The Life Of A Refugee

Introduction

The practice of granting asylum to people fleeing persecution in foreign lands is one of the earliest hallmarks of civilization. The year 2015, in particular, has witnessed an exponential growth in the number of refugees and migrants, with nearly 400,000 refugees arriving by sea into Greece alone. This staggering nine month total of just the sea arrivals is nearly 10 times the previous year’s total of 43,500.

Who is a Refugee?

A refugee, in short, is someone who departs from the country of his nationality to seek protection elsewhere. The reason for his/her departure may be attributed to social discrimination, civil war, natural disasters, etc. Though Refugees may be the prime focus of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), there are many other categories of people who fall under the direct concern of the UNHCR.

Migrants are usually confused with Refugees, and though the means are similar, they are fundamentally different and are hence treated differently. Migrants move to change future prospects for their own life. They can still acquire protection from their own state, but prefer to move, while Refugees transfer because their nation is incapable of protecting them.

The third category is Stateless people. They are unfortunate people who have no nationality. This situation might arise due to various reasons, most of which have no fault of the victims, like border changes, ethnic discrimination, etc. Without a nationality, one cannot acquire ID cards, Passports, bank accounts or admission into universities. Try imagining yourself in their situation. According to the UNHCR, more than 10 million people worldwide fall under this category.

IDPs or Internally Displaced People, as the name states, are people displaced from their homes but within their own country. The UNHCR, as of January 2014, accounts for well over 26 million IDPs.

Asylum-Seekers are also confused with Refugees. In its essence, the term Refugee refers to the people who have acquired aid from another country, while Asylum-Seekers still haven’t been able to do so.

‘The Refugee Crisis’ of 2015

Just as Ebola dominated the news channels of 2014, this year’s crown goes to ‘The Refugee Crisis’, and it deserves that spot. Awareness should be made so that crisis does not get out of hand. The highest number of Refugees are from Syria. Both the ISIS killings and the Civil War play an important role in that. Nearly 5,000 cross the Mediterranean Sea everyday into Greece. Hungary receives nearly 30,000 new Refugees and migrants every week. The Mediterranean isn’t the only region face this issue though. Asian countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and African countries like the Central African Republic are among the highest Refugee sources in the world.

Challenges Faced by the émigré

In order to escape the atrocities faced in their home town, Refugees flee the nation, but right into the arms of impending danger. It would be foolish to think that the hardships faced by the Refugees, end once they cross the border, which in itself is a daunting task. People wait months on their side of the border, helplessly and desperately waiting for the adjacent nation to grant them permission to enter. It takes 3 months to cross the Mediterranean by boat, and hundreds cram themselves into small fisherman’s boats to attempt escape via the sea. Over a hundred lives have been lost at sea this year trying to survive the strong waves, winds and storms of the region. And acquiring food at sea is a problem on a whole new level altogether. But the journey is not over once they reach foreign soil. Countless problems await the Asylum-seekers like acquiring proper shelter, a stable source of income, cultural and language problems, social stereotyping, etc. All of these problems pile up on each other, bringing to life a whole new hell for the population of concern.

UN Help

The UNHCR, established on December 14, 1950, is the United Nations spearhead for Refugee Aid and Protection and has since become the backbone of support for Refugees, with their budget crossing US$ 7 Billion in 2015. In 2014, the council started a 10 year plan to eradicate Statelessness. Under the EU Scheme for Refugees, the UNHCR and its associated European nations have been assisting the incoming horde of migrating population from Africa and the Middle East. News like “First Group of Asylum-seekers in Italy relocated to Sweden” and “200,000 Refugee Children to get free Education in Lebanon” have become an everyday thing. All of these efforts are facilitated by donations from willing parties.

Hemanth Chenna

BITSMUN Society

Iran Nuclear Deal: What's in Store Ahead

The global crude oil market is already oversupplied currently, which is also evident from the recent weakness in prices. With Iran entering the market the gap will widen between supply and demand. Iran will have to give some discount in order to lure buyers for long term contracts. For other OPEC countries it will become difficult to maintain balance between the price and contracts.

The recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program has triggered an explosion of commentary, analysis, spin, criticism, hyperbole, and advocacy about the in depth details of the deal. Before this there had been numerous attempts to negotiate with Iran when the Iranian dissident groups raised alarm over the country’s nuclear programme by revealing the existence of nuclear facilities that had not been declared to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).

Hassan Rouhani who had served as Iran’s nuclear negotiator 10 years ago now serves as the president. To end Iran’s international isolation, he promised constructive engagement with the international communities which focused at lifting economic sanctions.

The agreement between P5+1 countries (U.S., China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and Germany) with Iran was held at Switzerland in July 2015. The UN Security Council passed many resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran’s non-compliance regarding its safeguards agreement under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran first rejected the demand of Security Council that it suspend all uranium enrichment related processing activities, which led to downfall of Iran’s economy due to imposed sanctions.

The P5+1 countries wanted to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon either by processing their own uranium or getting it from outside clandestinely. However, negotiators have allowed Iran to enrich uranium concluding that dismantling of entire infrastructure was completely unrealistic. They have put strict limits on Iran’s enrichment project, this included redesigning of plutonium producing water reactor and a highly intrusive inspection regime to prevent illegal usage of Uranium. The main aim was to extend the breakout capability- which is the time required to produce enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon.

For the resource dependent economy of Iran that have ratcheted up in severity due to the sanctions, there was an urgent need to regain the lost balance and influence in the Middle East region. Specifically the sanctions on the export of oil and gas and the import of technology required to process the energy resources had crippled the country’s economic situations. Sanctions related to other aspects such as human rights issues, support of terrorism and its missile programme will remain unaffected.

Under this agreement Iran will cut down the number of installed enrichment centrifuges from 19000 to 6000, out of which only 5000 will be spinning. Moreover, all of them will be first generation centrifuges and none of the advanced systems can be used for at least the next 10 years. Iran will have to put more Research and Development in order produce more efficient designs based primarily on the plans submitted to IAEA.

Fordow, Iran’s second enrichment facility, which is considered to be impregnable by air strikes as it is buried deep inside a mountain, will cease all the enrichment processes and be turned into a physics research centre. It will not produce or store the fissile material for the next 15 years. Iran will have to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium from 10000kg to 300kg. The heavy water reactor at Arak will be redesigned and its core, which can be used to produce weapons grade plutonium, will be removed and destroyed and no other heavy-water reactor will be built for the next 15 years. Under the terms inspectors from IAEA will have access to inspect any facility that deemed to be suspicious.

The deal will make the Middle Eastern region safer. With more transparency in the programme the race for nuclear weapons among the region will stop that involves Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. Israel will certainly feel more secure.

Despite the fact that the oil prices will cripple down after lifting the sanctions, Russia who has an oil based economy, wanted this deal to take place. Iran with 4^th largest oil reserves in the world will enter the international energy sector, capture the market share of Russia and many other oil exporting countries and will push oil prices down. This surely will have a negative impact on the Russian economy. Russia’s relations with the West have deteriorated over the Ukraine issue and it sees preventing the emergence of another nuclear armed power near its borders as a vital national interest. Moreover, Russia considers Iran as a gateway to political and economic influence the Middle East Region. However, Russia can partially offset these losses of oil market share by selling arms to 

Iran once the U.N. arms embargo is also lifted.

For India, the oversupply of oil in the market will prove to be positive for importing countries like ours. Lower crude oil prices will bring down the import and subsidy bill for the government. India being a large importer of crude oil and imports around 80 per cent of its energy requirements, a dip in crude prices will not only positively impact the current account deficit (CAD) but also keep the inflation under control.

The recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program has triggered an explosion of commentary, analysis, spin, criticism, hyperbole, and advocacy about the in depth details of the deal. Before this there had been numerous attempts to negotiate with Iran when the Iranian dissident groups raised alarm over the country’s nuclear programme by revealing the existence of nuclear facilities that had not been declared to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency).

Hassan Rouhani who had served as Iran’s nuclear negotiator 10 years ago now serves as the president. To end Iran’s international isolation, he promised constructive engagement with the international communities which focused at lifting economic sanctions.

The agreement between P5+1 countries (U.S., China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and Germany) with Iran was held at Switzerland in July 2015. The UN Security Council passed many resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran’s non-compliance regarding its safeguards agreement under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran first rejected the demand of Security Council that it suspend all uranium enrichment related processing activities, which led to downfall of Iran’s economy due to imposed sanctions.

The P5+1 countries wanted to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon either by processing their own uranium or getting it from outside clandestinely. However, negotiators have allowed Iran to enrich uranium concluding that dismantling of entire infrastructure was completely unrealistic. They have put strict limits on Iran’s enrichment project, this included redesigning of plutonium producing water reactor and a highly intrusive inspection regime to prevent illegal usage of Uranium. The main aim was to extend the breakout capability- which is the time required to produce enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon.

For the resource dependent economy of Iran that have ratcheted up in severity due to the sanctions, there was an urgent need to regain the lost balance and influence in the Middle East region. Specifically the sanctions on the export of oil and gas and the import of technology required to process the energy resources had crippled the country’s economic situations. Sanctions related to other aspects such as human rights issues, support of terrorism and its missile programme will remain unaffected.

Under this agreement Iran will cut down the number of installed enrichment centrifuges from 19000 to 6000, out of which only 5000 will be spinning. Moreover, all of them will be first generation centrifuges and none of the advanced systems can be used for at least the next 10 years. Iran will have to put more Research and Development in order produce more efficient designs based primarily on the plans submitted to IAEA.

Fordow, Iran’s second enrichment facility, which is considered to be impregnable by air strikes as it is buried deep inside a mountain, will cease all the enrichment processes and be turned into a physics research centre. It will not produce or store the fissile material for the next 15 years. Iran will have to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium from 10000kg to 300kg. The heavy water reactor at Arak will be redesigned and its core, which can be used to produce weapons grade plutonium, will be removed and destroyed and no other heavy-water reactor will be built for the next 15 years. Under the terms inspectors from IAEA will have access to inspect any facility that deemed to be suspicious.

The deal will make the Middle Eastern region safer. With more transparency in the programme the race for nuclear weapons among the region will stop that involves Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. Israel will certainly feel more secure.

Despite the fact that the oil prices will cripple down after lifting the sanctions, Russia who has an oil based economy, wanted this deal to take place. Iran with 4^th largest oil reserves in the world will enter the international energy sector, capture the market share of Russia and many other oil exporting countries and will push oil prices down. This surely will have a negative impact on the Russian economy. Russia’s relations with the West have deteriorated over the Ukraine issue and it sees preventing the emergence of another nuclear armed power near its borders as a vital national interest. Moreover, Russia considers Iran as a gateway to political and economic influence the Middle East Region. However, Russia can partially offset these losses of oil market share by selling arms to Iran once the U.N. arms embargo is also lifted.
For India, the oversupply of oil in the market will prove to be positive for importing countries like ours. Lower crude oil prices will bring down the import and subsidy bill for the government. India being a large importer of crude oil and imports around 80 per cent of its energy requirements, a dip in crude prices will not only positively impact the current account deficit (CAD) but also keep the inflation under control.

Prior to this deal, India has been importing oil from Iran and paying back in Indian rupees, but the situation has now changed. India may now have to pay in Dollars which can have a sizeable impact on foreign currency reserves.

Exports from India includes automobile components, tools, motors and chemicals to Iran which will increase as the sanctions have now been removed. India will face a stiff competition from the European manufacturers as the value of Euro has depreciated in the last few years. Iran’s strategic position can provide India a gateway to the Central Asia which is a key to get foothold in the region.

The global crude oil market is already oversupplied currently, which is also evident from the recent weakness in prices. With Iran entering the market the gap will widen between supply and demand. Iran will have to give some discount in order to lure buyers for long term contracts. For other OPEC countries it will become difficult to maintain balance between the price and contracts.Prior to this deal, India has been importing oil from Iran and paying back in Indian rupees, but the situation has now changed. India may now have to pay in Dollars which can have a sizeable impact on foreign currency reserves.

Exports from India includes automobile components, tools, motors and chemicals to Iran which will increase as the sanctions have now been removed. India will face a stiff competition from the European manufacturers as the value of Euro has depreciated in the last few years. Iran’s strategic position can provide India a gateway to the Central Asia which is a key to get foothold in the region.

- Nikhil Sanghi

Sex Trafficking

Sex Trafficking

                Yes. Enough with the taboo.  Let us discuss sex trafficking today. Sex trafficking has become the second most lucrative business in the world, closely tailing narcotics (and followed by fire-arms). Which means sex trafficking deserves way more of our attention than I can hope to capture with this article. While you and I sit idly, on internet, bored of hours of TV, there are people out there, being bought and sold, and used for sex. They are being bought and sold for about $90/- when people like us are willing to pay over $150/- for a pure-bred German Shepherd.

“If you were making money off of someone else’s exploitation you were an exploiter.”

          Sex trafficking – whether within a country or across international borders – violates basic human rights, including the rights to bodily integrity, equality, dignity, health, security, and freedom from violence and torture. Key International human rights treaties, including but not limited to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), consider sex trafficking a form of sex discrimination and a human rights violation

Elements of Sex Trafficking:

Act: Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons;

 Sex trafficking. The image of a poor, young, pale little girl, probably in her teens, tied up in a room, beaten black and blue with bruises comes to mind. Unfortunately all of that is true in about half the cases. The other girls or women being trafficked are in love with their trafficker or pimp and these ‘pimps’ take advantage of this and use subtle coercion rather than outright violence.

          Pimps target vulnerable girls — often runaways, foster children, undocumented immigrants, and victims of physical and sexual abuse. Targets are generally ‘recruited’, after being stalked for quite some time, via kidnap, coercion, persuasion, and con. Then abused and extorted. Blackmail, manipulation, and/or brainwashing do the trick once the girl has been recruited. Never, usually allowed to stay in a town for long stretches of time, the ‘business’ booms in regions hosting famous events. ‘Johns’ matter.

Means: Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception*

 “WHEN YOU’RE A PART OF THAT LIFESTYLE, IT’S WHAT EVERYBODY IS DOING, IT BEGINS TO FEEL NORMAL. VIOLENCE BECOMES NORMAL, THE DEROGATORY NAMES MEN CALL YOU BECOME NORMAL, THE FEELINGS OF SELF LOATHING AND SUCH BECOME NORMAL…WHICH IS WHY I GUESS THE DRINKING, DRUGS AND DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BECAME NORMAL” a survivor recounted her experiences from the days when she gave up the control of her mind and fell into pimp-controlled street prostitution.

Although alcohol isn’t usually encouraged (it’s un-ladylike), the women are introduced to narcotics, to keep them under the grip of the pimp. They are branded or tattooed, to serve as barcodes (letters POE for “pimpin’ one eight”, Oklahoma). They are continually threatened on their families and/or themselves. Instead of receiving any aid, they are registered as prostitutes and arrested multiple times. The girls’ survival impulse disables them to seek help beyond all the inhumane torture they are subjected to, allowing them to be freely manipulated by their pimps.

Purpose: Prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, or slavery

          However much we may like it, the world is not equal. There are huge disparities be it economic, cultural, educational, or societal. Some states are jam-packed with people, cheaply available for labor due to the low conditions of living— poverty, oppression, lack of human rights, lack of social and economic opportunities. A few others happen to be well endowed to buy their way through to all luxuries life can offer, including ‘slaves’. This striking gradient is used by the exploiters to their great advantage. People with targets painted on their backs are usually those—

o   Entering a country illegally without proper documentation

o   Suffering from any physical disease or mental disability including addiction

o   With reduced capacity to form judgments, if children

o   In an unsafe and /or unsteady situation from a social stand-point.

o   Migrating from places of war, militarism, instability, political/ civil unrest and as such

o   Willing to sell sexual favors to make big money, fast.

         On the receivers’ end, the number of ‘Johns’ is going up by the day. The more there is increase in demand for paid sex, the more lucrative a business it becomes to supply the said. And why exactly shouldn’t the numbers rise? Most civilian protection authorities are not well equipped to recognize and/or rescue the victims. Pimps do not accompany the escorts, but operate through a network of people making it near impossible to catch them. When caught, there aren’t any harsh laws against the Johns, just the girl.

           So until the time the authorities come up with something foolproof, I sincerely do recommend we, the people, not sit idle. Those girls out there, we can make a huge difference to their lives without even having to spare an awful lot of our time. If you are a student, teacher, youth leader, or police officer, or if you work with youth in any way, watch for these signs someone is being trafficked. You could save a life.

o   New tattoos – especially a new name or a barcode

o   An older, secret boyfriend

o   New expensive clothes or bags

o   Use of different terminology (e.g.), trick, buyer, the life, the game

o   Sudden change in dress

o   They may be controlled or intimidated by someone else (i.e. being escorted or watched)

o   They may not speak on their own behalf and may not be English/French speaking

o   They may not have a passport or other I.D.

o   They may not be familiar with the neighborhood they live/work in

o   They may be moved frequently by their traffickers

o   They may have injuries/bruises from beatings and/or weapons

o   They may show visible signs of torture i.e. cigarette burns, cuts

o   They may show visible signs of branding or scarring (indicating ownership by the trafficker)

o   They may show signs of malnourishment

o   They may express fear and intimidation through facial expressions and/or body language

The Invisible Man:

           “98% of the victims of trafficking in persons for the purposes of sex, children or otherwise, are women”, says the International Labor Association. And till now I have tried to, in my article to bring to light the horrible lives that are forced upon them. Now, would we dare think the plight of the 2% men?

           The lack of concern renders male victims invisible. More often than not, what cannot be seen gets treated as if it does not exist. They have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Since no one thinks boys can be victims, their abuse goes unnoticed. There are the “bacha bereesh, the dancing boys” in Afghanistan who get kidnapped, raped, and traded amongst the warlords. There are boys abused abroad as part of sex tourism. There are also cases involving adult men trafficked for sex. 

A Canadian study found that sexually exploited boys were exploited at younger ages than girls, remained in their situation longer, and abused more and a greater variety of drugs. The short of this is that trafficking boys and men for sex is a more common than people think. The reason why people think boys and men are not victims of sex trafficking is because no one bothers to look for them. No one bothers to ask about them. No one bothers to reach out to them. The authorities don’t look. The rehab facilities have no clue about gender specific programs. Relief centers and hospitals literally have no beds for them. In the current situation, one can only hope things get better, and better they get better fast.

In the meanwhile, I request you, who’ve read this so far with so much patience (yes, you), do your part to help the heroes who have survived through this nightmare, get back to their lives in the society. They need our support, may be above all else.

A devil to drive away. A war to win. Fingers crossed.

Katyayani Sonti

BITSMUN Society

Boko Haram - The Islamic State of Africa??

In April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped from the government secondary school of Chibok, Borno. This incident catapulted the Boko Haram, a western African Jihadist cult, to international fame. Although this incident might be the most famous of their attacks, it certainly wasn’t their first, nor was it their last. The group’s acts of violence started in 2009 with revenge attacks on the police, and have been continuing up until today with the murder of at least 43 people in the town of Gubio, Borno on the 26^th of May 2015.

Boko Haram Logo

The group is built on the ideals of establishing an Islamic state free from western education. This would include all advancements in the sciences we believe in today. In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf rejected the theory of evolution, said that rain is not "an evaporation caused by the sun", and that the Earth is not a sphere. While most people would dismiss this as foolish and crazy, it is indeed Yusuf’s decision to choose what he believes in, and each person’s own decision to follow his ideals. Interfering with that is a crime against the basic human rights. But the same should be applied both ways. The Boko Haram should not force the people to follow Islam without their consent.

It is in the best interest of people that Boko Haram achieve its goal without violent course of action. According to a UNICEF report, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. Since Yusuf’s death in a police shoot out after an apparent prison break on the 30^th July 2009, the group has committed various crimes including but not limited to the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping, kidnapping of the wife of the vice president of Cameroon in July 2014, the Baga massacres of 2013 and 2015, attacks on Cameroon in 2014-15, and many more. Initially, the group had close tie ups with the Al-Qaeda, but recently its alliance has shifted to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS).

Boko Haram militants

While the group’s actions may seem terrifying, their attacks have been far less frequent in 2015 since the involvement of the Nigerian military. Boko Haram has now been driven back to the Sambisa forest in north eastern part of the country, according to Mike Corones, via Reuters. The acts of violence have also decreased when compared to 2014 and 2013. This is good sign for both Nigeria and humanity itself.

A comprehensive list of the crimes committed by the Boko Haram will be uploaded shortly.

Hemanth Chenna

BITSMUN Society

Clarion of a Holy Crusade-II

Why provoke now?

             To think of it, ISIS was bound to rise. The region had known nothing but turmoil for the last 1,500 years. Help offers were all about access to the extensive oil reserves of the region. The stage, it seems, had been set for centuries. The Sunnis of Iraq and Syria are wrongly led to believe that they are the largest demographic group in that region. They are taught to feel oppressed by the existing Shia governments. ISIS, for its part, appears to be attempting to exploit this concern.

           By 2008, the Al-Qaida affiliated militias no longer swarmed the streets. Despite major issues like unemployment, corruption and as such, the national budget was reasonably promising and the defense was better than before. There was hope. It was a new atmosphere. It was full of promise. The tantalizing prospects of creating a stable state seemed within reach. But the world is never ideal. Prime minister of Iraq, Nouri-al-Maliki, then started using counterterrorism laws to imprison Sunni dissenters and to boot them from upper echelons of administration. Public protesters were branded as terrorists and tortured quite selectively. Men were arrested and shipped to “secret jails” never to be seen again. The morale among the ranks fell. To a whole new low.

           Simultaneously in Syria, attempts were being made to overpower President Bashar-al-Assad. The Syrian civil war provided a great window for the ISIS to gain stand in Syria as protests in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria evolved into armed clashes. The Syrian dictator has vigorously pursued a divide-and-conquer strategy during the war. He's tried hard to push the sectarian angle of the civil war, making it into a life-or-death struggle for his Alawite (Shia) and Christian supporters against the Sunni majority. ISIS' extremism has helped convince Alawites that defecting the rebels means the destruction of their homes and communities. Assad has also used ISIS to divide his other opponents: the moderate Free Syrian Army, other Islamist groups, and the United States. As ISIS grew at the expense of the rebels, US had a hard time intervening against Assad. And ISIS and moderate rebels have begun fighting against one another, further dividing the war in a way that's beneficial to Assad. So as ISIS gets a relatively free ride in Syria, Assad gets to weaken his enemies. Both hate each other but realize the advantage of the standing status quo and are getting along. They are frenemies.

               Incomprehensibly, ISIS succeeded in attracting followers from all over the world. Organizations like these generally thrive on attention. They are full tilt divas. ISIS currently has the spotlight on it and doesn’t look like it would not seize the moment. They appeal to radicalized Islamists who seem to find a fealty to violence. They appeal to frustrated youth who jump at the least chance of venting their anger. They appeal to the generally disaffected youth who want to kill each other. The funny thing is that no reference to executions or beheadings was found in Islam. 

        The recent ISIS mass executions, and increased activity of its members on social media starting with the video of execution of James Foley, an American journalist, show that ISIS no longer wishes to stay off radar. They aren’t blind. They search for opportunities and might possibly look forward to throwing a challenge to any potential interference (mostly USA). Any remaining doubt about ISIS remaining off stage was eliminated when ransom for Foley was named at an astounding $132 million. They are game.

How all this?

         Napoleon once said ‘An army marches on its stomach’ and even ISIS needs to feed and arm its soldiers. It needs to provide for their families. This is necessary to keep people’s interest and loyalty. Their predecessor Al-Qaida had its revenue drawn mainly from foreign investments. ISIS was too clever. Although they do receive considerable “dough” from donors abroad--- Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait and other gulf states, controlling or stopping this source won’t help much.

        As any sane head would, ISIS uses oil resources of the land to generate funds. This however involves smuggling crude oil out of borders. This led USA to carry out airstrikes aimed at the oil rigs controlled by ISIS. Did it help? I wouldn’t say so. It considerably reduces their income. But starving them to desperation is miles away. ISIS devised a more ingenious way to generate funds.  It smuggles, it skims, it extorts, it fences, it kidnaps, it loots—you name it! ISIS feeds itself off lay people’s plates through organized crime. So as of now, it is not very far from truth to say US air strikes, unless aided by strategic and coordinated land raids, helps only in worsening the lives there further.

          Taxation! One more ingenious way of fund raising.  ISIS imposes taxes on its subject populations. Apart from revenue generation, it helps regularize civil control to a great extent. Gives them the feeling of properly ruling a land. Gives them the authority to do so. There have also been reports of ISIS demanding voluntary donations to the state from its citizens. Voluntary donations whenever a local banks, uses public services, gets paid, lives.

In a nutshell

        The Islamic State has a plan to build a viable state right now, not some vague borderless world run by extremist jihadis. This issue is barely religious as it may seem; it is much like a political tinderbox.  ISIS, learnt from the mistakes of its predecessors. It has been showing great extent of strategic intelligence. It intends to keep a firm ground in Iraq and Syria. Although scores of Sunnis were massacred in mindless slaughter the fact that they still rely on ISIS is not worth ignoring. As a part of politico-military strategy, it's set up community, child-care, and medical services in some of the Sunni communities it controls in order to reach out to Sunnis.

       Now if we look for the silver lining, with ISIS's brutal legal system, it seems like Sunnis will eventually tire of the group. They should.  If ISIS's Sunni allies turn against it, there is a chance. But it’s never easy. The government needs to do a better job making its rule look attractive. ISIS may lose the Sunni population backing it in Iraq. In Syria though, it's hard to imagine either Assad or moderate anti-Assad rebels mounting an effective military campaign against ISIS in the near term. Whether they want to, as discussed, is also debatable. Here, (at least for now) containing ISIS to small piece of Syria, in itself is a victory. But this plan needs a lot of effort to be put in, from all countries jointly. ISIS is not invincible.



Katyayani S
BITSMUN Society. 

P.S   Let us all pray for peace. #Peshawar