Examining the map of the Syrians' spread out reveals the four basic concerns that the majority of them are suffering: the first is the quest of safety and security; the second is meeting the basic needs of living, including work, housing, food, and medicine; the third is reaching a solution to the Syrian issue, for ending their suffering, and rebuilding their country and lives; and the fourth is addressing urgent files related to most Syrians, and the most prominent of which are the file of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons, and the file of refugees and displaced persons who must return to their homes, properties, and basic places of residence. Addressing all of these matters constitutes an introduction to any political process related to the future of Syria.
The Syrians of interior occupy the most important numerical space on the map of Syrians' expansion despite the massive migration that occurred in the past decade, and the control of three groups of foreign authorities: Iran and Russia are backing the Syrian regime in the main part of the territory, and the United States and some European countries support the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria, led by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party with the participation of some local political and tribal forces, while Turkey supports the northwestern region of Syria, where the control is shared between the interim National Coalition and the Salvation Government, affiliated with “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra).
The division of control between these powers describes the conflict that the residents of the interior have experienced over the past 12 years. Despite the cessation of military operations between the parties for years, battles and clashes erupt at any time on and across the front lines, as is the case between the Autonomous Administration and the areas of Turkish control in operations that not only hit military targets, but also civilian targets, including markets, schools and residential areas in northeastern and western Syria alike. All of these are repeated in air strikes carried out by Russian forces in northwestern Syria. Sometimes, clashes occur on the contact lines with the participation of the Iranians between the areas of the regime and the areas of Turkish control.
The internal battles and clashes are only some of what raises concerns about the safety and security of Syrians inside. In addition to these, there are criminal acts that occur in all regions by parties, including the controlling forces of armed groups and intelligence agencies, who carry out kidnappings, arrests, assassinations and killings.
The preoccupation about suffering and safety concerns is not limited to Syrians inside, but extends to the countries surrounding Syria, especially Türkiye and Lebanon, which have the largest number of Syrians in the diaspora, with about 5 million persons Racist tendencies have escalated in the two countries against Syrians in recent years, and have taken violent forms outside the law, directly and indirectly threatening their lives, including killing, kidnapping, arrest, deportation and destruction of property.
While concerns about suffering and safety are severe for Syrians inside the country, they are even more severe in Lebanon and Türkiye. Inside, there were options related to circumstances and capabilities, ranging from moving between regions and emigrating abroad, but all of these are almost impossible in the second case because of the limited capabilities of refugees and the fragility of their situation in the two countries.
Unfortunately, the tragic reality surrounding Syrians inside Syria and in neighboring countries has not received the appropriate amount of attention from those influential in the Syrian file, whether countries, entities or figures at the local, regional or international levels.