• 29 Apr, 2026

History often repeats itself in different places and eras, and the tragedies of nations seem to echo one another. From Guernica in Spain to Homs in Syria, the story is painfully similar: a people demanding freedom, a regime responding with brutality, and a world watching in silence.

A Song, a Poster, and a Dead Child Under Bombs

In 1998, the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers released the song “If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next”, inspired by the Spanish Civil War. The title came from a Republican poster showing a dead child beneath Franco’s warplanes, with the warning: “If you tolerate this, your children will be next.”

The warning proved true. After Franco’s victory, the world plunged into World War II, costing millions of lives.

From Wales to Spain… From Homs to the World

Another line in the song reads: “If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists.” It was said by a Welsh teenager who left home to fight Franco’s forces.

In Syria, too, peaceful activists became fighters, then were labeled “extremists” by global media, driven by the endless images of children killed under rubble.

Images That Ignite Anger

In the digital age, images spread instantly. The horrific photos from Syria—children torn apart or burned—were far more powerful than any 1930s poster. For many, they created a sense of moral urgency that the world failed to address.

Political Parallels and Foreign Intervention

Just as Franco received support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, the Syrian regime received backing from:

·         Iran

·         Hezbollah

·         Russia

Meanwhile, major powers watched from afar, repeating the same mistakes made during the Spanish Civil War.

From Guernica to Homs… One Painting, Different Colors

Picasso’s Guernica, depicting a bombed city, mirrors the images of Homs, Baba Amr, and Al‑Khaldiyeh. The destruction is the same, the suffering is the same, and the world’s silence is the same.

Orwell’s Spain and Syria Today

British writer George Orwell joined the fight against Franco and later wrote “Homage to Catalonia.” His experience raises a haunting question today: Why do democrats and human rights defenders hesitate to stand with Syrians as Orwell stood with the Spanish?

A Revolution Hijacked

Like Spain, Syria’s revolution was hijacked by:

        Extremist groups

      Regional powers

         Global interests

      Regime propaganda

Yet the core truth remains: Syrians rose for freedom, dignity, and justice.

A Future That Cannot Mirror the Past

One key difference stands out: The Assad regime will never regain legitimacy. Its crimes are too vast, its brutality too exposed.

A Final Reflection

As the writer looks at ten years of Syrian tragedy, he whispers the symbolic line: “If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot Assad.” A metaphor for the anger, the helplessness, and the unanswered question: What stops the free world from standing with Syrians?