U.S. airstrikes providing hope to Syrian-Americans for a better future

BOSTON — The recent U.S. military airstrike has left Syrians like Mohamad Al Barhan feeling hopeful that his country has a better future.

Al Barhan moved to Boston from Syria six years ago. The horrific scenes in Syria are a reality for the rest of his family and others living in Syria.

“It was really bad time during the last six years whenever I think of Syria. Whenever I think of my beloved ones still there,” said Al Barhan.

When news broke about the U.S. airstrike on Syria, he said that his initial guilt turned to relief.

“Just give us a little bit of hope that the crisis over there in our home country where we grew up… that there's a potential for an end to it,” said Al Barhan.

John Cerone, an International Law Professor at the Tufts Fletcher School in Medford, said the U.S. is sending a message that it will not tolerate chemical warfare. The professor said he does not believe that the U.S. will go to war or even force Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government out of power.

“It does not want a power vacuum. There's no confidence that there would be a capable administration ready to bring order to Syria,” said Cerone.

Al Barhan said that Assad must be overthrown in order to achieve lasting peace. For now, however he hopes that this military strike will prove to the Syrian government that the world will no longer stand by silently.

“It gives a lot of messages for the government and Assad to think 100 times before taking any crazy, bloody action,” said Al Barhan.

Russia continues to play a major role in this recent event, and the country is a member of the International Security Council.

Cerone said that Russia would likely agree to vote if the council were to ask its members to vote on condemning chemical warfare without mentioning Syria.

Cox Media Group