UIC Barcelona held the round table “Syria: towards peace and harmony” on World Refugee Day, featuring speakers from various social fields, including Zaki Alrifai, general coordinator of the Syrian National Alliance. 

In his remarks, Alrifai argued, “No one is more interested than Syrians in achieving peace and restoring the harmony people once had.” However, he continued, “to achieve peace, we must first lay the groundwork, and the regime in Syria is not ready to make the transition, to bring harmony to the Syrian people.”

The round table also featured Joan Babeli, president of the Horizon for Syrians association, who noted, “The war in Syria began due to classism, between poor and rich, not religion, and it has since spilled beyond the borders.” In this regard, Babeli called upon the United Nations (UN) to engage in dialogue for peace. 

Tomàs Alcoverro, who has worked as a correspondent in the Middle East for 50 years, also participated. Alcoverro defined the armed conflict as “a war behind closed doors” and “one of the worst explained [wars], not out of bad faith but because one part of the reality was not seen”, a fact that “has divided the world”. The journalist, who has known the country since the 1970s, regretted that “people’s criminal lack of knowledge about Syria’s history, in my view, has been a major obstacle to understanding a war like this.” 

The specialist in prehistoric archaeology and full professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Miquel Molist, underscored the country’s outstanding heritage and hoped that “the value of history would unite, not separate”. Additionally, based on his experience working in the field since 1978, he lamented that “the young generation of Syrians currently between the ages of 25 and 40, who, despite all the problems, still had hope and training, has been abruptly and painfully broken”. 

Finally, according to Xavier Garí, a specialist in the History of Peace and lecturer at UIC Barcelona, “Until there can be a process of understanding between the different parties, including reconstruction and reparations for the parties, it will be a difficult path forward.” However, he said, “I hope that it will happen."