[ralmidani]

I’m Syrian-American and I hate it when people say “the Syrians” when they really mean the barbaric Assad regime. I do, however, think it’s more out of stupidity than malice; it stems from a statist worldview rather than an intentional desire to demonize the people subject to a given state’s rule.

[swirepe]

I agree that saying "the Syrians" feels incorrect, but how do you feel about saying just the name of the country as shorthand for the country's government? For example

America donated fidget spinners to Syra

vs

The American government donated fidget spinners to the Syrian government

(but not 'The Americans donated fidget spinners to the Syrians')

[ProblemFactory]

The classical news terminology is to use the name of the capital city to refer to the government of a country.

Washington donated fidget spinners, Damascus invited experts from Moscow to inspect the latest advances in ball bearing technology.

[kingofpandora]

Some newspapers explicitly advice against this practice in their style guides.

[ralmidani]

Context matters. You can “donate to Syria” but actually be helping prop up the Assad regime: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/un-pays-tens-o...

You can also truly donate to Syria and help build apartments, schools, and hospitals in areas outside Assad’s control:

https://molhamteam.com/en/campaigns/204

https://molhamteam.com/en/campaigns/239

https://www.sams-usa.net/

(The last link is to an organization registered in the US, and tax-deductible).