So Long! (Not Farewell)

This post definitely belongs to those all but easy to write. But in my opinion it is very important to speak out certain things which are occupying me in the meantime. And to announce a decision I came to.

Those who know me - if we can use the verb under the given virtual circumstances, I will refer to it later - might confirm that I belong to the revolution‘s early birds. I remember precisely the first images I‘ve seen because at that time the security forces were only monitoring the protests without cracking down the demonstrations using that kind of increasing massive brutality we had to witness the last one and a half years. Yes, regarding the actual situation it sounds nearly unbelievable that Assad‘s army and their henchmen stood at the other corner of the street just watching the justified outrage of the civilians. The quarters were not bombed down to the ground while this unmistakable spark, the scent of hope for a real change, drifted through the air of Syria.

With an unbreakable optimism - and admittedly a remarkable naivety - guys like me began to engage for the good cause, the Syrian revolution. The dynamics of the ongoings at that time in whole MENA region euphorized me being convinced that now the time had begun to clean up the whole mess created out of nepotism, oppression, corruption and fear. I entered a terra incognita getting busy with the historical and socio-political background of a fascinating landstripe also known as Bilad al-Sham or in the newer days as Levante.

Reviewing my own notes I made at that time I found a very interesting quote a young Syrian mentioned at the first rally I visited (yes, visited; after that event I not only took, I became part of the protests, proofs for that can be found among others on YouTube):

,There is a special term for those being detained and arrested by the regime‘s intelligence services. Those people are behind the sun.‘

At that time Assad‘s army forces were already using live fire to disperse protesters injuring and killing several of them. Retroactively regarded it is far too easy to rely upon the earlier mentioned naivety putting all our experiences until nowadays into a stringent timeline.

The will for supporting the change is still the same.

Despite the slowly tightened screws of regime violence up to crimes against humanity.

Despite the lack of both interest and support for the Syrian revolution the global community of the powerful were and still are exercising.

Despite the proxy wars, conspiracy myths, divide-and-conquer games.

The resilience of the Syrian people is more than remarkable. After all the horrific sacrifices they have still the power to continue the protests, to stand up for their demands. But after those more than twenty months certain aspects figured out important to mention and I‘m not asking for each one‘s immediate understanding.

All of the following statements represent my personal attitude towards the actual situation with all respect for the victims and their families.

The threat of a hijacked revolution. As a result of the international community‘s inability to offer at least the needed help the freedom striving Syrians began to crave for all kind of support they could get. Objectively regarded a logical reaction but that opened the doors for some interest groups to enter the battle area in the name of the revolution without representing the common goals. The whole process works always in both directions. You are against something like the regime itself or the whole system it represents but you are also for something like regaining freedom and dignity in the case of Syria. For sure, if you are struggling against such powerful perverts you don‘t have the time to ask those accompanying you on the frontlines about their honest intentions. You‘re glad that they‘ll keep your back safe. But the longer the struggle now continues the core of the origin resistance has to ask itself if certain practical alliances are possibly more counterproductive than helpful.

Get united or die. The radicalism of these words shall not insult, in contrary. It should encourage all those still driven by other purposes than the common goals of the revolution. Honestly: to expect a closed row of ultra-disciplined 24/7 pro-revos who have eliminated their whole individuality is not only utopic but gives me also shivers regarding the common system after the regime‘s downfall. Different ethnical, religious, educational or social backgrounds, even different political views don‘t have to be abolished to maintain the discipline if the basic values like freedom, dignity and justice are drawing the red line around them. It is possible to act together as a collective. And it is crucial to find together under that roof despite all the differences provoking more or less the egos inside each one of us. Stop fighting each other out of jealousy or other lower instincts.

The jungle of myths and rumors in times of the digital age. Being globally connected implies the feeling of advanced control over worldwide ongoings. We are able to realize due to uploaded images, footages or eye-witness reports certain events before the traditional media could react. But is that what we realize also real? The art of manipulation has found in the web an amazing playground puzzling the viewers with sometimes cunning strategies. Those of the Syrians busy with uploading videos as body of evidence for regime crimes might know what I mean: instead of getting a closer look to verify the authenticity the hard-boiled spectators (and the pro-regime lobbyists) are pouring the whole spectre of doubts over the footages: fake, manipulated, not from the claimed time, not at the claimed place, photoshopped. Similar it behaves at the social media sector. Whole identities could be constructed, sold as authentic and therefore instrumentalize a whole target group for sinister purposes. A dirty little business in the meantime deterring those who basically tend to support but who are insecure due to the lack of confirmed information. To convince them of the honest intentions takes time. Especially if their origin trust once was shattered raising a labyrinth of doubts, leaving scars on the surface of perception. Never forget that this is Assad‘s Syria, able to create such a fog of confusion and incertainty.

The friend of my enemy‘s not automatically my enemy. And my enemy‘s not automatically my enemy‘s friend. The black-and-white perception of the uprising is only useful to explain the conflict situation those who never heard of it having only a short amount of time. Some of you might get an increasing blood pressure by reading my next lines having difficulties to imagine my demand but I figured out that it is the precise time to speak it out. Go and reach your hands for a dialogue with those having made bad experiences with or mistrusting revolutionaries but also striving for an end of the regime. Go and reach your hands for a dialogue with those favoring the existing political system but not sharing the way of maintaining the power. Go and discover the different shades of darker and lighter grey. I‘m not speaking about the bunch of criminals on whose hands sticks the blood of the Syrian people. I‘m not questioning the fact that the regime crimes cannot be compared in relation to the crimes committed by those acting in the name of the revolution. I‘m speaking of those among the Syrians who became and become victims of the unleashed battle. Even if the regime will be fallen down you have to get aware that a minority of moderate Baathists will further exist in the Syrian society. That they‘ll have the same rights to participate in public life than each other. That‘s one of the core principles of democracy.

I think I‘ve said enough for the moment. From now on I‘ll track myself back from the activists‘ frontline. I realized that the abyss began to stare at me, pushing me mentally into the direction behind the sun. The next weeks, maybe the next months I have to reduce my activities around the Syrian revolution to launch my projects, to restructure my life and most of all to compensate the images and experiences of the last one and a half years. I always wished to raise more awareness with that what I did but I also realized when the time has come to mark new priorities.

Maybe you‘ll draw your own conclusions like that I became weak or traumatized or that I might have changed the sides.  Well, the last one is definitely not true, that I would sware with my hands on both holy books, the Quran and the Bible.

I could have reduced or even completely ended all my recent activities without letting you know. Simply stopping to write, to post, to share. But that is not my style. Those following me on this blog deserve this explanation.

Call me whatever you want after sharing with you my decision but each one of you fighting for the true values in the name of humanness will always have a granted place in my heart.

It's The System That Sucks

Noticed that the classical definitions of Left and Right are dissolving more and more?

One example. The struggle against the dictators Gaddafi and Assad was/is still counterstriked by anti-imperialist Leftists because both tyrants relied/rely upon an - admittedly crude - definition of socialism. Gaddafi is defeated in the meantime and the Libyans are on their way to experience the complex roadmap of democratic principles. The Syrians are still struggling against their stubborn self-declared leader. Viewed on the surface the naive fallacy concludes therefore:

Assad regime + socialists + anti-imperialists + Russia +China

vs

Syrian revolutionaries + republicans + democrats + Western world

Hm .. now where stands Israel? Well of course at the SyRevo side.

Does it?

After attacking Gaza a global outcry was heard whose voices also came from the Syian revolutionaries and those defending them.

Huh?

That means Israel has to be regarded as .. Assad loyalists?

Quite not. First of all the ruling political class has to be segregated from the public. The Nethanyahu government never opposed fully the Assad regime. Besides som kinky skirmishes - yes, they are - Jerusalem is in secret very glad about the fact having a rock solid dictatorship as neighbor. But the iron curtain the oppressors around the misanthropic family clan of the Assads were keeping up for more than five decades is collapsing. And a new gained freedom of the Syrian people might spill over the borders to .. exactly, Palestine. So Bibi and his ones are not amused about that circumstance because keeping the Palestinians in a state of permanent humiliation is their cemented credo.

Dilemma alert.

A deep trench drew through the SyRevo supporters' front. Those who were on the side of Israel began to argue with those defending the Palestinian cause (probably, and that is my personal opinion, that was one of Nethanyahu's intentions to indirectly back Assad during his delaying decoy. Therefore the condemnation of attacking Gaza by the Syrian state media has no real value). Fortunately some pundits declared that the whole thing is about death threatened civilians doesn't matter at which side of whatever border they stand.

Futher we have to take a closer look at the milkmaid's math sheet: despite some expressions of concern about the regime policy and some public chastisement the Western coalition wasn't able until now to support the revolutionaries with urgently needed help (I'm primarily not talking about weapons). Since Assad has spoken out the Salafi spell the international alliance hides itself behind tht napless argument. The geostrategical let's-wait-and-have-a-cup-of-tea was and is not working in favor of the revolutionaries.

Probably a new current is rising up in these times resisting both, the traditional right and the traditional left, realizing that each and all is connected and depending on each other. So are also the systems:

a vs b

red vs blue

black vs white

left vs right

To abolish the systemism as such with a finger snip is nearly impossible. But to brand the systemism as a hurdle on a longer way achieving togetherness instead of division could be an important basic step.

Tear Down This Wall!

Getting aware of the event was more by chance this evening. A woman handed out the flyers at the solidarity rally for the anti-austerity protests in Southern Europe. Among a handfull of newspapers and event references the A5 sheet announced a lecture about a West Jordan village strangled by the Israeli forces and the harsh settlement policy given by a native young non-violent resistance activist from the Palestine Youth For Peace And Justice.

I decided to join the event - not only because I began to freeze standing around for approximately an hour. Mainly older people were present when Saeed Amireh started to refer on the special kind of territorial policy the Israeli government was applying in his home Ni‘lin: from originally 5.800ha floor space only 800ha are left to the Palestinians to cultivate or build their houses. In the North East the town of the Israeli settlers growned until today up to 43.000 inhabitants while the population of Ni‘lin decreased from formerly 12.000 to 5.500. Numbers which underline the  systematically crowding out of the Palestinian residents in an area rather granted in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994.

Rather. Exceptions regarded existing or already begun to build settlements of the Israelis. But instead of working on a policy of negotiations and compromises the Israel government still pushes roughly the Palestinians aside to claim more and more Westbank territory their own. In the case of Ni‘lin all that led to the building of a concrete wall to connect the settlement with the territory of Israel cutting of the Palestinian village completely from the Eastern areas. This wall is also known as the apartheid wall.

When the first Israeli bulldozers arrived - accompanied by a lot of Israeli soldiers - in summer 2008 to build the wall ,out of security reasons‘ the inhabitants of Ni‘lin started their unarmed peaceful protests against that project. Immediately the defence forces violently cracked down the rally.

But the courageous villagers, among them the at that time 17 years old Saeed, decided to continue their peaceful protests. Daily. From nine ,o clock in the morning until sunset.

The reaction of the Israelis was to impose a curfew up to five consecutive days. The inhabitants of Ni‘lin were called up every morning at 3 am by shootings in the air and declarations via loudspeaker. As a determent measure to weaken and humiliate them their water tanks were shot. Regarding the average summer temperatures a drastic proof of strength.

The will to continue the protests against the apartheid wall was unbroken. By end of July the Israeli forces cracked down one of those protests by using rubber-coated bullets. Those bullets have a steel ball core and cause more than serious injuries fired at the people. Ten years old Ahmad Mousa was hit that day by such a bullet in the head. Sadly he had no chance to survive. Shivers flowed through my whole body when Saeed described his desperate attempts to save the boy‘s life. The in my opinion pervert fact is that the Israeli government calls this sort of ammunition as rubber bullets although the steel ball core makes it to a lethal projectile. Another young man who got two of those bullets in the head died four days later in the hospital. He became only 17 years old.

The Israeli forces used also rocket tear gas canisters to disperse the protesting crowd. With a weight of 3 kg the iron body of those canisters was able to break even through light walls. A person directly hit from a short to medium ranged distance could be easily killed.

Not to forget to mention that 0.22 caliber live ammo -international outlawed and therefore illegal - came into operation as tool to prevent protests. According to Saeed‘s report this ammunition which explodes on contact with the target was shot at 55 villagers.

All that in combination with street blockades as a strategy to suppress the protests of te Ni‘lin people and to secure the construction of the land dividing concrete wall. The defence forces also placed snipers on the rooftops of the Ni‘lin houses. The inhabitants tried all to prevent them from that, including Saeed‘s father. Random arrests followed by house raids, later directly on the village‘s streets. Since end of 2008 until now more than 360 people were arrested. The oldest one 55 years old. The youngest one 9 years old. According to Israeli law Palestinian children become juridically regarded of full age at 12. When they arrested Saeed and put him into prison for two months he was in his last school year to earn his necessary degree.

All of that couldn‘t stop him becoming an engaged activist for the cause of justice not only coaching but living the fundamental principles of non-violent resistance. One of its‘ basics is education and clarification through information. Being officially invited by Sweden he became the chance to travel to Europe to give speeches about the actual ongoings in Ni‘lin, a place never mentioned in our official media. Another side effect of the Israeli forces' street blockades to prevent journalists‘ or foreign activists‘ appearance. Fortunately even this blockade wall is poriferous and we here in Europe get the chance to meet a truly admirable young man trying to bring out the truth about his home and how the Israeli forces treat them.

At the end of Saeed‘s speech he showed us video footage material from the protests against the wall and the disgraceful, speechless leaving reactions of the Israeli forces. Some of the attendees have seen such images the first time.

Me neither.

The shocking element for me was that those images reminded me on Syria and the rude behavior of Assad‘s forces against the civil population (before the militia had gone completely berserk).

Cynically grining defence forces' soldiers raiding through the village, firing rocket tear gas ammo into buildings, arresting randomly, even shooting a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian out of immediate distance one of the infamous rubber bullets into the body - even ignoring the fact being filmed during their crimes.

Saeed Amireh from Ni'lin

For more and deeper going information about the whole story I recommend to visit the homepage www.nilin-village.org.

Several times the people of Ni‘lin successfully tore down parts of the apartheid wall. And their struggle against that project will continue.

With the engagement of guys like Saeed this struggle has the chance not to end as a lost battle.

Personal note: As a native German facing the younger history I‘m aware of the crimes against humanity committed against the Jewish population during the Third Reich. Critizising the policy of the Israeli government towards the Palestinians has absolutely nothing to do with Anti-Zionism or Anti-Semitism. These critics refer to the violations of human rights by the Israeli armed forces questioning the proceeding in general. Please note that before stereotyping me as a usual suspect. Thank you.

The Syria Policy: A Confession Of Failure

Almost twenty months after some kids sprayed graffiti on the walls in Daraa Assad's war of annihilation against the own population is climbing from one disgraceful top to the other. The humanitarian situation in Syria and its' neighboring countries worsens from day to day.

The Syrian revolutionaries, feeling betrayed and forgotten, fight a desperate but also courageous battle against a regime behaving like a radical sect but blaming the rest of the world as radical sectarians or their financers. Calls for a better equipment to withstand the regime forces' air raids were down-argued with the concerns, that they might end in the wrong hands.

Overcrowded refugee camps, critical hygienic conditions, lack of fresh water, medical supply missing - the to-do list is as long as an eight-year old child's list of Christmas wishes but even the big players among the international aid organizations have enormous problems to handle the crisis. Without the help measures of private initiatives worldwide - being able to implement direct help as unbureaucratic as possible - the whole situation would be far worse as it actually is.

The number of martyrs rises continuously. 182, 162, 234, 162, 156, 168, 123. The fever chart of Bashar's blasphemous bingo. This ordered killing spree serves only the interest to maintain the status quo as property owners but is sold as attempt to crackdown fierce extremist infiltrators. And the world still believes the fairy tale of that 'incredible threat for the whole universe' only Assad can defeat. It's no longer 'me or chaos!' like Saleh used to say. It's more a 'me or the Armageddon!' which unfortunately still convinces the worriers and fearmongers among the global ruling elite.

So how's the outlook for the upcoming winter? Dark, I suppose, if you still count on that miracle called international effective help for the freedom striving Syrians. But in relation to it bright if you consider the strength of resistance the world witnesses (if the finally dropped the off-button on their TV remote control and take a good, a real good look) which is in comparison to other people revolutions a really impressing and remarkable one.

The only miracle I see on the short-termed horizon is that all the regime top goons disappear. Vanish. Like ghosts. Best from one day to another. But instead of waiting for Godot I'm hoping the Syrians will keep up that energy level to topple those who have to come down after all they committed until now.