DEARBORN — Last Sunday evening, hundreds of community members rallied at Dearborn’s City Hall to call on the U.S. to cease from arming rebels in Syria, as the country’s conflict continues to escalate, resulting in a death toll that the U.N. estimates could now be close to 100,000.  

The rally was spearheaded by the Syrian American Forum, whose leaders claim that Syria’s rebel forces are mass murderers, who have contributed nothing but terror and destruction to their homeland. Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, spoke during the onset of the rally and called on President Obama to stay out of Syria’s affairs, comparing his administration to George W. Bush’s administration during the U.S-Iraq War.

Last month, the White House announced that it would be aiding Syrian rebel groups in their attempts to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad, claiming that he is a war criminal, who has used chemical weapons against his own people. Many speculate that the U.S. has been quietly supporting the rebels for months now, by funneling weapons to them through the surrounding countries of Jordan and Turkey and by stationing U.S. troops in Jordan and along the southern Syrian border.

Local opinions in Dearborn seem to differ from that of the White House, with many Syrian and Lebanese Americans vying for the Syrian president to stay in power. Dozens showed their support for President Assad, by waving Syrian flags that included his picture and displaying t-shirts, posters and signs, some of which read “We strongly support President Assad,” and “Criminals killing people in the streets of Syria are not reformers.”

Locals gather in front of Dearborn’s City Hall to protest against the U.S. government’s involvement in the Syria conflict.

Many participants pointed out that the actions of rebel forces should not be tolerated.  They cited examples of them killing innocent civilians and referenced a few incidents where YouTube videos were uploaded online of rebels eating the organs of those they killed on camera. 

“What is going on in Syria is very tragic. They are trying to take over Bashar, and they think that it’s okay to kill innocent people and put horrific videos on YouTube. We are here today to try to speak out to Obama, and to tell him to help out the Syrian people,” said Maysa Ouza, a Lebanese American from Dearborn.

George Deeb, a Syrian American, who immigrated from the city of Homs to study Engineering in the U.S., said that he would like to take his wife and children back to visit his home country, but doesn’t see that happening anytime soon, because of its instability. He explained that the U.S.’s positioning on the war in Syria is all too familiar.

“I have lived in this country for over 40 years, and I have seen the U.S. getting involved in wars all over the world.  They should have learned their lesson for arming rebels when they got involved in Afghanistan, and they should have learned their lesson when they got involved in Iraq.  Now, they are doing the same thing in Syria, and they don’t know who they are dealing with. They are going to end up arming rebels who will turn against us. The bottom line is that the U.S. needs to stay the hell out of Syria,” Deeb said.  

Other speakers at the rally, who opposed any U.S. involvement in Syria’s conflict, included Sayyed Hassan Al Qazwini from the Islamic Center of America and David Sole of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice. Sole told the crowd that the media’s classification of the Syrian conflict as a “civil war” is an inaccurate description.

“It is not a civil war when the U.S. Secretary of State organizes the opposition coalitions, tells them who their members are and when and where they should meet. It is not a civil war when the Central Intelligence Agency organizes massive arms shipments into Turkey and Jordan that are then funneled into Syria,” Sole told the protestors, who cheered in agreement during his speech.

However, not everyone appeared to be on one side during the rally. Moments of tension escalated among protestors when some community members, who were standing across the street, started waving rebel flags in a counter-protest. When rally participants caught sight of the counter-protestors, they began to shift their attention to them. The organizers of the event nearly lost control of the crowd when participants began flooding Michigan Avenue to confront the counter-protestors.  Things quickly settled down as mediators worked to keep confrontations at a minimum. 

Hassan Nasrallah, a Dearborn resident, who came to the rally to show his support for President Assad, said that he was disappointed that counter-protestors were present at the event, as they may have had ulterior motives in place. 

“I would like to ask these people what their motives are for coming to this rally. I would ask them why they are bringing this flag, when they know our feelings towards it. Let them be in opposition to us.  That is completely acceptable, because there is freedom in this country,” said Dearborn resident Hassan Nasrallah. 

However, not all moments during the rally were tense. During one portion of the event, a celebration of Syria’s culture and heritage ensued, as Syrian music blared through loud speakers. Many participants held hands in solidarity and engaged in traditional Syrian dance routines, expressing their pride as Arab Americans, who also have the best interest of their homelands at heart.