In Syria, journalists, both foreign and local, are regarded as enemies by all. When there was a bit of loosening of the rules by the government on reporting, journalists felt there may be opportunity to do reporting. However, the government limited what could and could not be reported and if a journalist did not follow these rules, they could face imprisonment as well as fines.

Toward  the beginning of the conflict locals felt that the journalists from the West were there to help them, to tell their story to the world as an international plea for help. However, as time progressed and the situation for Syrians worsened despite journalistic articles being published, the locals hardened and came to understand that these pieces were being regarded by the world not as a call to action but as a story to read while they sipped coffee on the train to work. And soon, even the locals did not want reporters around. The rebels could not trust reporters fearing that they would be reporting for the government and their agenda, ISIS took journalists hostage, tortured, and often killed them for spreading Western influence, and the government regulated every word a journalist published.

The threat was not just imminent, it was everywhere. Journalists feared being robbed, tortured, killed, by almost anyone in the country. Friends were far and few in between. On top of this, journalists were hardly being compensated for putting their lives at risk, for taking chances that hardly anyone in the world would dare take in a country where punishment is dealt out severely and by more people than just the government.

It is a vicious and ironic cycle that the Syrians do not want journalists there because they do not believe journalists are helping them and that the West demands to know about the conditions in Syria so that they can offer aid and demand of their governments what they think best. It could be described as unfortunate that we need journalists in Syria. But we do. At this point, so many countries and outside groups are involved, to simply cut off the public is a huge disservice as many of those people’s governments are involved in this conflict. Funds from the American and European governments have found their way to Syria as well as troops.

Unfortunately the world cannot improve if we do not know what is happening. The only way the rest of the world can help is if we all have a profound understanding of what is happening, why it is happening, who it affects, how it affects them… and the list goes on. We cannot blindly help people because eventually it will lead to more conflict. We need an informed public to demand help that will actually benefit the people who need it.