While the struggling against the ferocious regime militia continues due to the iron will for freedom the Syrians have intus an analyzing look on the immense amount of uploaded videos and footages around the events taking place in Syria might help to strengthen the necessary support from outside the country in order to post, share and spread the visual documents effectfully.
The following classification of the video material bases upon my personal observations during the last twelve months. In the beginning I treated all kind of uploads coming from Syria more or less as the same: documenting the revolutionary movement as well as the brutal crackdown measures of the regime with the primary intention to project an image about the situation inside. Following only my intuition I posted the whole spectre of recorded ongoings. With the time I built up my personal network of trustful sources. That was required after the increasing number of uploads - a serious proof of a two minutes footage could take sometimes over half an hour, especially if the recording comes from a regime related source trying to spread some false propaganda about the revolutionary movement by blaming them as ,armed gangs‘ or ,Salafi terrorists‘.
Especially last summer some attempts were circulating on the Youtube platform to discredit the people‘s call for freedom. Pro-regimers acting as ,revolutionaries‘ by behaving extraordinary disgraceful for example. But the trick didn‘t work. Mainly the actors were looking straight into the camera as if they expect new orders how to behave as next. Or they simply forgot to pull out their army jackets - no real revolutionary would wear clothing with the emblems of the regime forces. On the other side many of the filmed protests were touched by the international media with velvet gloves adding terms like ,apparently‘, ,reportedly‘ or ,authenticity could not be proven‘ to the publications. It took a long time until some of the leading news agencies installed themselves a network of informants and activists they could rely upon.
Meanwhile the regime‘s engagement offering convincing footages is tending towards zero: in a provoking manner State TV‘s ,spontaneous‘ interviews with ,spontaneous‘ met citizens down on the street are not only obviously orchestrated, an impertinent dilettantism replaced professionality in reporting. A woman in a ,spontaneous‘ stopped bus is telling about the ,wonderful calmness the president guarantees, not a single soldier to see‘ while a bunch of armed shabiha is reflecting in her sunglasses. Or an interview at night with ,armed gangs‘: while explaining detailled the fearless fanatism they were driven to topple the regime as part of a global conspiracy (!) the whole bunch looked scared to death after a grenade exploded some blocks away from them.
I‘m not claiming that the revolutionary movement didn‘t make faults, none of us is perfect, but the amount of dilettant orchestrations on the regime‘s side is more than remarkable. As if they are raising the middle finger towards the critical spectators all over the world rewarding their loyal viewers who are selling this stuff for real with privileges or directly with money. Another attempt of undermining the uncoverings of regime crimes was the tolerated spread of ,leaked‘ footages showing extremely violent behavior of the security forces. Normally a regime is doing all to avoid such publications presenting them as far beyond humanness but the ruling elites‘ strategy was to marginalize the explicit violence in the viewers‘ perception trying to decrease the awareness of the sensible natures. Disturbed and shocked about the disgraceful images many viewers turned off following the actual events raising doubts about the real ongoings in a land where international journalists aren‘t allowed to enter (and are risking to get killed if entering undercover just like in the case the French Marie Colvin in Homs).
Summing up the uploads directly related to the regime the following classification can be fixed:
1) Dilettant orchestrations. Exposing the regime‘s inability to deliver convincing footage material. Worth posting because of documenting the fragile, calculable minority behind the regime‘s apparatus.
2) Leaked explicit regime crimes against humanity. Most of those uploads are sold against cash. Only worth posting in certain cases documenting the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Assad‘s militia and the regime‘s mercenaries. To avoid serious mental damage by some viewers - let us not forget that even behind some best agers‘ avatar the one or the other minor is hiding - links have to be classified.
Now to the revolutionary freedom movement‘s videos: most of them are showing in the meantime defiant protests all over the country with people chanting, singing and dancing. What might appear at the first sight a bit confusing for outstanders contains in reality a systemic cleverness. The chants are bringing the people together in their goal to overcome the unloved regime. The melodies are chosen to open the hearts of the undecided ones while the often changing lyrics, a proof of the immense creativity, are mainly mocking the regime side (,Freedom forever, but without you, Bashar‘) or confessing the deep faith (,We bow to noone except God‘). The cry for help is replaced by a chant for help.
The next category contains funeral trials where the martyrs are accompanied by a huge crowd to their last place of rest. Assad‘s militia is meanwhile infamous for attacking the mourners during the procession. A sad but true quote sums the bizarre scenario up: ,Only in Syria a citizen can become murdered by the security forces who went on a funeral of another citizen who was murdered by the security forces.‘
Footages documenting regime crimes and abuses are the third category. Secretly filmed hidden tanks as well as mothers mourning about the loss of their beloved children. All those sacrifices the Syrian people are suffering are very important to record for the time after the regime‘s fall: they will be helpful to document the whole context of the crimes against humanity and in certain cases to identify the culprits. From looted shops over shelled districts up to discovered mass graves those bodies of evidence are both reminders of the urgence to engage for the Syrian civilians and recordings for a juridical managing after Assad‘s end.
A special category marks the Free Syrian Army FSA. Founded by defected soldiers and high-ranking officers the FSA is actually the only guarantor for temporarily shabiha-freed zones. Without their presence many of the anti-regime protests would have ended violently by the regime forces with mass detentions and lots of martyrs. We often forget what those courageous guys are risking with their defection: not only themselves, their whole families are becoming wanted better dead than alive. Therefore their decision to stay on the right side of history and humanity is absolutely worth to record.
Creative civil disobedience is the last main category showing all the small and huge needle stitches in the regime‘s heart. Setting a row of tyres on a main road on fire, spraying anti-regime paroles on house walls, distributing flyers, organizing solidarity protests or charity fundraisers all over the world (yes, from the regime view even the last one is civil disobedience: they want the money for themselves), hiding loudspeakers which play revolutionary songs in offices or on public places or - my all-time favorite from last year‘s early summer - shooting raw onions and potatoes with a self-made catapult over the house blocks on regime troops as it happened in (whereelse?) Homs: all those examples are certificates of civil courage replacing the fear the Syrians are vaccinated with the moment of their birth in Assad‘s Syria.
Summing up the uploads directly related to the resistance movement the following classification can be fixed:
1) Anti-regime protests and rallies. Exposing the iron will for change despite the risk of getting shot by a rooftop sniper or beaten and detained by an arriving shabiha troop. Absolutely necessary posting because of creating the highest impact among the viewers. Some of us could identify ourselves with the amazing spirit the chanting crowd evokes; some others will discover their compassion for the people‘s intentions; another ones might lose their prejudices against the revolutionary momentum per se.
2) Funeral trials. In the Islamic tradition the appreciating mentioning of a martyr‘s name is regarded as an honorable contribution. The names of all those who have sacrificed their lives for the higher goal will be honored and never forgotten. Worth posting to express sympathy for the martyr and her/his family.
3) Documented regime crimes. Worth posting generally in the case if not shown before. If repeated it should be addressed especially to those still insecure about the estimation of the situation on the ground referring to earlier abuses on the same level.
4) The Free Syrian Army. Worth posting if addressed to revolutionary Syrians to strengthen their confidence in the freedom movement (after being mainly disappointed from the international community‘s so-called efforts).
5) Creative civil disobedience. Absolutely worth posting because of documenting the non-violent unarmed potential the Syrian freedom movement is carrying inside. Appreciating the courage of the activists by publishing their actions. Motivating on that way others to participate and contribute their ideas damaging the regime.
I‘ve never expected to write one day a post like this one but the resilience of the Syrian revolution taught me three crucial things:
You cannot kill creativity, you cannot murder humor, you cannot slaughter the idea of freedom.
By understanding that it becomes very clear which one long-termed the winner side is. Those standing for real values and not material ones.
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