Siria Lands On UN’s ‘List Of Shame’…
Uh-Oh.
That’s the way I heard it when I got in my car and NPR was in the middle of re-capping the days news-worthy events.
Not something I wanted to hear after a long day at work.
Only, thankfully it was actually the country Syria and not me that had landed on that list of shame.
This is nothing new. You’ve read about my name woes before. Also, Ever since my Geography classes in elementary school during the Cold War, Syria seems to have been causing nothing but trouble and this Siria has had to hear all about it. Have I ever mentioned that one of my best friends in elementary school through jr. high was named Iran? No joke. Go check my Facebook friends. She’s there, only now spells her name with two n’s. I wonder if she feels the same about the country Iran?
Our teacher at the time used to like to say, “Pay attention everyone, this is probably the only time in our lifetimes that you will see Iran and Syria/Siria getting along without causing any trouble.”
You might’ve been led to believe that it was the “US courtship of Syria” might’ve driven “a wedge between Syria and Iran”, but in reality it’s because she was a year older and we ended up going to different high schools and just never really saw each other anymore after that.
Thank goodness, I have never taken myself very seriously– not even as a little kid.
Anyhow, about once a year I offer an apology to all of my friends via Facebook (or Myspace prior to fb) apologizing for how much they have had to hear my name. As I said, ever since the Cold War, Syria sure has managed to spend a lot of time in the news leading this Siria who doesn’t really like attention, to get sick of hearing her own name. I can only imagine how the rest of the world must feel.
I’m thinking it’s about time that maybe I went over there and had a talk with them, you know Syria to Siria. Has anyone tried that yet? Sending a Siria to speak with Syria?
It has been said that “The problems of Syria mainly include the water scarcity and their political affairs.”
But really the real issues aren’t quite dehydration, but seems to be that they behave more like a cranky toddler with daddy issues, whose parents never really enforced the rules, being disrespectful and throwing temper tantrums all over the place when it doesn’t get a new toy. It also missed that day in Kindergarten where they taught you how to share, or even pre-school altogether where some kids learn to play with others. Such antics should’ve been put a stop to a long time ago.
However, its antics do sometimes amuse me when I automatically hear it as something “Siria” did and not “Syria”
Some of the more amusing sound bites that I’ve caught have been:
The ones concerning the Middle East.
“Syria is at the heart of any plan to resolve the current conflict in the Middle East. … Will Syria Help Ease Mideast Turmoil?”
- I’m totally up for helping, but Middle East, you’ve been helped so many times. When will you help yourself? I’m pretty sure you know how to fish by now.
“Peace with Syria, Will Bring Peace to the Middle East”
- If this is true. I’m pretty at peace, Middle East will you follow suit already?
Then the one’s I’ve awakened to at 5/6am:
“Syria will fix everything”
- This one was from a few years ago, and I honestly think I heard it while still half asleep. I was more than a little confused when I fully woke up and was wondering what on earth I needed to fix now.
And the most recent one from just a day or two ago.
“Kremlin confirms, Syria will receive attack helicopters from Russia” and just in case doubts about the helicopters actually being delivered existed, they added from a Russian Millitary Sr. Ranking Official “Syria is our friend, and we fulfill all our obligations to our friends,” (I do have a history of having been nice to any Russians I have encountered along my lifespan)
Thanks Russia you must have heard that my office is right next to the helipad and that I’d recently jokingly requested helicopter sponsorship, but really I couldn’t, I mean it’s not even my birthday! Well, if you insist…I guess I couldn’t really refuse a friends gift right? I wonder if they have classes for helicopters to train them not to attack? Maybe something like the dog obedience classes at Petsco? If you know of any, please let me know. I’m going to have to domesticate my new helicopters stat, before they attack someone.
Obviously, I’m well aware of the actual Syrian issues. You can’t really miss them with as much as they’re in the news. In spite of making light of them within this entry, I genuinely do hope a solution is found in our lifetime as I have much compassion for the residents of Syria, and hate the fact that generations of people have had to and continue to grow up in those kinds of conditions under such turmoil and such a tumultuous political climate. In the end we are all human and the ability to feel for one another is something that links us all. Here’s to hoping that those that have created such unrest and brought about such brutality will be losing wind in their sails in the very near future.