Global Voices » Leila Nachawati Rego

‘Syria Untold': The Storytelling of the Syrian Revolution

Leila Nachawati Rego — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:48:44 +0000

More than two years into the Syrian uprising as the battle continues on the ground, a new outspoken and creative Syria has emerged after decades of isolation and silence. From strikes to sit-ins, from creative songs and banners to countless citizen demonstrations, daily resistance against tyranny carries on, largely uncovered by mainstream media.

For a few months, I have been working with a group of Syrian journalists, writers, programmers, and designers based in Syria and abroad on a digital media project focusing on telling the story of the Syrian revolution. We are now ready to launch Syria Untold.

Our project combines content aggregation from social media and information collected and shared by grassroots activists with original content created by our team. We have two versions, English and Arabic.

We will focus on the story of the uprising through grassroots campaigns, civil disobedience, art, and creativity. The story of the voices that do not usually get covered by mainstream media. The story of the daily resistance that continues despite increasing militarization on the ground and despite the regime's attempts to silence every form of citizen expression. We want to highlight these voices and help others understand them in context.

Syria Untold will be partnering with Global Voices Online. Syria Untold posts will be edited by Global Voices editors and translated by volunteer translators, as part of GV's interest in highlighting citizen voices and grassroots initiatives.

We will need everyone's help to make this happen, so stay tuned for #syriauntold!

http://www.syriauntold.com/

About Syria Untold:

Syria Untold is an independent digital media project exploring the storytelling of the Syrian struggle and the diverse forms of resistance. We are a team of Syrian writers, journalists, programmers and designers living in the country and abroad trying to highlight the narrative of the Syrian revolution, which Syrian men and women are writing day by day. Through grassroots campaigns, emerging forms of self-management and self-government and endless manifestations of citizen creativity, a new outspoken Syria has emerged, after decades of repression and paralysis. With mainstream media focusing increasingly on geostrategic and military aspects and less on internal dynamics developing on the ground, we believe there are many aspects of the Syrian struggle that remain uncovered, many stories that we would not like to see forgotten. Welcome to the stories of daily resistance and creativity. Welcome to Syria Untold.

Syria: “Lens of a Young Homsi”, Photographs of a City under Siege

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:30:10 +0000

When demonstrations started in Syria in March 2011, a group of friends from Homs, all under 25, took their cameras to photograph these unprecedented protests in their city. Soon after, they were photographing the destruction of the city´s streets and neighborhoods as a result of the regime crackdown. Through their lenses, they aim to show the world what Homs was like, and what it has become, documenting memorial revolutionary moments from “the city of the revolution”. They receive daily requests from people who had to flee the city and want to know if their houses have been destroyed or not.

They insist that they are just a group of volunteers, with no professional training, but their work is outstanding. They are the “Lens of a Young Homsi”:

Photo by the “Lens of a Young Homsi”, taken from their Facebook page

This video shows some of their work and why Lens of a Young Homsi makes a difference to those who have been forced to flee their homes in Homs:

“Sandbags, barricades, soldiers armed to their teeth, bullets, bombs, checkpoints cutting out one district from the other…” This is the scenario these young Homsis show through their lenses:

You can follow their work on Facebook and Twitter.

Syria: Negotiating Defection on Twitter

Leila Nachawati Rego — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 07:42:52 +0000

Following reports that former Syrian spokesman Jihad Makdissi had fled to the US, on 25 December activist Rami Jarrah, also known as Alexander Page, released private Twitter messages that show Makdissi had been in contact with him for months. This could be, as Twitter users have named it, “the first defection negotiation in history.”

On 25 December THE_47th tweeted:

I think @AlexanderPageSY just had the first twitter defection negotiation in history. Check out his screenshots of his DMs with @makdissi

Makdissi is the most senior member of the Syrian regime to defect since the prime minister, Riyad Hijab, left the country in August. Since the beginning of the revolution in March 2011 and the following the crackdown against demonstrators, Makdissi has worked closely with the foreign ministry and the information ministry. This defection is another big blow to a regime that continues its war against its own population, as shown by the latest deadly airstrikes against Syrians standing in line waiting for bread.

The messages released by Jarrah show conversations he had with Makdissi in July. The first group of messages show Jarrah introducing himself as a Syrian who was stripped of his passport and accused of being a foreign agent. Makdissi replies:

In the following messages Jarrah shares his story on how he had to flee Syria and asks Makdissi:

In the following DMs (Twitter direct messages), Jarrah´s shares his will to fight not only dictatorship but also any foreign attempts to profit from instability in the country:

The following messages show the same narrative the Assad administration has used for decades to justify the need to rule with iron fist and put stability above everything else. Contradictorily, Makdissi also emphasizes the “need to stay away from violence and support dialogue”:

On another conversation on 21 July, Makdissi shares his lack of trust on the Syrian opposition:

On the last message Jarrah shares, Makdissi says he will take his recommendations into consideration:

Jarrah has told Global Voices Online that he has a record of other conversations with Makdissi. What will the former spokesperson´s role be from now on? Twitter users have expressed concern that he may have gone from serving Assad to serving the CIA. Kindakanbar ‏tweeted:

From serving Assad to serving CIA, Makdissi is in Washington according to guardiannews Syria http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/24/syrian-official-us-intelligence-agencies

Rami Jarrah is this year´s winner of the CJFE International Press Freedom Award. The rest of his conversation with Jihad Makdissi can be seen here.

Syria: Curating @TweetWeekSyria

Leila Nachawati Rego — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:33:29 +0000

Have you heard about Rotation Curation? It is the process of rotating the spokesperson on a social media account. It was originated in December 2011, when a project called Curators of Sweden was launched, handing the official Twitter account @Sweden to a new Swedish person every week. Now this initiative has reached Syrians, who will take turns to manage the collective account @TweetWeekSyria, starting on June 1.

Best of the Blogs 2012: Winners Announced

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:53:23 +0000

Image from The BOBs website

After a month of voting and jury discussions, the awards for this year's Best of the Blogs – the BOBs – have been decided. This annual event held by the Deutsche Welle Media Group aims to award bloggers who contribute to their communities and promote freedom of expression.

In addition to User Prizes (selected by popular vote), a jury of bloggers, media experts and activists have curated the best blogs, campaigns and media projects in six multilingual categories.

Best Blog

Iranian journalist Arash Sigarchi (jury winner and user winner) and the Lebanese author of Mowaten Jou3an (user winner) are this year's “Best Blog” winners. Sigarchi, currently based in Washington, is the author of Window of Anguish [fa], where he writes about social and political issues in his homeland. While in Iran, he was arrested several times for the content he published on his blog and was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison. The unnamed author of Mowaten Jou3an [ar] covers diverse subjects related to several countries including Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon.

This year’s other Jury Awards went to:

Best Social Activism Campaign: Free Syrian Blogger & Activist Razan Ghazzawi

This campaign was launched after Syrian activist and former Global Voices contributor Razan Ghazzawi was arrested in December as she was on her way to attend a workshop on press freedom in Jordan. After her release she was taken into custody, released and taken into custody again some months later. This Facebook page calls for her release and that of her colleagues from the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, who have been detained since February 2012.

Special Topic Award Education and Culture: Fasokan

Boukary Konaté is the author of Fasokan, where he promotes his local language and culture in both French and Bambara (the most widespread language of Mali). Konaté is a translator for Global Voices in French and also a Rising Voices grantee representing the Ségou Villages Connection.

Best Use of Technology for Social Good: Harassmap

This Egyptian project, using an Ushahidi map, allows victims of sexual harassment to report and map what happened by type and location. Reports can be made via the website, text message and via Twitter hashtag.

Best Video Channel: Kuang Kuang Kuang

This Chinese cartoon series, whose main character goes by the name Kuang Kuang, is one of animation director Pi San’s satirical works that has provocatively evoked China’s social ills.

Reporters Without Borders Award: Abu Sufian’s Blog

Reporter from Bangladesh Abu Sufian uses his blog to report on crimes that much of the mainstream media ignores, such as the recent killing of the journalists Sagar and Runi. He has been vocal against extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh, which take thousands of lives.

User Awards in all categories and languages

In addition to the Jury's Awards, the users have also chosen their favorite blogs in all the categories and languages of this year's competition. You can see the list here.

Congratulations from the Global Voices community to all the Award winners for their inspiring work. We wish to send special greetings to Boukary Konaté for his outstanding work. When we talked to Boukary about what this award meant for him, he answered:

I got the news in a moment when my country is going through a military and political crisis. I consider this Education and Culture Award as an award for unity and peace for Mali.

According to jury member and Global Voices author, Tarek Amr from Egypt who helped review Arabic language nominees:

The FreeRazan campaign is important on its own, but I also see it as symbol for acknowledging the struggle of the Syrian people and showing solidarity with political detainees in the Arab world, whether Abdulhadi Alkhawaja in Bahrain, military trials victims in Egypt, and many other examples. Harassmap is also a great platform to help raise awareness about sexual harassment in Egypt, and help victims to speak up, especially when society often tends to blame the victim before blaming the harasser.”

Syria: Television “Confession” of Activist Ali Mahmoud Othman

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:20:27 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

On March 28, 2012, video activist Ali Mahmoud Othman, head of the media office of Baba Amr in Homs, was arrested. Fellow activists believe he has been subjected to severe torture since his arrest. On April 25, Syrian state television announced an exclusive interview with Othman.

In the preview that was broadcast by state television Addounia, Ali is seen first inside his cell, and then coming out to talk to interviewer Rafiq Lutif, accompanied by dramatic music and a headline announcing “Stay tuned… Inside Baba Amr” (the area of Homs that has faced an onslaught by regime forces). Recording forced “confessions” of detainees is a very common practice in Syria, as a way to discourage others from joining the opposition.

The video, which can be seen both on Facebook and YouTube, speaks for itself:

http://youtu.be/c6YRba6VlLo

Othman, known among his friends as “Al Jed” (the Grandfather), was originally a vegetable vendor and has been documenting unrest in Homs since the beginning of the Syrian uprising. He was instrumental in assisting those covering the conflict from Baba Amr, helping evacuate international journalists from inside the neighborhood. He decided to stay in Baba Amr even after the Syrian army re-captured the neighborhood.

Ali Mahmoud Othman in Baba Amr, Homs. Image source: Baba Amro News

An “online demonstration” in solidarity with Othman has been announced for Saturday April 28 at 9 pm (Syrian time), with the slogan “We are all heroic activist Ali Mahmoud Othman”. According to the Baba Amro News Facebook page:

Syrian media have used Ali and told people to stay tuned for a show that will expose “the secrets of Baba Amr”. We know what Ali looked like and we knew what his weight was, he has clearly been tortured and treated badly. And now he will not be tried in court, no, he will be displayed on TV.

Spanish journalist Mónica G. Prieto tweeted:

@monicagprieto: Patético. A Al Jed, jefe del equipo d periodistas ciudadanos de #BabaAmr, le obligan a ‘confesar’ sus crímenes en TV

@monicagprieto: Pathetic. Al Jed, head of the #BabaAmr citizen journalist team, is forced to “confess” his crimes on TV

Some netizens have expressed relief at the news that Othman is alive, as there is still no news of others who have been detained. Free Syrian tweeted:

@HamaEcho: Activists Noura al-Jizawi and Ali Othman are still arrested, but at least we know Ali is still alive. Two Turkish journalists still missing.

Netizens continue to call for Othman´s release through this online petition.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Syria: Safana Baqleh, the “Freedom Harp”, Arrested in Damascus

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:32:30 +0000

UPDATE 19 April: Friends have confirmed that Safana Baqle was released on Thursday, after being taken to court for a few hours. The rest of activists detained for holding a “Stop the killing” banner are still under arrest. __________________________________________________________________

When Rima Dali was arrested on April 8 for holding a banner reading “Stop the killing. We want to build a country for all Syrians”, Safana Baqleh was the first person who rushed to defend her and try to stop the security forces from taking her with them. For this attempt she too was arrested, together with other activists attending a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian parliament. Rima Dali was released on April 10, but Safana remains in detention, as do activists Hussam Dahna, Ali Zain and Assem Hamsho.

Safana Baqleh, 30 years old, is a musician. She plays the harp and is known by her friends as the “Freedom Harp”. She was due to give a concert at the Opera House in Damascus on April 11. She graduated with honors from the High Institute of Music of Damascus and has a degree in English language and literature. Safana is a strong believer in nonviolent resistance and is a member of Nuwab Shabab (Young Members of Parliament), an organization promoting the presence of young people in parliament. She has also been a volunteer for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent since 2001.

Safana Baqleh, the "Freedom Harp". Image from Activist News Association on Facebook

Activists do not know Safana's whereabouts or what she is accused of, and are therefore deeply concerned about her. Her friends have created a Facebook page to share news on her detention and demand her release. Updates on her detention can also be followed under the #freesafana hashtag on Twitter.

Demonstrations and sit-ins have taken place in solidarity with Safana, Hussam Dahna, Ali Zain, Assem Hamsho and all Syrians imprisoned since the beginning of the regime´s brutal crackdown against all forms of opposition. The following video shows activists holding a banner reading “Stop the killing. We want to build a country for all Syrians”, at a shopping mall in Damascus on April 11.

Syria: Activist Rima Dali Arrested in Damascus for Calling for End to Killing

Leila Nachawati Rego — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 00:34:29 +0000

UPDATE: 10 April: Friends have confirmed that Rima Dali was released at 2 pm on Tuesday. Saffana Baqle and Assem Hamsho, who were with her at the time of the arrest, are still missing. Two other activists, Ali Dahna and Hussam Zein, were arrested today for holding the same banner during a sit-in near Qasr el-Adli, in Damascus.

9 April: To protest Rima´s detention and that of all Syrians imprisoned since the beginning of the regime´s brutal crackdown against all forms of opposition, activists have opened a Facebook page called “Stop the killing. We want to build a country for all Syrians” , where they call on people from Damascus to concentrate in front of the Parliament at 6 pm (the time when Rima held the banner calling for an end to killing):

لنعلن كلنا رفض الموت و قتل سورية كل يوم ,غدا الساعة 6 مساءا امام البرلمان لاشعار لا لافتات لا علم
فقط الجميع يحضر لافتة حمراء مكتوب عليها باللون الأبيض : أوقفوا القتل نريد بناء وطن لكل السوريين

To protest against the daily death and killing of Syria, we will gather in front of the Parliament tomorrow at 6 pm. With no slogans, no signs, no flags. Only a red banner reading in white letters: “Stop the killing. We want to build a country for all Syrians”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

“Stop the killing. We want to build a country for all Syrians.” These were the words on the banner that Rima Dali held in front of the Syrian Parliament in Damascus on Sunday, April 8. Activists say she was arrested right after that. The following video shows Rima bravely holding the banner in front of cars while a group of women applaude her gesture.

Activists have denounced her arrest and that of Saffana Baqleh, who was with Rima at the time of her arrest. Saffana was arrested for trying to stop the authorities from taking Rima.

Rima Dali in a candle-lit vigil for Syrian martyrs in Damascus. June 2011. Image source: Facebook

Rima Dali, 33, is from the port city of Latakia. She graduated with a degree in Law at the University of Aleppo. She is currently a Training and Capacity Building Associate for the United Nations Development Program and a volunteer with the Red Crescent. She is well known for her work on the campaign “Homs is in our hearts” to bring humanitarian aid to Homs.

Quoting Martin Luther King, this was Rima's last update on her Facebook profile:

“The means we use to achieve our goals must be as pure as our goals”

Syria: Ali Mahmoud Othman, the “Eyes of Baba Amr”, Detained

Leila Nachawati Rego — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:44:33 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protest 2011/12.

Video activist Ali Mahmoud Othman, head of the media office of Baba Amr, has been seized by the Syrian government. Friends and colleagues believe he is being subjected to severe torture. His detention puts all activists from the office at risk and is a huge blow to citizen journalism in the country.

Othman, who was originally a vegetable vendor, has been documenting unrest in Homs since the beginning of the Syrian revolution. He was instrumental in assisting those covering the conflict from Baba Amr, helping evacuate international journalists from inside the neighborhood. He decided to stay in Baba Amr even after the Syrian army re-captured the neighborhood after bombing it for three months.

According to Mónica G.Prieto, correspondent for Spanish news outlet Periodismo Humano, “he did not want to leave as long as a single person stayed in the neighborhood, he refused all offers to leave”.

Ali Mahmoud Othman in Baba Amr, Homs. Image source: Baba Amro News

The following video shows Othman, fondly known as the “eyes of Baba Amr,” telling the world about the suffering of the population of Baba Amr. He talks to the camera without concerns for his identity. He believed his message would be more reliable and reach a wider audience if he showed his face:

Activists have created a Facebook page to share news on his whereabouts and demand his release. And the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Syrian authorities to immediately release Othman and all journalists detained for their work:

Syrian citizen journalists have been documenting the unrest at extraordinary risk to their lives. The regime must end its campaign to intimidate them and silence reporting of its brutal crackdown.

His detention has captured attention of mainstream media and political representatives from different countries. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague called on his release:

I call on the Syrian authorities to release Mr Othman and other political prisoners immediately. The Syrian regime will be held responsible for Mr Othman's safety and his treatment and I will raise his case in Istanbul at the Friends of Syria meeting.

United States Senator John McCain tweeted:

Got reports that Syrian journalist Ali Mahmoud Othman is held & tortured by Assad forces- world must call 4 his release

Othman´s detention has been widely shared on Twitter, mainly under the #freeothman tag. Netizens have also started a petition to demand his release.

Journalist Randa Habib brought attention to the danger faced by Othman and activist Noura Aljiwazi, who disappeared in Damascus on the same day:

Figures of #Syria resistance Ali Mahmoud Othman & activist Noura Al-jizawi, arrested, their live in danger: Reporters Without Borders (RFS)

Six days after Othman's arrest, friends posted the following message on Facebook:

It is the 6th night without Ali's voice or warm words. It is the 6th night Ali sleeps hands tied, exhausted from torture. It is the 6th night and Ali's name has reached as far as Australia, people demanding for his freedom. It is the 6th night, the revolution has no Ali. One of the heroes of Baba Amr, now a hero of the revolution. His good deeds repeated daily by those he saved from injuries, journalists, friends and family. Freedom for Ali Othman, one of the bravest men to exist.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protest 2011/12.

Syria: Crackdown Against Journalists Continues

Leila Nachawati Rego — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:36:36 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

With thousands killed, tortured, arrested and disappeared, the Syrian struggle continues amid unprecedented brutality. In its attempt to silence activists, the regime has stepped up its crackdown against journalists, bloggers and video activists. Salma Yafi, a student of journalism and member of the National Development Party, is one of the regime's latest victims.

Yafi was arrested after becoming a member of the National Development Party, a new party officially and legally registered in line with the government's new “multi-party reforms”. On February 15, the Syrian government announced that the Parties Affairs’ Committee would license a new party called the National Development Party, raising the number of parties accepted in Syria to six. According to a member of this party, activists from the group share the core demands of protesters but have opted for political and legal means to achieve those demands.

Activists have highlighted the contradiction between announcing reforms and arresting citizens who vow to take part in them. @Gab tweeted:

@Gab: Hold #Assad responsible: Young Salma Yafi registered with government as part of reforms, now she´s arrested. Please use #SalmaYafi to raise awareness.

Announcing reforms while continuing the crackdown on activists has been a trend since the Syrian uprisings started, exactly a year ago today, and more and more journalists have become the target of the regime. Turkish journalists Adem Ozkose and Hamit Koskun have also disappeared in Syria, which has prompted a huge reaction online, particularly among Turkish netizens.

Journalist Jamal ElShayyal tweeted:

@jamalAljazeera: I shared a cell with #AdemOzkose when #Israel detained us after the flotilla attack. He was 1 of 2 journos to smuggle pictures out #Syria

Source: facebook.com/UniteforSyria

While the crackdown continues, international political representatives do not seem to agree on how to put an end to the massacre. Syrians, however, are not alone. The Syrian struggle has garnered support from citizens all over the world and a big global campaign is planned for today (March 15), Unite for Syria, to stop one year of bloodshed.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Spain: Head of Journalist Association Threatens Activist With a Belt

Leila Nachawati Rego — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:56:07 +0000

The Head of the Press Association in Granada, Antonio Mora, was presenting a photo exhibition in Granada, Spain, of the relations between Israel and Spain on Tuesday, March 6, when anti-occupation activists from an organization called Plataforma Andalucía con Palestina (Platform Andalucia with Palestine) entered the room. They held Palestinian flags and started chanting “Boycott Israel” and “No to Zionist impositions” in protest against Spain's support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine through these kind of institutional events.

The activists did not leave when Mora told them to keep quiet, visibly impatient and irritated by their presence. What happened next? The answer is so surreal that you should see it by yourselves. Here is the link to the video.

Screenshot of the video in the moment when Antonio Mora holds his belt as he walks towards the activist.

Shockingly, Mora removes his belt and raises it as if to strike one of the women with it, while a second woman records the scene with her mobile phone. A few seconds later he drops the belt and tries to push the other woman out of the room.

The fact that this reaction comes from the head of a press association has sparked shock and disbelief among Spanish netizens, who have flooded Twitter with comments and even created a hashtag with the Head´s name: #antoniomora. Spanish journalist Juan Luis Sánchez tweeted:

Lo que da miedo no es que se ponga violento, sino su gesto de sacarse la correa y doblarla friamente. Como si lo hubiera hecho antes.

What is so scary is not that he gets violent, but how he takes off his belt and then folds it in a cold way. As if he had done this before.

Journalist Lydia Molina agrees:

Lo más perturbador es la tranquilidad con la que se quita la correa para pegarle a la chavala. No será la primera vez.

What's extremely disturbing is how calmly he takes off his belt to hit the girl. It is probably not the first time.

The Journalists Union of Andalucía has demanded Mora's resignation [es]. Mora has since resigned [es]. According to the Union's representatives:

Consideramos esta conducta inaceptable por entender que la actitud del Presidente de la Asociación es más propia de otros tiempos vividos en España durante la dictadura franquista en la que a mujeres, niños y animales se les pretendía corregir sus actitudes o castigar a golpes de correa.

We consider this behavior unacceptable. This reminds us of the times we lived in Spain during Franco's dictatorship, where women, children and animals where punished when their behavior was considered unappropriate.

World: Global March Against the Syrian Dictator

Leila Nachawati Rego — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:16:02 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

In March 2011, when Syrians started taking to the streets to demand freedom and justice, it was hard to imagine that a year later the regime would have killed thousands of people and tortured and arrested countless others. The city of Homs has been besieged since the beginning of February and suffers an unprecedented crackdown against its entire population, with a death toll of 100 every day.

While international powers have not agreed on the need to pressure the Assad regime, global citizens solidarity with Syrians has been increasing and it will likely garner more support now that we are reaching the anniversary of the Syrian revolution.

An initiative called Global March for Syria aims to take people from all over the world to the streets on March 15, 16 and 17 in support of the Syrian people's struggle. The campaign is explained in a video called “Against a Dictator” that has been widely shared online:

Marches for Syria are already planned in 16 cities, and the list keeps growing every day. Activists have created a Facebook event with information on the different marches, where they encourage citizens worldwide to stand with Syria against oppression:

One year since the Syrian revolution began. One year of violence against peaceful protesters and innocent civilians. One year of bloodshed. And one year of a brave stance against great evil, but the Syrian people have vowed to never stop until the fall of the regime, until they gain freedom and dignity. On March 15-17, 2012 let's stand with Syria against oppression and take a moment to remember the thousands of lives sacrificed since March 15, 2011.

The list of marches (please add yours to the Facebook event and as a comment to this post) are as follows:

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

“Dying to Live”: Khader Adnan's Hunger Strike for Palestinian Rights

Leila Nachawati Rego — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:06:33 +0000

“By the time you read these words, Khader Adnan could be dead.”

This is how Palestinian activist Ali Abunimah starts his piece on the 33-year-old Palestinian baker and graduate student who has been on hunger strike in an Israeli prison since December 18, 2012. Adnan is on strike to protest a raid on his family home by Israeli occupation forces and to bring worldwide attention to the fact that Palestinians are held without being charged on a daily basis.

After two months of refusing any food, Adnan's vital organs may cease to function at any moment, but his spirit remains unbroken. On a message widely shared by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, he asserts:

An image calling for Khader Adnan's freedom

I hereby assert that I am confronting the occupiers not for my own sake as an individual, but for the sake of thousands of prisoners who are being deprived of their simplest human rights while the world and international community look on.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians have occurred in front of Ofer prison, where Adnan remains in detention. The tension will probably increase over the next few days, since demonstrations are being planned all over the country in solidarity with the striking prisoner. Palestinian activist Thameena Husary [ar] tweeted:

دعوات للانضمام للفعاليات الاحتجاجة. غدا في الناصرة 19:00 مساء. في شفاعمرو يوم الجمعة 19:00. يوم السبت أم الفحم 16:00. ‎#Respect4Khader‏

We invite you all to protest tomorrow in Nazareth at 7 pm, in Shafa Amr on Friday at 7 pm, in Umm al-Fahm at 4pm. #Respect4Khader‏

Clashes at Ofer Prison (photo credit: Fadi Arouri)

On Twitter, under several different hashtags–such as #khaderanan, #respect4khaled, #hungerstrike, #freekhaderadnan and #dying2live–netizens have expressed their outrage at the injustice Palestinians suffer under Israeli apartheid. The Internet is also flooded with videos such as this one called “Solidarity, Dying to live,” where people from all over the world stand in solidarity with Adnan and demand his immediate release:

Several netizens have referred to the fact that other imprisoned Palestinians have also started a hunger strike. Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin tweeted:

@ASE:Palestinian inmates join #KhaderAdnan, who has gone w/out food or water to protest arbitrary detention aljazeera.com/video/middleea…

Gaza TV News brings attention to the messages of support Adnan has received:

Khader Adnan receives message of support from former Hunger Striker Tommy McKearney! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1iwWZJPl_k&feature=youtu.be #dyingtolive

Netizens are also using attention brought to Khader Adnan's critical condition to share other cases of human rights abuses by the Israeli forces. Palestinian activist Maat Musleh highlights:

#IOF snipers just target another child after hitting a child in the eye, both are rushed to the hospital #FreeKhaderAdnan

While solidarity from citizens all over the world increases, political representatives such as British Foreign Minister William Hague remain silent as the longest hunger striking Palestinian prisoner in history enters his 60th day on strike. As Ali Abunimah tweeted:

Sarkozy, Ban Ki-moon & others met with family of Israeli ex-POW but ignore #KhaderAdnan & other Palestinian prisoners.

Syria: The Struggle for Freedom and the End of Silence

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:40:43 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Since March 2011, when the uprisings that started in Tunisia and Egypt reached Syria, thousands have been killed and tens of thousands have been arrested and disappeared in the country. Syrian activists face unprecedented brutality and a media war to suppress all forms of opposition.

However, content shared by citizens have flooded the Internet and managed to break the wall of the state-controlled narrative. This post offers a selection of material posted by netizens online that portrays the struggle of the Syrian people for freedom and dignity, and the end of four decades of silence.

Silence vs. citizen voices

Decades of media control over Syria have helped the regime silence its people and maintain international legitimacy. The Syrian government owns the Syrian telecommunications market, the most regulated in the region, and international journalists are banned from entering the country. This picture showing protesters wearing bandages on their mouths sends a powerful message ”from the occupied city of Kafar Nabel”:

From Occupied Kafar Nabel, 4 December 2011. Author unknown.

What are you afraid of?

During the last few months, Syrians have struggled against a 41-year-old wall of fear. This video, widely shared online, shows a young man talking to an older man, numbering the reasons why he might be afraid and encouraging him not to be. It ends with the sentence “Your silence is their most powerful weapon”.

To drive the point home, Samar Dahmash Jarrah tweeted:

The thought that I can switch on TV and see Syrians chanting Freedom Freedom by the 10′s of thousands seemed illusive but not any more!

Silencing protesters

Thousands of protesters have been killed since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March. The death of 13-year-old Syrian boy Hamza al-Khatib, brutally killed in custody, sparked shock and anger over the regime's cruelty. Thousands of other non-violent protesters like 26-year-old Ghiath Matar, from the Damascus suburb of Daraya, have been the target of such brutality. Ghiath was known for leading the initiative of facing security fire and violence with bottles of water and flowers.

After his death on September 10, the Local Coordination Committee issued a joint statement that mentioned the dream Ghiath had died for:

Ghiath was waiting for two births: the birth of his daughter who won’t have the chance to lay on his arms, and the birth of the new free, just and democratic Syria, which he won’t see but will hold his memory and pure soul forever. Ghiath and his friends in Daraya were advocates of non-violent struggle. He believed that a free and civilized Syria can’t be realized but by Syrian men and women by their peaceful struggle against the violence of the regime, with all the love they have facing the speech of hatred, by refusing to be like the butcher or use his tools.

On the left: martyr Ghiath Matar; on the right: detained Yahia Shurbaji. Image from razanghazzawi.com.

Syrian blogger @Bsyria tweeted:

RIP Ghiath Matar. Ghiath was a peace activist. He used to hand flowers and water to soldiers in Daraya. He was tortured to death. #Syria

Silencing music

If there is one song that has become the anthem of the Syrian revolution, that is “Yalla Irhal ya Bashar” (It's time to leave, Bashar), popularized by Hama singer Ibrahim Kashoush. On July 5, Kashoush was found dead with his vocal cords ripped off, as a revenge for ridiculing Bashar Al-Asad. His voice, however, has gone viral through the videos of demonstrations in Hama, and cannot be silenced:

http://youtu.be/3mG3V2fBYbw

Saudi blogger Ahmad Al-Omran, an intern at NPR, spends his days curating netizen videos and news about Syria. After a day's work, he tweeted:

What's my plan for the weekend? After watching all these videos coming from #Syria today, none of my plans seem to matter.

Silencing humor

Renowned Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat, head of the Arab Cartoonist Association, published a cartoon depicting a sweaty Bashar Al-Assad clutching a briefcase running to catch a ride with Gaddafi. Ferzat was brutally beaten on August 26 and had both his hands broken “for mocking Syrian leaders.”

Image by Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat

@Freedom_7uriyah tweeted:

All i've got to say to Assad is watch #Libya closely, ur next. #AssadLies will get u nowhere

Silencing journalists and bloggers

The list of journalists and bloggers who have been killed, arrested or tortured has increased dramatically since the beginning of demonstrations in March. Cameraman Ferzat Jarban was found dead on November 20 with his eyes gouged out. He was filming anti-regime protests in the town of Al-Qasir, Homs.

Free Razan poster

The government has also targeted bloggers like Hussein Ghrer and Razan Ghazzawi, one of the most prominent Syrian bloggers and a former Global Voices Online contributor. Razan, who was accused of “weakening the national sentiment and trying to ignite sectarian strife” was released on December 18, but many others remain imprisoned or missing.

Syrian blogger @anasqtiesh tweeted:

”Weakening the national sentiment, and trying to ignite sectarian strife” should be charges against Assad. #Syria #FreeRazan

Syrians garner global support

As the uprising in Syria continues, and in spite of the attempts to silence activists, solidarity with the Syrian people has not ceased. Several online initiatives show how activists have become more creative to ensure global attention towards the situation in the country continues.

The SyrianSitIn campaign on YouTube by the grassroots news organization Sham News Network asks individuals to submit videos in solidarity with Syrian protesters. The videos, which were then posted to the SyrianSitIn [ar] YouTube account, contain versions of one statement:

نجتمع فيه كلنا معاً ومن كل مكان في العالم ومن كل الجنسيات… لنعلن تضامننا مع مطالب الشعب السوري الحر، ولنقول جميعنا وبصوتٍ واحد لا للقتل لا للظلم لا للقمع لا للقهر، ولنقول لبشار الأسد ونظامه وعصابته أننا وبعون الله سنسقطكم ثم سنحاكمك

We are all getting together, from all corners of the world, men and women, to express our support for the demands of the free Syrian people, and to say out loud, with one voice, No to killing, oppression and injustice.

@honestmenofsyri tweeted [ar]:

هذا الاعتصام ليس بديلاً عن الاعتصام والتظاهر السلمي على أرض الواقع بأي شكل من الأشكال، وإنما هو وسيلة إضافية..

This online sit-in is not in any way a substitute for sit-ins and demonstrations on the ground. It's just an additional means to achieve our goal.

Syria 2012

As 2011 reached an end, Syrian advocates started using the hashtag #Syria2012 in reference to the Syria of tomorrow – a Syria of freedom, justice and dignity. Fadi al-Qadi tweeted:

Syria2012 “At this time next year, Bashar Al-Assad will be a former president”

Mouhanad Abdul Hamid added:

I'll visit my family and get back to my home in Damascus in Syria2012 after long years of exile.

Nora Bashra noted:

In Syria2012, “torture” will be a word of the past. #Syria

Nour al-Ali hoped [ar]:

#Syria2012 ‏ التعليم رح يصير شي أساسي بالبلد.. ورح نبدأ نقضي ع الأمية

Education will be a priority in the country… and we will eradicate illiteracy

And Ahmad Ibn Rashed Ibn Said concluded:

Syria2012 will be cleansed of thugs and bugs, free of wolves and dogs, and full of kisses and hugs

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

Syria: Damascus “Suicide Attack” and State TV Fabrications

Leila Nachawati Rego — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:56:06 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

As massive demonstrations take place all over the country demanding the end of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's regime, Syrian state TV reported a suicide bombing in the Midan neighborhood of Damascus on Friday, January 6.

International media have quoted Syrian state TV saying “immediate information indicates that a suicide terrorist blew himself up at a traffic light in the Midan neighbourhood,” but regardless of who is responsible for the attack some of the images circulated online show clear evidence of fabrication.

On this video that shows what is allegedly the crime scene, a person holding a microphone is suddenly seen on camera placing plastic bags beside a patch of blood on the ground. What is a reporter for Syrian TV doing moving stuff around at a crime scene? The way the presenter becomes speechless when she notices is priceless:

This next video shows what are allegedly the first images of the attack. The text below the images says “We apologize for the ugly scenes” as the camera shows corpses, people screaming and a man saying “See? This is the freedom they want”. But what's shocking about the video appears during the last seconds: Two men from the security service hug, one apparently wounded, when they suddenly separate with a “we're done filming, right?” gesture.

Fabrication is not new in a country where the government owns the media and bans international journalists. Two weeks ago the Syrian government blamed a similar bombing on Al-Qaeda, including a fake statement and website which initially fooled international media to report the story of the Muslim Brotherhood claiming responsibility for the bombings. Syrian blogger Anas Qtiesh wrote a post about the findings that clearly show that the fake statement and website were easily traced back to regime affiliates.

@Farrouha91 tweets:

Ironic how pro-Assad Lebanese rush to report when explosions happen (accusing the protesters), but never report the daily killings. Why? #syria

@arwamenla adds:

#300DaysLater and Addounia TV still fails at fabricating lies about #Syria

As the regime is more and more desperate for legitimacy, we will probably keep witnessing more desperate attempts to draw attention from the Syrian people's struggle for freedom and justice.

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.