Syrians Reflect on 12 Years of Devastating War and Recent Earthquake

Survivors of the 12-year Syrian civil war were hit by a massive earthquake on February 6, 2023, which left thousands homeless. The White Helmets, a volunteer civil defense organization, were the only ones to respond to the disaster, but they were unequipped to deal with the magnitude of the disaster. The United Nations has been criticized for its slow response, and an independent U.N.-backed commission has called for a formal investigation into why it took so long to get additional border crossings open. The earthquakes may have prolonged the Syrian peoples' suffering on account of the war, and Iran's military has been accused of taking advantage of the post-quake chaos to smuggle advanced weapons into Syria.