15 March 2012 Last updated at 20:27 ET By Rana Jawad BBC News, Tripoli <\/p>\n
People in Libya and Syria both rose up to overthrow decades of tyrannical rule. A year on, why are they living two very different realities? <\/p>\n
There was a time during the Libyan uprising when Libyans worriedly stared at the screens. <\/p>\n
They watched events unfold in Syria after their own moves to rise against a man who brutally suppressed them for decades. <\/p>\n
Although they understood the Syrian cries for freedom, they worried that the world's attention would swiftly shift to President Bashar al-Assad's lethal crackdown. <\/p>\n
They worried that their battle and their needs would be forgotten and Syria would become a priority. How wrong they were. <\/p>\n
Was it simply easier for outside observers to unite against Col Muammar Gaddafi, a man who appeared to the world as a dishevelled loon, as opposed to Mr Assad's suave looks and measured public tone? <\/p>\n
It certainly made it easier for the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on Libya that paved the way for intervention. <\/p>\n
However, there were bigger factors at play. <\/p>\n
Though all the recent uprisings in the Arab world have the shared thread of freedom running through them, the joins between them are not all seamless. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read the original: 15 March 2012 Last updated at 20:27 ET By Rana Jawad BBC News, Tripoli People in Libya and Syria both rose up to overthrow decades of tyrannical rule. Continue reading
\nSyria and Libya: Two paths to freedom<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"