March 15 marked the 10 year of the start of the conflict in Syria. This conflict that started as civilians protests against the Assad regime quickly became a proxy war waged on many different fronts. Over the course of 10 years, 12 million Syrians – half the pre-conflict population were displaced. Over 400,000 Syrians lost their lives in this crisis and the infrastructure is in shambles with no straight path forward. This raises a lot of questions about how reconstruction should occur and under what conditions, how the displacement crisis and the humanitarian needs of civilians should be addressed, and who is responsible for it. Our host, Sruthi Palaniappan is joined by Rime Allaf, a Syrian-born writer, political analyst and communications strategist. Rime is on the Board of Directors of The Day After, a renowned Syrian-led civil society organisation working to support a democratic transition in Syria. In addition to the geopolitical issues, our correspondent, Hafsa Anouar, explores the several humanitarian challenges faced by millions of Syrian refugees and internally displaced Syrians with Mazen Alhousseiny, a Syrian who's currently working at Syria relief, the largest Syria focused NGO in the United Kingdom.
The executive producer for this season of OPP is Lian Ryan-Hume. This episode was researched by Frederique St. Jean, Hafsa Anour and Veniecia Laylor; produced by Veniecia Laylor, and edited by Veniecia Laylor, Hafsa Anour and Allisha Azlan. To keep up with the latest on our episodes, follow us on Instagram @OxfordPolicyPod_ and Twitter @OxfordPolicyPod.