Another 'Bloodiest Day' in Syria

By Sophie Kaplan

Five days ago more than 300 people were killed across Syria. This wasn't the direct result of a single bombing or a mass shooting, but rather a collection of casualties from all over the country, some from the cities like Damascus and others from smaller villages such as al-Dhiyabia. Of the 343 reportedly killed an estimated 199 were civilians. The fact that the death toll was not isolated to a single location speaks to the overall state of Syria, specifically that violence permeates the country and effects its every corner. The civilians caught in the crossfire also indicate the weight that violence holds over all of Syria, there is good reason why Panes Moumtzsis, a refugee coordinator for Syria is anticipating some 700,000 refugees fleeing from Syria before the end of 2012. 

While the sheer number of people killed on the 28th is staggering it's important to also consider that there have been many previous "Bloodiest Days" that resulted in similar numbers of casualties, this consisted of 302 deaths on July 19th 2012, and 330 as recently as August 25th. Even though many major media sites are reporting these terrible numbers with the "bloodiest day" title tacked on it is in no way the first time that such numbers have been recorded since the start of the conflict. I'd encourage everyone to consider this aspect of the report seriously, September 28th may have been the bloodiest, but it does not indicate a startling increase in the death toll or a drastic shift in the immediate situation in the country. Rather, this "new" bloodiest day is instead a testament to the lack of progress toward the conclusion of the conflict as well as commentary on the consistent state of violence that the country exists within. 

As I delve more into the history and current events surrounding the Civil War in Syria it's impossible to ignore the statistics of people killed thus far in the conflict. Death in Syria's tumultuous environment is a grim inevitability that should be considered carefully as the people affected by the conflict are not merely numbers on a graph, but individuals. Many of the people killed were civilians that had no direct contribution to the violence itself. 

Throughout the entirety of the conflict an estimated 30,000 people have died. And unless something is done, there is nothing to indicate that the killing will stop. This is further enforced by the fact that Monday October 1st, only a day after the "Bloodiest Day," 164 more people were killed. The death toll continues to rise rapidly, only three months ago on July 22nd the death toll was reportedly at 19,000. 

There is much more to the Syrian Civil War than numbers, but in order to gain perspective on the severity of the situation sometimes it's the easiest thing to visualize. However, it's so easy to distance oneself from a situation when all you have are a series of figures. To restate what I think is a vital method of comprehending the gravity of Syria's rebellion, don't ever forget that each number represents an individual. For those of you who missed it in my last post feel free to take a look at the story of one of these individuals.