Revolutionaries’ Sweets

During the Syrian war, hunger became one of the tools used in the brutal policy of repression and control. Cities like Damascus and other centers of revolution found themselves in the tight grip of the regime, which imposed humanitarian blockades, deliberately restricting access to food, water, and basic resources. The goal of these actions was to exert pressure on the civilian population, forcing them to comply with the will of the government or depriving them of the means to survive.

In these conditions, hunger became a tool of punishment, aimed not only at physical destruction but also at psychologically breaking the resistance. During these blockades, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to eat very limited and often nutritionally inadequate products, which did not meet their basic needs. There were dramatic cases of diseases caused by the lack of essential nutrients and difficult sanitary conditions.

The use of hunger as a political tool during the Syrian conflict highlights the brutality of war, where victims are not only those who died in battle but also those who, due to being trapped in a dead zone without access to basic resources, perished from exhaustion and starvation. It shows how, in modern conflicts, civilian lives are treated as elements of military strategy, and hunger becomes a powerful, though tragically destructive, tool of power.

The Syrian conflict began in March 2011, when anti-government protests erupted as part of the broader Arab Spring. The demonstrations quickly escalated into a full-scale civil war, which has lasted for many years. Fighting between government forces, opposition groups, armed factions, and international organizations continued until 2023, although there are still enclaves where sporadic clashes occur.

Although the Syrian war has lost some of its intensity due to various ceasefires and agreements made over the years, it has not been fully resolved, and the humanitarian situation in certain parts of the country remains critical.