28 May 12 | Middle East and North Africa
Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Jordan has become a haven for many activists, to the growing concern of the Jordanian government.
The country attracts many activists who fear reprisals by Hezbollah should they go to Lebanon, but who equally do not wish to connect with the Syrian National Council in Turkey, as they worry that it is too closely aligned to conservative religious movements.
Yet there is an undeniable sense that the activists in Jordan wish to stay under the radar despite their growing numbers: if their presence is felt too much, they fear that the Jordanian government will change its open-border policy, threatening the safety of not just the activists but the thousands of refugees who have also sought shelter there. For this reason, the names of all those interviewed for this article have been protected.
Activists are keenly aware that they are being watched by the Jordanian secret service. “They ask you to come in to see them regularly, for reasons related to your security” explained S, “so they’ll ask questions about whether you feel you’ve been followed or if you feel in danger, and this is clearly for your own protection. But then because they’ve got you there, they start with questions that help them, like who you’re associating with and why.”
Jordan is continuing to weather a growing anti-government movement which was sparked by the Arab Spring in 2011, and there are fears that allowing it to become a known centre for revolutionaries will both destabilise the country and compromise its tenuous diplomatic relations with Syria.
“It’s not easy to be active in public about Syria in Jordan,” says S. “If you talk to the media about Syria and say where you are, you will be questioned by the secret police and asked not to give away your location. If you want to protest, you need to tell the authorities in advance. There have been occasions when, during demonstrations in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, protestors tried to enter the building, so the Jordanian secret police held them for a few days.”
Keeping in contact with those still in Syria and sharing this information with as many as possible forms the backbone of any activism for those now in Jordan. Still, “it’s not so easy for those inside Syria to talk to those who’ve escaped,” S continues, “because if they’re wanted by the security forces then their parents phones will be tapped. This is already the case for all international calls to and from Syria. When the security services want someone, they arrest a member of their family, so they obligate them to go and get them so they can arrest them.”
As such, the internet provides the primary lifeline between those who have fled Syria and those still inside. Even though most use routing software or browsers such as UltraSurf or Tor, there are still enormous risks. “Many people inside were arrested because the regime could hack their e-mails and profiles,” explains ‘S’, “which is why you have nicknames on Facebook and fake e-mails. Even on the ground, most activists use nicknames.”
Pro-revolution websites within Syria are automatically shut down, but information flourishes through those outside the country with connections to those still inside publishing websites that compile snippets of information from those inside, such as Syrian Revolution Digest. Facebook is the main social networking tool for sharing information, possibly because the structure of the site provides a degree of protection against hacking.
Even so, obtaining media to share is not without risks, even for citizen journalists. “If they [the Syrian police] find a video of a protest on your mobile phone for example, you’re probably dead,” says S.
New Start, a prominent pro-revolution radio station based in Jordan, hides its location even from the Jordanian authorities. “We talk about the human needs in Syria, focusing on areas like Homs, Damascus and Aleppo where there are many problems, plus broadcast the news,” explained “N”, who set up the station. “To do this, we make contact with Syrians inside and publish it online. We couldn’t do this inside Syria. We don’t have the internet access and it would be way too dangerous.”
New Start, which broadcasts via internet livestream, was recently contacted by the online provider that hosts the channel to inform them that the feed they use to broadcast had “experienced a series of attacks” against its host server.
The provider has claimed to be able to block the attacks and to be taking measures to ensure that this incident does not reoccur, but there are no guarantees for its security. When N and the other radio station workers contacted the provider to find out precisely where the attacks were coming from, they received no response.
The debate raging among the activists both within Syria and beyond is about how violence has become central to resistance on the ground, an element that looks to be the largest force shaping the direction of the country. Few activists seem willing to denounce the use of violence, which was initially employed exclusively to shield peaceful protests from being fired at by pro-Assed forces, but has now has become a pillar of the resistance strategies — some would argue justifiably.
Nonetheless, non-violent protest is continuing, although it carries heavy penalties: all protests expect to be fired on with live ammunition. Another activist, “B”, spoke of how one female protestor became famous almost overnight after standing in front of the parliament building holding a sign saying: “Stop killing, we want to build a home for all Syrians”. The use of the slogan has spread to become something of a meme, although now anyone seen displaying the sign showing it is arrested.
The suppression of any information linked to the uprising is total. “One of my best friends was constantly going out at night to graffiti the walls with pro-revolution graffiti,” said S, “he was arrested a month ago and we have no idea where he is.”
“Because of the way that we were raised and our culture, Syrian people reject the idea of outside intervention. Change has to come from within Syria,” insisted “H”, an activist who has now returned to Homs.
Whatever form this change comes in, it is clear that it will be fuelled through the lines of communication between those within Syria and those who have managed to escape successfully. It could be said that the greatest strength of the Assad regime has been its ability to censor media and communications, especially that which shows the atrocities it is now committing against its own people. As such, free speech and open communication are not just tools to expose this or to drive the uprising forward, they are in themselves revolutionary.
Ruth Michaelson is a freelance journalist based in Ramallah. She tweets at @_Ms_R
11 May 12 | Middle East and North Africa
UPDATE: Yara Bader, Mayada Khalil, Hanadi Zahlout, Sanaa Mehsen, Razan Ghazzawi, Joan Ferso, Ayham Ghazzoui and Bassam Alahmad were released on 12 May. Five members of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression remain in prison, including director and founder Mazen Darwish.
Free expression and human rights are under attack in Syria and the regime is fighting to distort the narrative. With the international media limited in its access and the barring of observatory human rights missions, it can be challenging for outsiders to understand what is happening. Brave Syrian civilians, journalists and activists struggle to show that their government, led by Bashar Al Assad has slaughtered thousands.
My own organisation was the victim of an aggressive campaign to discredit it.
I work for the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), as its executive manager. On 16 February 2012, Syrian authorities attacked our Damascus based office, arresting everyone present in the office that day: 14 employees and two visitors. I was the only one to go free after the raid; after locking me inside the office for hours and a lengthy investigation, I was lucky enough to go free. My diplomatic passport kept me safe.
Almost three months on I am now safe and sound, outside of Syria but my colleagues are still in prison. I feel guilty for not being with them, I would love to introduce them to you now, and show how civilised they are — as opposed to the members of a terrorist group that the Syrian regime would like to paint them — us — as. At SCM, I have worked with people who go beyond tweeting news or issuing statements — my colleagues risked their life fighting for real change.
I am not Syrian; it took me quite a long time to understand the situation there and to understand why people were whispering about freedom. I had to listen to stories — like that of journalist and activist Yara Bader, who had to live without her father for 12 years. He was a political prisoner, arrested when she was only two years old. Now, Bader is separated again from not only her father, but also from her mother and husband. Mazen Darwish, her husband, who is the head and founder of the SCM, is also in prison.
She and all my detained colleagues demonstrate courage beyond belief.
Hussein Ghrer, a blogger and activist, and father of two young boys, was also arrested. He risked his family’s life to secure their future.
Activist Abd Rahman Alhamada is the youngest member of our staff, arrested on his 23rd birthday. He was trying to balance being a student and working at the centre, but has now lost both opportunities.
Hani Zateni, a researcher and activist married fellow activist Sanaa Zateni after a courtship that spanned ten years. The couple come from different ethnic backgrounds, the regime pretends if it falls a civil war would break out between Syria’s various religious sects. This couple’s love demonstrates that there is a certain amount of harmony between religious groups.
Sanaa Mehsen ( Sanaa Zitani), is an activist and one of SCM staff’s members. Sanaa has been working with SCM for a long time, alongside her husband, Hani Zateni. She believes that the SCM provides the means by which people across Syria can be empowered with a voice to rise against oppression. She looks forward to helping the centre fulfil its goal of raising awareness about issues of freedom of expression in Syria.
And with the confusion of seeing millions of pro Assad regime supporters on the national Syrian TV, I was wondering why Razan Ghazzawi (blogger and activist) is not one of them? Why is such an educated, secular woman not supporting such a regime? And why was her Facebook campaign awarded the Best Social Activism Campaign award in the Deutsche Welle blog awards? Even after her release following her first arrest in December, the page continued demanding release of other detainees. Ghazzawi hates her own fame, as well as the media attention brought to her, as she believes that others have done more remarkable things than her but she has used it to help others.
The regime is simply anti-human, and this is what motivated Dr Ayham Ghazzoul, a dentist in his third year of his Masters degree, who could not handle watching innocent people, especially children, be killed. On the day he was referred to the judge, he told his mother that he had not taken a shower since the day of his arrest. He was smiling when he told her, as if it was a joke. He did not tell her about the countless nights in which he suffered. By avoiding the big topics, he was sending her a message that it does not matter.
Mayada Alkhalil, Joan Ferso, Bassam Alahmad, and Mansour Al Omarie were all arrested before they could even enjoy receiving their first paycheques. I hope the light inside them allows them to still enjoy themselves inside the darkness of the prison.
Human rights activist and blogger, Hanadi Zahlout, was visiting the centre the day it was attacked, and I wonder why she was even arrested in the first place? What did she witness?
Mazen Darwish, journalist, human rights defender, and founder of SCM, established the centre in 2004 in France because Syrian laws have no provisions for human rights and freedom of expression organisations. He fought for his belief in freedom and humanity, and decided to go back to Syria leaving his two children behind in France. In 2004 and 2007, Syrian authorities closed the office of SCM. Darwish managed to reopen the office in 2010. The centre is the first Syrian organisation to be granted UN consultative status. Darwish was awarded the Human Dignity award by the Roland Berger foundation for his work.
Dawrish always told us, “ there are not enough prisons for the free word” — let’s hope he is right.
Maha Assabalani is the executive manager of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).
