Syria. Citizen empowerment against brutality
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Transcript: English(auto-generated)
00:14
Hi, so can you all hear me well? And can you all see me well? Because I'm going to have
00:21
to hang here near the computer because I have a Prezi, so I don't have the possibility to use this little machine that other speakers use, and, you know, walk, which is pretty cool to be able to walk and do this, but I'm going to have to be hiding behind my computer somehow. I hope this is okay with you guys. Let me know if you want
00:40
me to move, or if you can't see me well. So this is the title of my presentation. It's Syria, citizen empowerment against brutality. Here's all my information in case you want to contact me. I'm particularly active on Twitter, at Leila underscore na if you want
01:02
to contact me, or through my global voices online profile, or through my regular blog or through my email. I'll share this again at the end of my presentation, and, please, I mean, feel free to contact me throughout the conference or as soon as we are done
01:23
if you come up with any questions regarding what we saw here. So, I chose this title because we have already seen the degree of brutality, the Syrian institutions, the Syrian authorities are displaying against their people, and this is quite unprecedented
01:47
even within an area of the world where we have seen a lot of violence from the institutions, a lot of violence from the power structures, but even within this area, the case of Syria is particularly unprecedented, the degree they have reached in repressing citizen forms
02:06
of expression. However, citizen narrative, citizen forms of expression keep emerging in very amazing ways, considering the very difficult dramatic context we are living in. So, for years, we never heard anything about Syria in particular. For years, the
02:28
government, the Syrian regime allied with a wall of silence to isolate its citizens from one another and also to isolate the country from the world, so that I get asked
02:41
a lot, so how come we never heard of the Syrian regime and we never knew it was this brutal? Well, because there was a wall of silence around the country, and now this wall is broken, and I don't think there's a way back to the way things were. No matter how much, the government tries to repress citizen narrative, citizen forms
03:04
of expression continue to emerge in unexpected, extremely creative ways. This silence, Syrians are very aware of. So, this is a photo of citizens of a place
03:20
in Syria called Kafarnubel that has proved to be extremely creative in the messages they're sharing with the world in very rudimentary ways, we could say, very traditional ways, but extremely innovative. So, every week, we have a different message from the city of Kafarnubel, which has suffered a lot of government repression in Syria. So, this
03:42
is a group of people from Kafarnubel. This is a white banner, and they just wrote Kafarnubel, the occupied city of Kafarnubel, Syria, the occupied town of Kafarnubel. They're under occupation, and they're holding a white paper, and they're
04:02
wearing gags to show the world how the silence, the silence of the world, and the silence within Syria has been what makes the isolation of Syrians possible. It's what makes the government's actions even more ruthless, because there's always been this wall of
04:24
silence against Syrians. This is a very powerful message telling the world, okay, how the silence affects Syrians in an extremely dramatic way. This is a video that also goes
04:44
on the silence, the importance of silence, and how it's been instrumentalized by the government. And this is a message from young activists to the silent majority, to the people who still are afraid in Syria to speak against the government. So, this is a
05:04
young Syrian telling another young Syrian, we need your voice. If we don't have your voice, we are lost. So, at the end of this video, this young boy says, your silence is their most powerful weapon. So, I want you to take a look, and I found it with German subtitles.
05:31
Do we have the sound okay?
05:56
Do we have the sound okay?
06:27
Do we have the sound okay?
07:27
Do we have the sound okay?
08:01
Did you like this video? So, it's an example of a very powerful message shared in a very
08:38
creative way. This has gone very viral through social media. So, the regime has not stayed, of
08:49
course, passive at these new forms of citizen expression. Facebook or Twitter or YouTube are not what's at stake, are not the enemy for repressive regimes. Freedom of expression is
09:06
the enemy for these regimes. So, any space where citizens find new room for expression, new room for communication, new room for organizing, that's going to be where regimes are going to be focusing their efforts to try to repress citizen organization and
09:25
communication within these new channels. So, now we see how the government is trying to silence protesters, activists, in every possible way, in every space where forms of expression are organized. So, the Syrian regime has been brutally silencing protesters.
09:48
This is an icon of the Syrian revolution. He's called Ghiyaz Matar. He was very well known for handing flowers and water to soldiers in the neighborhood of Daraya, in
10:01
Damascus. So, he became somehow a leader of the nonviolent resistance in Syria. So, that's what the government is most afraid of. The government is afraid of nonviolent talk, nonviolent resistance, because that's what they cannot fight. They cannot produce any
10:22
response that is not violent to any form of peaceful expression. So, they go against these forms of expression of nonviolence and peaceful resistance in extremely violent ways. So, this is Ghiyaz Matar. He was killed. They kidnapped him and they returned
10:43
to his body, to his family, a couple days later. So, they're silencing protesters in the streets. They're silencing all forms of citizen expression. They're silencing humor. This is a cartoon by Ali Ferzat, a very well known cartoonist from Syria. So, this is
11:05
a cartoon that shows Bashar al-Assad asking Gaddafi for a ride to wherever Gaddafi is going. This is a few months ago, before Gaddafi got killed. So, when he published this pic, this photo, this cartoon, a few days later, he was kidnapped and he was
11:23
brutally beaten and they broke both of his hands. So, they kill protesters. They use very metaphorical ways to silence all forms of opposition with cartoonists, with people who write, with people who draw. It is very common that they break their
11:43
hands as a metaphor of silencing their forms of production. They also silence music because music is a very powerful element of expression and resistance in the Arab world. If you see a very dramatic situation, people gathering, they
12:03
still sing, they still dance. So, this is a demonstration in Hama. People singing this song called, come on, leave Bashar, we want you out. So, it's a folklore song with very catchy beat, with very ironic lyrics. Like they say things
12:28
like, freedom is knocking on the door and you Bashar cannot hear it, please go leave us alone. So, this has been so viral that in every demonstration, in every
12:40
country, in solidarity with the Syrian people, like I'm in Spain, we have a lot of demonstrations at the Syrian embassy in Madrid, we sing this song. And this song was popularized by singer Ibrahim Kashouj from Hama.
13:20
So, this is Ibrahim Kashouj a few days after the huge demonstration in Hama.
13:28
They also kidnapped him and they cut his throat and ripped his vocal cords off. I'm sorry if this is disturbing for some of you, but this is Syria today. This is what happens to a singer, not even a member of the
13:42
political opposition. This is a singer who is singing in the demonstrations. Okay? So, they ripped his vocal cords off. But, if you can see here, everybody now at demonstrations, you find more hands holding mobile phones
14:00
than people, almost. So, this song has gone so viral that even if they killed Ibrahim Kashouj, may he rest in peace, they cannot stop his voice. They cannot stop the voice of the Syrian people. They keep trying to
14:20
silence bloggers and journalists. Blogs have become a very powerful tool in the land of state-controlled narrative. So, this is a friend of us. She works for the center of media and freedom of expression in
14:43
Syria. So, her and all of her colleagues have been arrested and they're going to go through trial for accusations of betrayal, of betraying their country. And, of course, their only crime is to
15:01
write, to demand freedom of expression for their country. So, everyone who demands free speech is a target in Syria at this point. So, of course, they're trying to silence protesters in very brutal ways. But, at the same time, they continue trying to fabricate
15:24
their own narrative, their own state-controlled narrative. They've been doing that for decades through their official state TV, state channels like Sana and Dunia. They have done that for decades to create their own reality through their own controlled
15:43
media. But now, with all the contents we have flooding the internet, less and less people rely on state-controlled media. And more people have access to different forms of expression of what's happening. So, just to give you a hint of how fabricated
16:06
most of the videos and most of the contents by these state- mistakes that these channels make, and they're making more and more mistakes because they're more and more desperate. So,
16:21
they do things very fast. They try to question activists' narratives so fast, sometimes in such a clumsy way, that crazy things like the ones you're going to see, the ones I'm going to show you happen. So, I want you to pay attention to this video. This video by state TV Dunia. Is it Dunia?
16:43
I don't know if it's Dunia. Yeah, Dunia. They show allegedly a crime committed by what they call terrorists, okay? So, we don't know if it's activists. We don't know if they actually committed this crime. We don't know exactly what the
17:00
information is because Syrian state TV is very unreliable, okay? But what we know is that we see a hand of a reporter, a crime scene, okay? So, we all know when we work as journalists, you're not supposed to touch anything that's on the ground, and you can see how before the camera gets there, the
17:23
journalist from the state TV is organizing stuff on the floor so that it looks good for the camera, and the presenter who speaks shuts down in complete shock like they caught us. They saw that we are fabricating and manipulating the scene. So, look at how she stays quiet,
17:43
and she doesn't know what to say for the rest of the video when she says, when she sees this reporter manipulating the proof, the evidence of the so-called crime by terrorists in Damascus.
18:13
She stops talking. That shows, they say, victims of a
18:26
terrorist attack by armed groups, and you can see two men comforting each other, maybe after losing a relative or maybe after being wounded themselves, like really caressing each other and hugging, but someone tells
18:41
them, okay, you can go. We're done with recording. So, they're like, okay, let's go, okay? Like actors. So, let's see, pay attention to this detail.
19:00
Okay, want to see this again? So, they're there posing for the photograph, and then someone tells them, okay, we're done, you can go. You don't have to be posing for this video anymore, okay? Well, this is very common
19:24
with Syrian state TV, but now we see how things really are in the country. We didn't used to see it before. So, in spite of the attempts, more and more clumsy attempts by the government to control, to stop and
19:43
silence activists and to fabricate their own narrative, their own state control narrative, citizen narrative at this point is unstoppable. I'm going to show you a couple examples of very creative things. This is a demonstration with like this big poster
20:05
that people are holding. It says oppression, corruption, despotism, demolition. This is the Syria of the current regime. So, we're going to see what they do in the middle of the demonstration. So, this is
20:59
now, this was like last week, after all they've been
21:02
through, see what they're doing, see what they're still doing out in the streets, they're taking to the streets, they're flooding the streets with these kind of very creative messages. They're also flooding the internet, especially a lot of people living out of the country are using Facebook and Twitter and other tools to stay updated on what's happening in the country. So, I don't
21:22
know, maybe we need to make this bigger. Let's see if I can make it bigger. I guess I can show you this. I can share this presentation with you guys on Twitter. But this is a list of the hashtags, of the
21:41
tags, the keywords that people are using on Twitter that have become trending topic. So, they're words decided by the Syrian community to bring attention to specific events related to demonstrations in Syria.
22:00
Okay. So, different words that have attracted worldwide attention through activism using these channels, these social media. So, we have Don't Trust Assad is
22:23
one of them, one against the referendum. So, bringing attention, maintaining attention to the Syrian struggle is vital so that the world does not forget about what's happening in Syria in a context of a lot of things happening worldwide. This is a very good
22:45
example of activism that combines online with offline initiatives. So, this is a photo created by a group called by a community of Syrians, mostly abroad, but they work a lot with people inside of Syria. It's
23:02
called the Syrian people know their way, the Syrian people know where they're going. So, they take inspiration in other peaceful demonstrations and non-violent resistance from other parts of the world. Here they say Chile. So, defend yourself
23:20
like Chileans do. So, I'm going to show you their gallery. Okay. This is their photo gallery. They have very creative examples. So, defend yourself like Chileans do. Let's see this other one. Yeah,
23:40
like Chileans do. Let's see if they have more. This is all from Chile, but they have others where they say defend yourself like Palestinians do. And different examples of forms of resistance where they take inspiration. So, they take
24:01
global inspiration from other mobilisations. These are other very creative art pieces that they have done. So, they defend yourself like Tunisians did. Defend yourself like Egyptians did. Defend yourself like Chileans did. So, they take inspiration from different mobilisations worldwide,
24:22
and they're also very connected to the Syrian streets. They say they don't want to be these artists who are doing salon art. They want to be connected to the ground. They want to breathe the Syrian revolution and produce artistic videos, image, posters. So, they have even
24:41
designed graffitis that then you can see how they share them with Syrians on the ground. And you see these graffitis created by this group of designers. You see these graffitis on the wall with the face of Riaz Matar and other martyrs of the Syrian revolution. So, there's a strong connection between what they're doing,
25:02
what they're designing, and the actual events on the streets so that they're not detached to the real thing happening in Syria. So, it's a really great community that I really recommend. Unfortunately, it's all in Arabic. But the
25:20
designs, I think anybody can really connect with these kind of designs. Because it's very visual work they're doing. So, this is the Facebook page. A little kid writing on the wall. I am not a slave. I'm a worker, not a slave. So, different kinds of resistance against brutality.
25:45
This is Yara Shemas. She was a very young girl who was arrested by the regime. She was only 21. So, they remixed things that already exist and create new forms of art for
26:01
Syrians to use. Okay? And so, Syrian Intifada is the URL on Facebook. Syrian people know their way. Syrian people know where they're going. And the Syrian struggle is so dramatic.
26:21
And the violence they are facing is so dramatic that they have managed to attract global solidarity after years, after decades of silence over Syria. So, there's a lot of campaigns that you can actually join if you guys are interested in contributing, in spreading the word about what's being done, in participating,
26:42
in getting involved. There are many ways to do so. This is a global solidarity campaign. So, it's called Syrian Sit-In on YouTube. So, you can, I think you can still send videos, I'm not sure, to this channel called Syrian Sit-In on YouTube. So, you can record
27:01
yourself saying, I am in solidarity with the Syrian people, like she did. I am in solidarity with the Syrian people. I reject the brutality and killing that the Syrian authorities are committing against the Syrian people. Because silence is participation
27:23
in this crime. I declare my participation in Syrian Sit-In on YouTube. This is another initiative called Global March Against Syrian Dictator.
27:51
Over a decade, a dictator ruled the land of an iron fist. In 1982, he killed over 40,000 Mississippians to crush a revolution. Paralyzing the people in fear for decades
28:02
to come. On March 15, 2011, Syrian society began a revolution again. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians from every background took to the streets in peaceful protests. Bashar al-Assad responded viciously and without mercy to the young and the old.
28:21
In less than a year, he killed over 8,000 civilians, over 600 children, displaced 20,000 to neighboring countries, and detained and tortured over 200,000 people. But one year later, Syrians continued to call for freedom and they also called for our help. I am Christian and I support the Global
29:00
March for Syria. And I'll be joining the Global March for Syria. I'll be joining the Global March for Syria. I'm from Tunisia and I support the
29:23
Global March for Syria. We're all June and we will be joining the Global March for Syria. With every passing moment, Syrians are giving their lives just to be free. Let's make oppression history. Join the Global March for Syria.
29:46
But a lot more marches and demonstrations and events and initiatives will continue to happen. So I really encourage you to stay tuned. Some more things that can be done. Well, stay informed. This is a new site for those of you
30:02
who speak English. It's called Anna. Okay. So they share news and updates straight from Syria. Activist news association. I really trust them. I mean, they're really reliable and they have good sources on the ground to stay
30:23
really focused on how things are developing. They share, I think, interesting information. So if you want to spread the word about the Activist News Association, I think it's a pretty good site and work they're doing.
30:40
So more things that can be done. Well, there are a lot of campaigns and initiatives to send help to Syrian refugees through different organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are doing reports on what's happening on the ground and there are also different campaigns to actually contribute economically with the refugees
31:01
on the Turkish-Lebanese borders. So you can demonstrate at your Syrian embassy. We still have not managed to isolate the regime internationally. The Syrian ambassadors are still in European countries, continue to do their work in spite of the brutal repression against their own citizens.
31:22
So I'm sure there are demonstrations here too in every country. I am aware they have demonstrations at Syrian embassies. So pressure your political representatives for consistency within support of not only Syrian civil society but everywhere in the Arab world and everywhere in
31:41
the Middle East and North Africa, a lot of these regimes have been able to stay for so long because they had support from diplomatic support, economic support, political support. So it's time to start listening to citizens, to citizen demands, to citizen needs, to citizen demands for freedom,
32:00
justice, and dignity, and not to repressive governments that do not represent their societies and their peoples. So pressure your political representatives for consistency, diplomatically, economically, politically. And while something we need to keep doing is pressure Russia, which is the one big supporter of the Syrian regime
32:22
to this day, keep spreading the word, blog about it, tweet about it. Like the movie The Network says, get mad, so please get mad about what's happening in this country and everywhere in the area. And now, before we finish, I would like to ask you for a little favor, if this
32:41
is okay. And I'm going to ask you to raise your hands for the Syrian people. So I would like you to raise your hands like this, and maybe you can
33:00
wait a second. Maybe if you have a camera and want to also take a picture of each other and then share it on Twitter, because right now I'm afraid I don't have connection, but I'm going to share this. I'm going to share hands up for Syrian activists from Berlin, RP12, which is the tag for Republica, and then Free Syria.
33:20
Hands up for Syrian activists, hands up for Free Syria, RP12, and Free Syria. I'm going to take your picture now. See, when I do this, I always have like, again, hands up for Syria.
33:44
And thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Why did I ask you this question?
34:00
I'm going to ask you again, because we're looking for your microphone, but I'm going to ask you. So, a few questions. Hi. Hi. Alfonso from Switzerland. A question about how the regime is preventing access to internet. We know from China and many other countries that this is obviously something they try to do. What's the stand in Syria, and what
34:20
kind of technological solutions do you have to circumvent that? Well, we have another conference coming after this one from an expert from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I think she's going to mention some of this. But, well, they have been blocking sites for years, on and off. And unfortunately, a lot of the technology these governments used to
34:44
surveil citizen activity online, not only in Syria, but in the rest of the area, most of this technology is made in the US. So, now there seems to be an attempt from the US administration to control exports of this technology to repressive
35:02
regimes, such as Syria. Let's see how that goes. It seems like a step in the right direction. If I were to get in contact with friends in Syria.
35:21
With who? With friends in Syria. Are you okay? Yes, I'm okay. I didn't try it yet. Can I be kind of risk for them if I try to speak with them about the truth? Or do you think, if ever the
35:41
connection will be possible, what other people told me, it's not easy. I think that it will be hard to know something what really cares. Do you think that a call from
36:01
Europe or Germany can put people in risk perhaps? Yes, it can. Yes, it can. Nothing is safe communication-wise at this point in Syria. Syrians are relying on Skype a lot. Skype is not safe either. But I guess it's a little safer than mobile phones, and especially when communications
36:21
come from abroad, they're more controlled and more surveilled even than communications within the country. When people out of the country talk to our families in there, I mean, we have very casual conversations on average things. We don't ask about the situation on the ground. So, yes, I would not recommend
36:43
openly discussing these kind of issues on the phone with Syrians. This could actually endanger them.
37:09
Thank you very much from here. I think we will see you later on, right? Thank you very much.