, will turn to chaos.
Connection to MYP Concepts/Themes
IB MYP is notorious for relating everything to their concepts and themes, and the Syrian Civil War is no exception to the archetypal ideas expressed in the International Baccalaureate program. Of all the ideas proposed by the IB MYP program, Community and Service and Health and Social Education are the most applicable to the Syrian Civil War. Community and Service pertains to the idea of how people live in relation to each other and how the actions of people in a community can contribute to the community as a whole. In the international community, many countries recognize that Syria and its conflicts can impact the entire world. By realizing how the international community can work to help others and how individuals in foreign nations can work to help individuals in Syria, Community and Service concepts can go as far as to aid in the ending of the war. Similarly, understanding Health and Social
Education and applying its concepts can bring the end of Syria’s Civil War into focus. Health and Social Education refers to exploring the range of human issues that exist in human societies and using them to make decisions that relate to the common good. Applying Health and Social Education to the crisis in Syria can help people dealing with the problem remove their own personal bias and act in a way that will benefit everyone. When researching the Syrian Civil War, it is important to keep both Community and Service and Health and Social Education in mind in order to properly evaluate the problem and put it into a realistic perspective.
Syria, a relatively small country in the Middle East, has been experiencing civil unrest since March of 2011. The initial uprising began as a continuation of the Arab Spring movement, and Syria strove to pursue the same lofty ideals as its neighbors who have succeeded in overthrowing their old regimes and installing unstable, yet arguably more democratic governments. The Syrian opposition, or the rebels in Syria fighting against their country, is united in the goal of overthrowing Syria’s current president, Bashar al-Assad, and establishing a new government. However, Assad, with the support of his own Syrian army, has vehemently tried to suppress the rebellion. His strategy has, up to this point, consisted of strikes on Syrian towns controlled by rebel forces. These strikes have certainly deterred many advances on the part of the Free Syrian Army, the name of the rebel fighters’ group, but the strikes have also caused civilian casualties en masse. Thousands have been killed, and thousands more have already fled Syria as refugees, seeking safety in bordering countries such as Turkey. As the war goes on, the Free Syrian Army continues to become more organized, but the Assad regime’s forces, too, have amped up their attack methods, and no side seems to be capable of quickly ending this macabre affair. Many other nations, particularly in North America and Europe, have united together to assist in the termination of the Syrian Civil war, but, with disagreements in international committees like the United Nations, little definitive action has yet been taken by the outside world to assist either the Free Syrian Army or Bashar al-Assad. Until one side gains an advantage, the end of this bloody war does not appear to be soon, and Syria, as well as the rest of the world, will be at a loss.
Need
Though geographically distant, the problems experienced in Syria are of upmost importance to the entire world, and, without solving the problem of Syria’s Civil War, the entire world will be harmed. As the world has already witnessed in Egypt and Tunisia, among other nations, unstable governments act as a catalyst for harmful terrorist organizations like al Qaeda and Hamas. If Syria’s government remains in disarray, then these terrorist organizations will have a strong foothold in the country, and their hegemony over the Middle East will spread. This occurrence would directly cause the collapse of global markets that depend on Middle Eastern resources, like the oil market, because investors will not trust the stability of the oil resources when under the control of terrorist organizations or regimes that support them. The hike in prices this could cause would have crippling effects on all economies. Another detrimental impact of the Syrian War is the morphing of Syrian culture. This does not pose as much of a threat as other aspects of the Syrian Civil War, but it is still important to preserve Syrian culture as a tribute to humanity as a whole. Cultural heritage and recognition for every culture in the world is becoming increasingly important as the world becomes more unified, thus becoming more similar. Every group is invaluable to the world because of the insights the particular culture gives on the human condition. Without Syria’s precious culture, the world will have a piece missing in its own global culture. Though culture is important,
the most important and pressing reason why the Syrian Civil War needs to be resolved is the fact that crisis in Syria is a human right’s violation. The acceptance of the actions of Bashar al-Assad by the international community is unacceptable. By refusing to take definitive action, the international community has communicated the message of their own indifference to similar regimes all around the world. Now, various other countries that experience uprisings will be impelled to take action comparable to the perverse actions taken by the Assad regime. This will cause pandemonium for international affairs, potentially leading to wars that could have been prevented had the countries involved taken decisive action earlier on. Refusing to act on this problem is a fickle solution, and, if the international community continues on their current path, then Syria, and the rest of the world, will turn to chaos.
Connection to MYP Concepts/Themes
IB MYP is notorious for relating everything to their concepts and themes, and the Syrian Civil War is no exception to the archetypal ideas expressed in the International Baccalaureate program. Of all the ideas proposed by the IB MYP program, Community and Service and Health and Social Education are the most applicable to the Syrian Civil War. Community and Service pertains to the idea of how people live in relation to each other and how the actions of people in a community can contribute to the community as a whole. In the international community, many countries recognize that Syria and its conflicts can impact the entire world. By realizing how the international community can work to help others and how individuals in foreign nations can work to help individuals in Syria, Community and Service concepts can go as far as to aid in the ending of the war. Similarly, understanding Health and Social
Education and applying its concepts can bring the end of Syria’s Civil War into focus. Health and Social Education refers to exploring the range of human issues that exist in human societies and using them to make decisions that relate to the common good. Applying Health and Social Education to the crisis in Syria can help people dealing with the problem remove their own personal bias and act in a way that will benefit everyone. When researching the Syrian Civil War, it is important to keep both Community and Service and Health and Social Education in mind in order to properly evaluate the problem and put it into a realistic perspective.
REFLECTION
Process: Because this was meant to be a mere Comp Tech portfolio piece, I endeavored to try a new approach to writing it. I knew, going into this project, a lot about the Syrian Civil War because of my personal investment in learning about it and understanding it. That passion led me to just write in order to get all of my thoughts down on paper. Once that occurred, I refined my diction and made the paragraph clearer. There were only a few modifications that needed to be made before I had my final project. I suppose my lack of planning is what some would call “winging it,” but, to me, it was the most effective way to put my passion into the piece.
Product: I am satisfied that this product met its requirements. I specifically like my adherence to chronology in the first paragraph. That manner of relating events ameliorates the readers’ understanding because as it ensures a lack of confusion and a clear order of things. I achieved chronology such as that because I have been following the Syrian Civil War since the beginning, and I have reinforced my own knowledge with substantial research. I also like the fact that I related the problem in Syria to the rest of the world.
Though not hyperbolic in nature, my statements did seem somewhat outlandish in terms of effect, but that is what will get people involved and aware of the problem in Syria. Finally, I like my simple and concise tone that presented the facts in a persuasive manner without letting emotion mar my credibility. This project was enjoyable, so I did a rather good job on it.
Growth: This writing was not in the least meant to challenge, so, as a proactive student, I searched for challenge by elevating my register. However, even with this modification of purpose, the writing was not challenging. The ideas were the main point of the essay, and that is what my teacher essayed to get me to focus on. Despite being relatively easy, this writing was very important because I ended up using it in the website I created for the comp tech portfolio, which can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/thesyriancivilwar/home. From this assignment, I learned that even the simplest task can be useful in working in the future because ideas often build on one another. This work, in a way, was my abstract for a much larger piece. I went beyond the requirements of the Comp Tech portfolio, and I went beyond the requirements for these statements.
Improvement: There are always multitudinous opportunities for improvement. First, I used the passive voice in the first paragraph, and everyone knows that is a major writing flaw. It degrades the quality of my entire piece. In addition, I used the unprofessional phrase “amped up,” which makes me seem like an ignoramus. Also, I said “bloody war” with the intended effect of emphasizing its sanguine nature, but it made me sound like a British writer and was adverse to my intended effect. Moreover, my idiocy in this writing was added upon by the exaggeration present in my need statement, which actually made my writing less credible. Overall, these areas certainly need to be ameliorated.
Product: I am satisfied that this product met its requirements. I specifically like my adherence to chronology in the first paragraph. That manner of relating events ameliorates the readers’ understanding because as it ensures a lack of confusion and a clear order of things. I achieved chronology such as that because I have been following the Syrian Civil War since the beginning, and I have reinforced my own knowledge with substantial research. I also like the fact that I related the problem in Syria to the rest of the world.
Though not hyperbolic in nature, my statements did seem somewhat outlandish in terms of effect, but that is what will get people involved and aware of the problem in Syria. Finally, I like my simple and concise tone that presented the facts in a persuasive manner without letting emotion mar my credibility. This project was enjoyable, so I did a rather good job on it.
Growth: This writing was not in the least meant to challenge, so, as a proactive student, I searched for challenge by elevating my register. However, even with this modification of purpose, the writing was not challenging. The ideas were the main point of the essay, and that is what my teacher essayed to get me to focus on. Despite being relatively easy, this writing was very important because I ended up using it in the website I created for the comp tech portfolio, which can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/thesyriancivilwar/home. From this assignment, I learned that even the simplest task can be useful in working in the future because ideas often build on one another. This work, in a way, was my abstract for a much larger piece. I went beyond the requirements of the Comp Tech portfolio, and I went beyond the requirements for these statements.
Improvement: There are always multitudinous opportunities for improvement. First, I used the passive voice in the first paragraph, and everyone knows that is a major writing flaw. It degrades the quality of my entire piece. In addition, I used the unprofessional phrase “amped up,” which makes me seem like an ignoramus. Also, I said “bloody war” with the intended effect of emphasizing its sanguine nature, but it made me sound like a British writer and was adverse to my intended effect. Moreover, my idiocy in this writing was added upon by the exaggeration present in my need statement, which actually made my writing less credible. Overall, these areas certainly need to be ameliorated.