For Attal, this is far from the home he knew one year ago.

“When I talk with my family, they tell me to erase whatever I have in my memories of Syria because it’s not the same anymore,” he said. “They are not the same people, they are not the same … everything is different.”

Mirroring many other countries in the Middle East, Syrian civilians began uprising last March, as thousands of civilians are protesting for their democratic freedom. The fight continues today, and Attal is among a handful of students who are watching the conflict closely from MSU.

The conflict
According to CNN, the current death toll in the Syrian dispute recently reached more than 7,500 casualties, but after 5,000, Attal said he couldn’t look at the numbers anymore.

Matthew Zierler, assistant professor of international relations, said the Syrian conflict is part of a larger uprising called the Arab Spring, which also has impacted Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

“Over the last year, citizens opposed to the most authoritarian regimes have been trying to protest, and they seem successful in removing these leaders,” he said. “There’s a lot of groups that will say if it was successful in one country, it could be successful here.”

Attal said places he has visited in Syria have been bombed and people he knows, including friends he used to play soccer with, have been victims of the violence.

Born in Syria, construction management sophomore Osama Basal grew up in the United Arab Emirates, but still has family scattered across Syria. Basal said he often wishes he could be in Syria joining the protesters.

“If they succeed, then I have nothing to do with it, which in a way kind of hurts me,” he said.
“If I was there, I wouldn’t mind being on the streets … You fight for what you believe in.”

Living in East Lansing, Attal said he sometimes feels lost and confused about the conflict between updates he finds in the news each day. Over the phone, his parents won’t give him specific details about the violence, in fear the government could be tracking the calls, he said.

“I wish I could be with my family, but of course I’m happy to be safe here,” he said. “At the same time, it’s more difficult to be here because (I) don’t know what’s going on.”

Neighbors react
As death tolls continue to rise, Paulo Pinheiro, chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, informed the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday the violence has caused more than 70,000 Syrians to move locations within the country and thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Serhat Bucak, president of the MSU Turkish Student Association, said from what he’s seen in Turkish news, his home country (which borders Syria) is in support of Syrian protesters.

“Turkey is quite related, because every day around 50 people are coming (to Turkey) from Syria,” he said. “I’m concerned about Turkey’s position in this, and I want it to be resolved quickly.”

As graduate student Mostafa Papi flips through news from his home in Khorramabad, Iran, he said the violence also has impacted him as a Middle East native.

“I feel like the people who are getting killed there are people just like me,” he said.

Papi said Iran’s support for the Syrian government in the conflict reflects the Iranian government’s interests in Syria, which acts as a bridge between Iran and its allies in other Middle Eastern countries.

Because of the United Nations’ hesitance to become involved in the Syrian conflict, Zierler said heads are turning to the west.

“There’s a big debate that’s going on regarding the role of the United States and whether it should be (involved),” he said.

But Attal said he feels many Syrians do not want intervention from outside countries.

“The freedom Syria needs, it’s different from the freedom the west knows,” he said.

Graduate student Itai Shemesh, who is from Haifa, Israel, said he feels it’s important for individuals to put themselves in Syrian shoes when reading about the conflicts, especially as a citizen of a country that’s often in the limelight for its political controversy.

“From my point of view and (in) my country, we find it legitimate to protest because it’s one of the core values of democracy, but I don’t know how they live in Syria,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but before you judge, you should go into their minds and live how they live.”

Going home
Despite the constant wave of devastating news from his home in Syria, Attal said he can’t let the problems back home interfere with his happiness at MSU too much.

“I have my studies, I have my relationships here and my friends,” he said. “I cannot take it too personally that it affects me and depresses me. I try to get over it and do well in my studies and, to some extent, enjoy my time here.”

Zierler said in an era of instability, the return for students going back home after a massive conflict isn’t always an easy one.

“They might be worried about families and the outcome, what kind of normalcy comes, as well as what will the nature of the regime look like (afterwards),” he said.

Attal said Syrians are not against one ruling regime or sect, and he would vote for any leader regardless of religious background as long as they support democracy in the country. Although he is uncertain when he will return to Syria to see friends and family, Attal said he hopes to see a country revolutionized.

“I hope to see political stability and freedom,” he said. “I hope people can speak their mind and express their feelings, and (overall), a stable country economically and politically.”

For now, Attal will have to wait for his next phone call from home to feel the comfort of knowing his family remains safe.

“I want to tell them I love them, of course,” he said. “I miss them very much, and I see them in my dreams.”