“Open your hearth & close your shop” is the slogan that  yesterday was shared on Facebook by Syrian peaceful activists in order to support the general strike organized to protest against the Houla Massacre.

In an unprecedented move, even Old Damascus souks (including Hamidyeh, Bouzorieh, Suq as-souf) have kept their shops closed in sign of protests for the massacre that last Friday left, according to the UN, at least 49 children and 34 women dead (the majority was killed with knives in a door-to-door assault) in the village of Houla, near Homs.

Activists have uploaded videos from different areas in Damascus, including the Old City which has stayed mostly out of the one -year-two-months old protests (except from the very first weeks back to march 2011):

Souk al Hamidyeh, Old Damascus, 28 May 2012

Daraya, 28 May 2012

Kafer Sousseh, 28 May 2012

Qasr al Hajaj, 28 May 2012 

Al-farah laysa mihnatî (“La gioia non è il mio mestiere”, 1970).

Via SiriaLibano 

Assedio

Ho lacrime blu

a forza di piangere guardando il cielo

Ho lacrime gialle

a forza di piangere sognando spighe

d’oro

Vadano pure in guerra i condottieri

nei boschi gli innamorati

ai laboratori gli scienziati

Io

cercherò un rosario e una vecchia sedia

per tornare quello che ero,

un usciere fermo sulla soglia del dolore

almeno finché ogni libro e costituzione e religione

dirà che morirò soltanto

di fame o di prigione.

Titolo originale: Al-Hisâr

It`s the opening of an art exhibition dedicated to the creative struggle for freedom in Syria, which goes under the title of  ”Culture in Defiance: Continuing Traditions of Satire, Art and the Struggle for Freedom in Syria.

I`ve had the honor to join the group of curators who have put together lots of creative works (films, music, visual art, graffiti, cartoons.etc) produced by Syrians since the beginning of the Syrian uprising March 15th 2011. Malu Halasa,author of the amazing art book “Secret life of Syrian lingerie“, called me after I gave a presentation in London about Syrian user-generated creativity. She was very enthusiastic about the idea of putting together as many creative works as possible speaking of the “new Syrian wave” of creativity that has sprout out of the uprising. Thanks to her energy and enthusiasm, together with expertise of Syrian curators Aram Tahhan and Leen Zyiad, we have put together a good amount of songs, visual art works, graffiti works, films, photos. There is a publication coming up  that Malu has curated, where I have written an article about user-generated creativity in the context of the Syrian uprising. I hope I was able to give at least an idea of the amazing anonymous people whose works I see every day blossoming over the Internet.

Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat, also a Prince Claus Foundation`s laureate, will open the exhibition on June 4th together with Malu.

We are planning an academic symposium with a series of light evening lectures in the context of the exhibition. It looks like it will be sometimes in October, I`ll post the date as soon as possible. Syrian guests specialized in creative films, advertising, etc will join us for debate sessions on creative resistance in Syria.

Mi scuso per la segnalazione arrivata cosi in ritardo, l`unica consolazione e` che oggi e` un giorno importante per l`Egitto, la prima volta dopo decenni che si vota in elezioni libere, percio` un “sogno nel cassetto” per molti che si avvera..

Freschi di rientro dalla kermesse lionese, il festivalCinéma et Révolution(s) en Égypte, vogliamo condividere mettere in rete alcune delle esperienze che ci hanno entusiasmato di più.
Il festival è stato voluto e organizzato dall’associazione Maalish e dalla Maison des Passages di Lione, due realtà che lavorano sull’intercultura. In particolare Maalish (in arabo egiziano “porta pazienza!”) è nata dall’incontro di giovani egiziani e francesi appassionati della cultura egiziana, ma oramai attivi su temi che riguardano tutto il medio oriente.
Durante tutto il festival ha regnato un’atmosfera molto calorosa e accogliente, la stessa con cui ci hanno accolto Nicola, Nadia, Ahmed e tutto lo staff. Questa atmosfera di serenità ed entusiasmo al tempo stesso, ha permesso di approfondire dei discorsi molto difficili, soprattutto sul piano emotivo. Perché parlare di rivoluzioni egiziane oggi significa anche fare i conti con un‘attualità politica che sembra tradire molte delle aspettative in campo: il potere politico ed economico ancora in mano all’esercito, la forte prevalenza dei partiti islamici nel parlamento, l’assemblea costituente ancora in alto mare.
Si parla di rivoluzioni al plurale, come sottolineano gli amici di Maalish, per rappresentare meglio il concetto di una rivoluzione multiforme: non solo il rovesciamento del potere politico, ma un ventaglio di cambiamenti sociali, culturali e di pratica politica.

(continua qui)

picture from Facebook group Freedom Graffiti Week

The graffiti artist, a member of the peaceful resistance movement in Damascus, was killed. He was buried today in Kafer Sousah, in Damascus. Syrian activist Hamaecho took these pictures at his funeral.

Graffiti and wall paintings have played an important role in communicating peaceful opposition to the Syrian regime.

Back in March 2012, Adnan Zaray –a musalsalat (TV series) writer who first dealt with the “spray men” (Rajul al bakhakh) movement in well-known 2001 musalsal “Buqa`t daw” (Spotlight)– was  arrested in Rukn ad-din, a suburb of Damascus.

For the first time on Syrian TV, the episode written by Zaray featured the so-called “rajul al bakhakh“, the “spray men” who use the city`s walls to spread political messages.

10 years later, TV fiction has turned into reality. The Syrian revolution-related messages  spread by “spray men” like Nour Hatem Zahra on Syria`s walls were probably less acceptable than those appearing in the safe, controlled media space of TV series.

Graffiti have been largely used in Syria as a tool of civil disobedience and peaceful resistance. Last week a peaceful anti-regime graffiti campaign appeared on Syrian cities` walls and on the virtual alleys of Facebook.

Today the same Facebook page is populated with graffiti that have been drawn on Damascus` walls as a tribute to  Nour Hatem Zahra .

Juan Zero, a popular Syrian cartoonist, has dedicated his last work to this courageous “spray man” who died for imagining freedom. A bullet hits him while he is painting the word “hurryia”, freedom, on his country`s walls.

Syrian bear- Yumal

Syrian bear- Simo

Khalil Younes - Qashoush

Al Fann wal Hurrya 

Spray men- Graffiti

Al Qazan as-sury

Khaled Abdelwahed- Bullet: a Syrian short story

Juan Zero - Syrian cartoonist

Jaber al Azmeh- photography

Hamid Suleiman- Ghiath Matar

Blogs

Rajul al-bakhakh (Spray men)

Articles

Bruce Wallace- My people love me

Ziad Majed and Nadia Aissaoui - Quand la peur change de camp 

Yves Gonzales-Quijano – The Pixelised revolution: art et revolution 

Donatella Della Ratta – Creative resistance challenges Syria`s regime

Donatella Della Ratta- Irony, satire, and humor in the battle for Syria

Amelie Rives- Art and revolution: The Syrian case 

In this video, you can spot activist Rima al Dali standing in the middle of the Damascus traffic, very close to Hamra street (a busy shopping point in the capital) and to the Syrian Parliament. She holds a read sign which urges to stop the killing. Some people are passing by with indifference but others are clapping and expressing solidarity.

Together with other brave Syrian youth, Rima was also part of another peaceful action which took place at Sham city center, a crowded and “posh” mall in the Syrian capital. Last week this group of people, young men and women, staged a “flash mob” in the mall. After eating their meal, they stoop up and hold a red and white sign saying: Stop killing, we want to build a nation for all Syrians!

Some of them lied on the floor and pretended to be dead, as in the many pro- Syrian revolution flash mobs that have been taking place in the US or Canada for more than a year. Some people clapped but security agents came and arrested the activists. They have been released.

Civil disobedience seems to be ongoing in the capital and, from the number of actions being staged these days, it looks like it is growing.

Another very interesting work focused on Syria is the most recent video installation and  book publication:  Simba, the last prince of Ba`ath country, which is described as an “ongoing investigation into pro-regime propaganda images, which are created by the Syrian Electronic army and distributed on Facebook and social media”.

The collective`s members say: “We are interested in tracing the digital content and context of the original stock images transformed by the Syrian Electronic Army, in order to better understand the way propaganda rhetoric is created and understood. We consider our investigation as artists and researchers a contribution to the fantastic work and endless energy which is being invested by activists around the world in the struggle against the Syrian regime”.

picture by Foundland

Media war, propaganda and manipulation of news are a widely discussed topic especially in the Syrian case. Few days ago, Jess Hill published an interesting recap of the info war over Syria, while Margaret Weiss provides us with the latest news concerning the mysterious Syrian Electronic Army.

Artists also are increasingly reflecting on the Syria propaganda war issue and the coverage of the events through social networks. Lebanese Rabih Mroue` is exploring the topic in his controversial brand new lecture-performance ” The pixelated revolution” .

“To take what’s happening in Syria and place it alongside a cinematic manifesto was for some people unethical,” he says (in al Akhbar piece), “because people are still dying and suffering and I’m doing this cold reflection. But when I’m making art, I’m not an activist, and I refuse to be an activist in art. I try not to take a political position in my work, but if I do – and in this case, it’s very clear that I’m with the protesters – then I try to deconstruct and reflect on my position and provoke myself. Of course, all of these questions came to my mind. Am I allowed to talk about the protesters when they are still being killed? Am I allowed to take them out of these events? Is it okay? Is it possible for an artist to make a work about something that is still going on? When I ask myself such questions, I tend to think I’ve pinpointed something I should pursue.”

Thanks to those who have commented, criticized, shared, discussed this piece.

I owe also a big thank you to the Free Syrian Translators who have translated it into Arabic.

SYRIA: THE VIRTUE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE 

Something is happening in Syria, away from the media spotlight. Last March 27, when Damascus woke up, the independence flag – symbol of the Syrian revolution -  was raised in different districts, from Berzeh to Mezzeh, from school walls to bridges. Civil disobedience groups had successfully managed to coordinate the biggest anti-regime protests conducted simultaneously in different parts of the Syrian capital.

When you make Mutasem Abou AlShamat notice that raising the independence flag is nothing more than just a symbolic action – although beautiful – this Damascene in his 20s, smiles and calmly explains: “You have to look at what lies behind the action, not at its immediate content. Doing this simultaneously means that different non-violent groups are finally getting together and organising common actions. Achieving this degree of coordination should not be taken for granted in Damascus, where security control is tight, communications are either tracked or lacking and moving from one area to another is extremely difficult.”

“This is a step further to coordinate a much bigger operation that is in the pipeline,” he says, mysteriously.

Mutasem is a member of the Syrian non-violent movement. Together with many other groups, mostly based in Damascus and Aleppo, he has joined “Ayyam al hurryia” (Freedom days), a consortium of individuals and loose organisations which share a common goal: “To topple the regime through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience”.

Signalling rebellion

Back in December 2011, they organised the general strike “Idrab al karama”. When asked about the results of the initiative, Mutasem admits that “mistakes have been made and we have brainstormed a lot in order to not make them happen next time. But there is indeed a great achievement in having shown the people that a third way is possible: something that each of us can do, rather than join the demonstrations or just stay home [due to] fear.”

Placing radio speakers in Damascus’ central squares and playing revolutionary songs; painting the city’s fountain water red to remind the martyrs’ blood; distributing anti-regime leaflets that looked like Syrian currency notes – “everybody would stop to collect 1,000 Syrian Pounds on the floor!” – are some of the nuanced acts taken in defiance of regime.

Mutasem is an enthusiastic supporter of civil disobedience tactics. According to him, this is the only way to mobilise people in big cities like Damascus and Aleppo that are deemed to be regime’s strongholds.

“We have to hurt the regime at its very heart, if we want to topple it. Civil disobedience sends a message to the people of Damascus and Aleppo who watch the violence on YouTube and are told by the official propaganda that there is nothing going on in the country,” the young activist says. “Our message is: The revolution is here, we are here, come and join us in any possible way you can.”

According to him, many people – who at the beginning would stay at home – are now helping the non-violent activists, providing logistical support, coordination, even actively joining the civil disobedience. Incidents of burning tyres blocking traffic in the middle of roads have been mushrooming in the past months, especially in Damascus.

“You know that something is successful when people adopt and repeat it. Most of the road blockings happening now are not organised by us, they are initiated by people we don’t even know,” he emphasises.

Mutasem thinks civil disobedience is the only way to mobilise people in the Syrian capital. He is convinced that an armed response from the revolutionaries will not succeed, as the regime is much stronger on the military front. He also thinks that the latter’s violence has increased since the formation of the Free Syrian Army.

Because of this, he embraces the model of civil resistance provided by Daraya, the cradle of Syrian peaceful resistance in Damascus where activists like Ghiyath Matar and Yahya Shurbaji were trying to win the soldiers’ hearts and minds through non-violent and symbolic actions like talking to them during the demonstrations and distributing flowers and water. Recalling these scenes sounds like “longing for the bygone days”, as Matar was brutally killed and Shurbaji is believed to be still in jail.

Videos on non-violent struggle

But, while YouTube clips – allegedly recorded a week ago in Aleppo – are running on the screen, the young Syrian activist makes me notice that these protesters are still chanting “You are our brothers!” to the army, despite the fact that all media attention is catalysed either by the armed clashes between Assad’s soldiers and the defected Free Syrian Army, or by the sectarian conflict allegedly going on between Syria’s Alawi minority and Sunni majority.

Nevertheless, each week Ayyam al hurryia produces and posts videos, explaining the meaning of the non-violent struggle, its tactics and the patience to achieve results through peaceful resistance. Some videos address the pro-regime supporters too – the “mnhibbakjia” (“we love you”) crowd – dealing with the national unity issue and the necessity of reconciliation among Syrian people.

These videos are all made by Syrians inside and outside Syria, working as volunteers with Ayyam al hurryia. “It’s not a crowd of well-known artists and media makers. It’s Syria’s new generation willing to build a civil state,” Mutasem says. A savvy youth made up of professionals who were never given a chance to emerge in their diversity, as Syria’s cultural production – even in its most advanced forms of criticism and dissent – was managed by an elite group of producers closely supervised by the regime.

The workforce behind Ayyam al hurryia’s initiatives – whether those organising civil disobedience actions on the ground or those filming and editing the coloured educational videos on its YouTube channel – is nurtured by a Syrian grassroots movement and comes from within the country.

Mutasem smiles when I quote Gene Sharp and his 1993 handbook From Dictatorship to Democracy as an inspiration for their non-violent struggle. According to some conspiracy theories, the American scholar would have worked closely with US intelligence to help toppling regimes worldwide and would have supported anti-regime movements like Serbia’s Otpor in their political fight.

These theories enjoy a certain credit, especially when it comes to Syria, where everything happening on the ground would have to be engineered by foreigners, including civil resistance. Mutasem’s smile now turns into laughter.

Syrians’ non-violent struggle is indeed inspired by a Syrian scholar, Jawdat Said, who has been incarcerated many times for his writings on resisting oppression through non-violence. In 2001, he wrote: “We live in a world in which four fifths of its population live in frustration while the other fifth lives in fear.”

Jawadat Said, born in 1931, lives in the Syrian Golan Heights and works as a farmer. I wonder what he thinks of these youth, engaged in their civilised struggle against Goliath, far away from media spotlight, maybe closer to their people.