This series of articles discusses the sociological difficulties confronting Syrian citizens and refugees compelled to flee the nation. As Muhammad, a war survivor, Syria has several sociological problems that the ongoing conflict has exacerbated. The significant destruction of health care infrastructure has increased neonatal mortality, infectious infections, and the loss of chronic disease treatment. The destruction of residential structures and food delivery infrastructure jeopardizes basic human requirements for shelter and sustenance.
Exposure to war-related cruelty is a significant risk factor for devastating psychiatric illnesses, the effects of which typically last much beyond the duration of the conflict (“Humans of New York – refugee stories,” 2019). Armed wars also devastate families and communities, displacing civilians and severely eroding social capital. Younger age, female status, conflict exposure, and a lack of social support all serve as additional risk factors for decreased well-being.
Social status is a sociological concept that has a significant role in determining one’s health, particularly in Syria. The majority of families in the nation have a low socioeconomic standing, which means they face various health problems and cannot get healthcare, which is frequently of poor quality (Daniel et al., 2018). As the victim pointed out, a lack of health treatment also adds to mental health pressures, such as being sad and developing suicidal thoughts.
Ethnicity is another sociological topic that plays a role in resolving sociological problems. The victim’s family members are Kurds, one of several ethnic minorities who have remained neutral in the Syrian crisis. Their family was beheaded as a result of ethnic tensions. In Syria, radicalization and violent extremism are forms of deviance, a sociological notion. The conflict has resulted in a lack of social control and integration, which results in people deviating from socially accepted standards. ISIS accuses the victim’s brother of being a non-Muslim because he is of Kurdish ethnicity.
The ongoing fight for control and scarce resources between the Syrian government and anti-government factions exemplifies conflict theory. In Syria, cultural violence shaped by ideology and religion has aided the region’s continuation of terrorism. The deprivation of the most fundamental and non-negotiable requirements, which jeopardized residents’ ability to survive, was the primary catalyst for the emergence of aggressiveness (Barkan, 2017).
Thus, the society may trace the circumstances contributing to the Syrian crisis back to years of repression, poverty, and a lack of representative institutions, which revealed themselves via protests. The situation resulted in a significant food deficiency and an increase in the cost of living, resulting in a growth in patronage networks that gave profitable enterprises to limited circles of elites.
According to functionalist theory, society significantly impacts order and can prevent conflict and war from escalating. Community comes first, and the majority’s interests take precedence over the interests of individual individuals. All components of society, according to functionalism, serve a purpose. Government and politics, according to functionalists, are a means of enforcing rules and resolving disputes. Similarly, functionalism stresses how war and terrorism benefit society, regardless of how dreadful they are. War helps in the resolution of international conflicts over geographical boundaries and religious beliefs. War strengthens a society’s feeling of social cohesion and togetherness. With a common enemy, members of a vying for power society have a similar goal and feel more connected and patriotic than ever before.
Interactionist theory is concerned with the interpersonal interactions that exist within a society. Symbolic interactionism focuses on how ideas such as war and terrorism are interpreted to benefit the interests of various parties. During basic training, for example, one of the main goals of the military is to persuade trainees that people they meet on the battlefield are the enemy and should be killed. The trainees are convinced that they commit murder when they shoot down an enemy soldier to achieve this goal. Additionally, the military may refer to civilian casualties as “collateral damage” to minimize public anger over civilian deaths or injuries either purposefully or accidentally.
References
Barkan, S. E. (2017). Social problems: Continuity and change. University of Minnesota Press.
Daniel, H., Bornstein, S. S., & Kane, G. C. (2018). Addressing social determinants to improve patient care and promote health equity: An American College of Physicians position paper. Annals of Internal Medicine, 168(8), 577-578.
Humans of New York – refugee stories. (2019). Humans of New York. Web.