Seeing Is Believing

As every single day passed in the first TFCC pilgrimage to Syria, people realized how ignorant they were concerning all aspects of life in this country. They felt the hospitality, generosity and the warmth of the people which contradicted in the essence the media reports on Syria which reflect blindly the political tension and controversial situation of the whole Middle East.

It was amazing for me as Syrian to see the elements of shame and embarrassment which the pilgrims expressed after they experienced first hand the depth of the diversity in the Syrian society. Whatever we might think and evaluate the political regime of Syria and regardless if we agree or disagree with it, the people still live and share a profound heritage of coexistence between different religions for more than fourteen centuries.

The pilgrims had the opportunity to see and touch the real life of the Syrian people without any pressure or orchestration. They were part of direct communication with normal Syrian people in their normal circumstances and natural context and could indeed build bridges of friendship and respect. The journey evoked, and rightly so, a huge number of questions which sprang out of serious contradiction between what they hear in the media in their own countries and what they have experienced in Syria.

I am not trying to idealize the situation in Syria in any way. On the contrary, I am trying to convey the sincere engagement of the guests to this country as well as acknowledging that the general situation in the Middle East, especially the invasion of Iraq, has affected the whole region. It created unbalanced political, social, economical and religious relationships between people. Syria, like other country in the Middle East, fights against fundamentalism and terrorism although it has been seen by the Administration of the United States as part of the axis of evil.

We desperately need in the East and the West to realize that looking at each other in the eyes of politicians could be the biggest mistake we make. Civilizations are, thank God, far more than political or ideological agendas although such agendas can change sometimes the course of history. There is nothing which can replace a firsthand experience of a culture or a country.