It is not a lesson in philosophy or psychology as any dictionary or encyclopedia will provide the reader with the meaning of the phrase used in this title. However, it is clear that the confusion between illusion and reality has accompanied man since the beginning of creation. To quote Samuel Beckett: “[…] soon as we are born, our life comes to an end; and between birth and death, we live in the shadow of a reality that is so close to an illusion, but an illusion that resembles reality.”
the Assad regime was under the illusion that it was impossible for Syrians to start a revolution in the first place
Dr. Yahya Alaridi
Hence, life and death seem to be the two clearest realities that exist apart from the human mind. Other than that, it is difficult to decide on any classification due to the intervention of countless factors in the descriptive classification processes of the two. And if “science fiction”, which is tainted with a lot of “illusion”, is the first manufacturer of the most important human inventions, with the latest and most important of them being “artificial intelligence”, then the confusion between “illusion” and “reality” becomes one of the most important features of present-day human life, let alone when it comes to an issue such as the Syrian issue which resembles a pile of intertwined threads, politically, economically, psychologically, socially, militarily, etc.
For example, the Assad regime was under the illusion that it was impossible for Syrians to start a revolution in the first place. And when the illusion turned into reality, Assad fought it with all kinds of weapons, including forbidden ones. He sought help from Iran, Russia, Israel, America, the Arabs, and global intelligence. Eventually, he embraced the illusion that he had won. But his delusions clashed with the illusions and the realities of the Syrian uprising. There was no greater illusion than that Syria could not be without Assad or the country’s “shabiha.” This is comparable to the illusion of the Syrians who went out to overthrow a tyrannical junta and were shocked by the reality that to do so they also had to overthrow a number of tyrannical systems.
We imagine that just as people do not differ on the colors “black” and “white”, they do not differ in their perceptions of “illusion” and “reality.” However, life and its ramifications do not allow for absolute classifications. No matter how long the threads of illusion are, they fall short of reality and only succeed in keeping the delusional captive within the labyrinth of the shell that their mind has woven.
the reality is that the opposition, and the countries that support it, failed to achieve the goal, even in regards to clarifying what this opposition is and what its ultimate goal is
Dr. Yahya Alaridi
With the start of their revolution, the Syrians imagined for a short period of peaceful resistance with roses and words, then weapons, politics, negotiation, and international decisions, that their victory was assured. An illusion arose that Assad would fall within days or months. They were delusional about a divine victory, hoping that their illusion would turn into reality. As such the two merged further. Since shortly after the beginning of the crisis, the opposition imagined that it had accomplished 90 percent of the goals of the revolution and its leaders began to compete and draw plans to share positions and how to manage the post-regime state. But the reality is that the opposition, and the countries that support it, failed to achieve the goal, even in regards to clarifying what this opposition is and what its ultimate goal is.
One of the first reasons for the failure was that the more the revolution took on a religious dimension, the more it was distorted by the shovel of terrorism, as some imagined that they were carrying out a religious revolution. The second was the illusion of those who assumed that the West supported movements for liberation from tyranny and that the so-called “free world” would support their cause. Let the truth become clear: The “free world” is a big lie. It is basically not free and exists in a state of self-interest that does not know morals but trades in the fate of people. A third reason was the illusion of some that the Syrian opposition had national elites who had the support of the people. A fourth — specifically in regard to the Islamic Movement — was the illusion that it was a guardian of the people and their revolution.
the “global conspiracy against Syria” was the biggest illusion created by the Assad regime, which it successfully promoted and elaborated upon
Dr. Yahya Alaridi
As a result, distorted narratives were created, which may appear positive in their appearance because they are clouded with illusion; but its consequences are negative and catastrophic when the truth is revealed. Hence, not everyone is able to distinguish between illusion and reality, but rather most exist in a place closer to the world of illusions.
On the other hand, the “global conspiracy against Syria” was the biggest illusion created by the Assad regime, which it successfully promoted and elaborated upon. Its meaning was that the world wants to destroy Syria. This gave the Assad regime room for destruction within limits that no conspiracy could do. The irony is that the illusion that the regime sought to plant as a reality has actually turned into reality. To make it clear I would say that if there was a tool for the success of the conspiracy, then the regime was the tool that it warned against, and it proved to be the most effective tool. The same applies to the issue of “terrorism”, which the Assad regime has invested heavily in, presenting itself as a “victim of terrorism”, when in reality the regime itself is the magnet for terrorism in Syria.
whoever believes that the Caesar Act, the Captagon Act, and the recent report of the Chemical Committee on the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime have moved the Syrian issue from the phase of illusion to the phase of reality is delusional
Dr. Yahya Alaridi
In the Syrian case, the list of realities far outweighs the list of illusions. Bombing, destruction, chemical weapons, barrel bombs, massacres, arrest, extortion, poverty, impoverishment, asylum, loss, nostalgia, Khamenei’s and Hassan Nasrallah’s militias, hundreds of Putin’s weapons, more than a million martyrs, and Russia and Iran’s control of Syria’s capabilities are all eye-opening facts, not an illusion.
And at the same time, whoever believes that the Caesar Act, the Captagon Act, and the recent report of the Chemical Committee on the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime have moved the Syrian issue from the phase of illusion to the phase of reality is delusional. Illusions become facts when the Syrians see the translation of these efforts on the ground; in turn, the effects on the ground can only be translated into realities when the Syrian people are empowered to achieve their emancipation with their own hands.
