Who are the Good Guys

This is the next of a series of postcards which Anita Day, Parliamentary Spokesperson for Grantham and Stamford has written to members and supporters

In Tom Hanks' films, we don't have this problem. We know who the good guy is (it's Tom Hanks, obviously). But in the real world, it's more difficult. I'm sure all of us have been horrified by the plight of the civilians in Eastern Aleppo who have been trying for days to evacuate the city. The pictures have been devastating, and we simply cannot imagine what it must be like for a mother with children turning up each day in the hope of boarding a bus to take her family to safety, only to hear that the evacuation has been halted yet again.

But who is to blame for this humanitarian catastrophe? Here in the West, our media coverage appears to generally paint the picture that the rebel fighters are the good guys, and that President Bashar al-Assad is the villain. That may well be true, if even half of the claims about his actions are correct. However, as we know only too well from the coverage of recent events by the UK press this year, just because the papers give one version of events does not necessarily mean that that view is correct - anyone else remember the Daily Mail describing members of our judiciary as 'enemies of the people' and inciting populist anger against due legal process?!

Unfortunately, the power of mainstream media is so complete that they are able to feed us a sustained diet of whatever an editor decides is the right thing for us to believe. In the case of Syria: is al-Assad an evil monster who does not care about the well-being of his people, or the legally-appointed ruler of a country trying to quell a dangerous rebellion backed by Daesh (as any ruler has the right to do)? Are the rebel fighters honourable freedom fighters trying to rid their country of an evil dictator, or a ragtag group of merciless Islamic extremists who have no compunction in using any means to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic State in Syria? Are the civilians willing human shields, or just collateral damage?

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, just as it does in the terrible conflict that is Yemen, and has done many times in the past… remember that Nelson Mandela and the ANC were described as terrorists by the South African government in the 1960s -1980s, and with some justification.

But this leaves us in the West with a big problem. History will ultimately offer a perspective on the rights and wrongs of these events (bearing in mind that it will be written by the victors), but Western governments have to decide on their response today and gamble on getting it right. In the case of Yemen, the UK are actively participating on one side of the conflict. In Syria, we are forced to sit on our hands and watch Russia intervene, primarily out of fear of the wider consequences of any escalation.

For ordinary people, this is all so hard to watch. I'm not sure what I find most upsetting: the harrowing stories and pictures that have been emerging for many days of the plight of the people in Eastern Aleppo or Yemen; or the fact that neither of the unfolding crises made the front pages of any UK newspaper this morning!

I don't have an answer. I don't know who the good guys are, and I understand that British direct military intervention in Syria may not be a good solution. So I donate to the Yemen DEC Crisis Appeal, and pray that the suffering of all innocent men, women and children everywhere ends soon. It's not much… but it's all I can do.

Take care, and speak soon

Anita

South Lincs Liberal Democrats
Membership Secretary

07753 904676
Follow me on Twitter: @AnitadayA