Tom Fletcher

Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Part of UK in Lebanon

12th March 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tolerating the Intolerable: Syria, Four Years On

On the first anniversary of the Syria conflict, I wrote about the staggering impact it had already had – those numbers seem small now. On the second anniversary, I wrote about the generosity of Syria’s neighbours and parts of the international community, the frustrations of diplomacy, and the need to maintain a sense of rage. On the third anniversary, I wrote about the prospects for Lebanon’s millionth refugee.

As the song goes, wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.

As we somehow find ourselves at the fourth anniversary, what emotions are there left to feel? Over 210,000 dead, over 11 million displaced, over 85,000 imprisoned or tortured. Assad jokes about pots and pans while the barrel bombs he denies fall on the people he claims to lead. His Frankenstein’s Monster, an ISIL death cult that is neither Islamic nor a state, look to outdo themselves in box office barbarity and vandalism. Disillusioned European individuals are drawn to the power buzz of a knife and a cause. The neighbours struggle to sustain millions of refugees.

We are left with many ‘what ifs’. As even Assad’s allies now recognise, what if he had chosen to engage the peaceful protests of 2011 with dialogue rather than bullets? It never had to be this way.

What if the international community had carried out strikes in August 2013? Who knows. What if regional powers had spent as much time and money on ending the conflict as arming it? Perhaps only one thing is certain – if events had taken a different course, there would be a different set of conspiracy theories about the West’s responsibility for whatever followed.

It is too soon to draw conclusions, and those of us who have been working on this crisis are far too close to it to do so. With hindsight, we underestimated the brutal lengths the Syria regime and its regional allies were prepared to go to in order to remain in power. We overestimated the coherence of our allies, of Syria’s moderate leaders, and of Western influence, stomach and patience.

We have also learnt something about the democratisation of foreign policy. In the Digital Age, it will become easier for citizens to influence the diplomacy of their government. That is clearly a good thing – we will become more peaceful and more representative. But it also limits the ability of democratic governments to project force, to win the arm wrestles that need to be won, to hold the red lines that need to be held, to play diplomatic poker. In the short term, that leads to more caution from those who value freedom, and more confidence from those that don’t.

I fear that we also discovered in the last four years that too often we can tolerate the intolerable. We have found the limits of the world’s compassion, and attention. Many responded with immense generosity. But a picture of a weasel riding a hummingbird will be shared more times this month than all the photos from Syria. It is too soon to say RIP R2P, but the concept is bruised and battered beneath the rubble of Syria. After Rwanda, we said ‘never again’. We can’t say that now.

To those working on the conflict, we must not let ourselves be ground down, anaesthetised, or resigned to the status quo. We can’t just pump out meaningless platitudes. We must double down on audacious and courageous diplomacy. We must speak truth unto power. We must continue to get help to the conflict’s victims.

I won’t be in Lebanon to write ‘Five Years On’. But, if the conflict continues on this trajectory, others will be writing it. And we outside the carnage will read, sigh, despair, and carry on with our lives. Yet this filthy, pointless, soul destroying, child slaughtering, toxic war leaves us all more deeply scarred than we can comprehend.

For Lebanon, this period ahead requires yet more wisdom, caution and neutrality, to keep Syria’s war away. Lebanon may have faced some grave threats and taken some deep wounds. But we back the resilience of the Lebanese people.

British Ambassador Tom Fletcher’s blogs on what the UK is doing for Lebanon and refugees.  G8 Summit: Lebanon does not face Syria refugee crisis alone; Is the pen mightier than the sword?; Why this UNGA matters for Lebanon (and all of us); A United Nation at the UN.

UK support to the Lebanese Armed Forces Managing Contagion: The battle to keep Lebanon out of the war in Syria; The support to match their courage; Sovereignty, borders and keeping Lebanon out of the war; Keeping the ‘Islamic State’ out of Lebanon, and Lebanon out of the’ Islamic State’.

This was first published on Al Arabiya English.

2 comments on “Tolerating the Intolerable: Syria, Four Years On

  1. Dear Ambassador Fletcher,
    I read your heartbreaking blog and was impressed both by your writing and by your humanity.
    I wanted to reach out to you because I’m involved in cultural diplomacy through the NGO American Voices and plan to teach and perform (I’m a classical guitarist) in August at Notre Dame University (and potentially the refugee camps). Do you have any words of wisdom regarding the safety of my plans and, more importantly, is there anything that I can do with my work that would benefit your mission there?
    With Admiration,
    Susan McDonald
    mayflyartists@juno.com
    http://www.Facebook.com/GuitaristSusanMcDonald

  2. Dear Mr. Fletcher,

    My name is Marc Zovighian, I am a british citizen currently living in Lebanon where I’ve been part of the Startup scene for the past 2 years.

    Yesterday, I met Omar Chatah, Accelerator Manager at UK Lebanon Tech Hub, which I think is an amazing initiative that is bound to unlock a huge potential in the region. We talked a lot about this initiative and your name obviously came up on numerous occasions.

    I’m currently founder of a gaming studio called HomeLabs, that aims to raise awareness an funds for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), through social media efforts and games tailored to train cognitive skills.I’ve also decided donate 50% of the company’s revenue to speed the search for a cure for this complex brain disease. I’ve purposely launched this initiative in April, which happens to be Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

    There’s so much to learn about Parkinson’s Disease: identifying early symptoms, grasping the physical and mental repercussions, dealing with side effects of medications, and learning what you can do as a loved one to support a PD patient.

    I’ve know people that suffer from the disease for quite some time now and it’s always been one of my dreams to contribute to raising awareness about Parkinson’s Disease. I thought I’d be doing this much later in life, but one day it struck me that creating “brain games” was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness about a brain disease. It’s also a great way to spread a positive message about it. So why wait any longer?

    They say “knowing is half the battle” and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve noticed that very few people understand the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, especially here in the region, which makes it much harder to cope with for PD patients and families of PD patients. If more people were aware, patients would be less prone to denial about their condition and more willing to learn to live with it.

    My goal is to change that and this is what I’m trying to achieve with HomeLabs: create games that are beneficial to the brain, all while raising awareness about a brain disease and donating half of my revenues to a foundation.

    I’m working all alone on this, I did the design, the branding, the cognitive science research, the conceptualisation & the development. I’m trying my best to also take care of Marketing but things are getting pretty tough and I’m having a hard time managing everything by myself.

    First of all, I would love to have your opinion on this initiative: http://www.byhomelabs.com

    Second, if you’re convinced of it, I was wondering if you’d be interested in endorsing it and helping me spread the word about it. I’m sure we can have a much bigger impact with you on board.

    I’m so grateful if you’ve reached the end of this letter and have taken the time to listen to me. I can’t even begin to express what a positive response from your side would make me feel. I hope you didn’t find this to be envasive or inappropriate, I just had to find a way to reach you.

    I will be eagerly waiting for your answer, hoping that we can make this happen together. The decision is entirely yours and I will respect it regardless.

    You can reach me at anytime at mark@byhomelabs.com or at 71 270 498.

    Warm Regards,

    Marc Zovighian

Comments are closed.

About Tom Fletcher

Tom Fletcher was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic in August 2011. Tom was born in Kent, and studied at Harvey Grammar School (Folkestone) and Oxford University (Hertford…

Tom Fletcher was appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic in August 2011.

Tom was born in Kent, and studied at Harvey Grammar School (Folkestone) and Oxford University (Hertford College), graduating with a First class degree in Modern History. He has an MA in Modern History, and is a Senior Associate Member of St Anthony’s College for International Studies, Oxford.

He is married to Louise Fletcher and they have two sons, Charles (born 2006) and Theodor (born 2011). Tom enjoys political history, cricket (Strollers CC), and mountains, and is the co-founder of 2020 (a progressive think tank).

Tom was awarded the Companion of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2011 New Year’s Honours, for services to the Prime Minister.