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.
No comments:
Post a Comment