Al Arabiya, 18 October 2012 – Many members of the Syrian opposition feel that their revolution is neglected and that the international community, despite its support, has failed to fulfill its promises, amid mere talks of a buffer zone, weapons yet to be delivered and humanitarian aid yet to meet the people’s demands.

Western diplomats respond by saying that western countries supporting the revolution are not convinced that supplying the opposition with moderate to heavy weaponry would help resolve the Syrian crisis politically.
U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, said that U.S. humanitarian aid has exceeded $130 million, with $45 million allocated to training programs for opposition groups. He added that the Assad regime will collapse and the Syrians will have an opportunity to build a democratic society and that the U.S. is willing to help in preparing them for the next stage. Accordingly, it has arranged several rounds of training, focusing on three points: secure communication, first aid, and civil administration in areas of armed conflict.

Throughout the past months, around 300 young men and women from various cities and towns in Syria participated in the training program, in addition to several other organizations. An organizer said that his institution does not receive direct funds, but is primarily responsible for selecting participants and ensure they are safely transported between various locations in the country. It is also responsible for transporting needed equipment such as cameras, broadcast devices, medical aid and other non-lethal arsenal.

Participants said the training program has been very beneficial but the equipment has been greatly insufficient despite the increase in medical aid which peaceful activists have been enduring its deficiency.

Mahmoud, a young man from Aleppo who chose not to reveal his real name said that the priority of the program during this period is to generate communication between the activists across the country.