Arab League's Failure

Al Jazeera offers an in-depth look at the effects of the Arab League and whether or not the UN needs to get involved in Syria since the violence has not been stopped. It raises the question whether or not these international/regional organizational bodies actually have any power in the matter and whether they can even make a difference. A good video to make time for.

Mani, the Unmasker

Recently there has been few images coming out of Syria. The government's strict crackdown has made it extremely hard for any international photographers in, and those who do get in face grave dangers. "Mani", a french photojournalist, has holed up in Homs, the center of the fiercest crackdown in Syria to date, and has taken revealing pictures that portray the civilians daily lives as they struggle to oppose their oppressive regime, all while dealing with the fear of death and the grief over those who have met it. Taking numerous precautions to protect his identity, Mani does not use his real name and covers his face with a keffiyeh (a headscarf) in order to hide his features from Syrian informants. Besides hiding from the Syrian government, Mani also has to be careful in traveling with the opposition. He has to travel with somebody at all times in order to earn the trust of those he photographs. Distrust is almost necessary there as photographers can turn out to be government informants, taking pictures of those who protest against the government in order to persecute them later. For this reason Mani makes a point to always work with someone known in the district in order to gain their trust.

Mani spent a month in Homs, Rastan and nearby rural areas, learning to avoid the routine hazards of snipers and tank fire. Photograph: Mani

Recently Mani has made a big impact on the international view on Syria, as his photographs and documentation of the conflict has been the best to come out of the region to date. Recently having two interviews with British Channel 4 and French news France24, the dangers he faces in doing so have been unveiled. The dangers of being an international journalist/correspondent are rising as conflicts become increasingly more violent and indiscriminate towards civilians and sometimes even more discriminate against the journalists themselves. However these journalists provide the clearest view on the conflicts we have, as it is their images along with those taken from the cell phones of protestors that make their way to the outside world.

Mani has also made quite an impact on me as well. With his latest short documentary film entitled "The Horror of Homs", Mani exposes the gritty details of the conflict along with the broken innocence in such a way that really got to me. When Egypt had it's uprising last year, I was moved by the footage of protestors being beaten, gassed, attacked. When they rose up, and fought back, and sang in rejoice. In Syria things are not so easy. Syria is not like Egypt, it does not go half-assed. Syria pulls out the big guns, literally, and bombs it's civilians into submission when they fight back. There is intense sadness in all of this, and yet there is still rejoicing in the face of danger. Rejoicing for the future that holds their freedom. The Syrian people show their resilience every day they face the bombardment from their own government, the humanitarian crisis they are forced to live through. Its an inspiration and a wake-up call. We have it so easy here in America, with debates over health care and religious battles. Their health care is a ramshackle field hospital set up in the basement of a bombed-out apartment building. Their religious battle is a persecution of Sunnis by alawites, and vice versa. Their government oppression is in the form of guns and bombs, not legislation and inactivity. It makes you realize how lucky you are, and how unlucky others can be. Here is the Horror of Homs.

The Price of Journalism

         In Syria Assad's regime has been shelling and attacking Homs, along with other cities, in their fight against the so-called "insurgents". However these shellings are indiscriminate and kill more civilians than fighters. The pure terror the citizens of Homs face daily is hard to comprehend, as many are forced to take cover in basements all day in order to avoid sniper fire and mortar rounds. Food and medical aid is sparse and these people are trapped in their houses in their neighborhood, unable to do anything but hope for an end. Among these civilians are journalists trying to document the events in Homs, constantly putting their lives on the line just as the civilians do. Just this last Wednesday two international journalists were killed along with numerous others injured when a building being used as a media center was bombed by the Syrian government. US reporter Marie Colvin who was working for the UK's Sunday Times was killed in the bombardment as well as french photographer Remi Ochlik working for Paris Match magazine. The international outcry has been widespread as they mourn the loss of two remarkable journalists (Marie Colvin being known for losing an eye in Sri Lanka and for her tenacity). The day before her death Marie Colvin had described in a phone interview with the BBC that the situation was "absolutely sickening".

'She said she had witnessed the death of a two-year-old boy after he was hit by shrapnel, and said there was a "constant stream of civilians" in the field clinic she visited.
"No one here can understand how the international community can let this happen," she said.'

        The death of the two reporters has been met with international condemnation, with the US and France denouncing the events and looking into what happened. Meanwhile support for humanitarian aid and for international involvement has risen as the Red Cross tries to evacuate those seriously injured and give medical aid. Syria, of course, has been uncooperative in these attempts, although not totally against them.Other journalists injured in the blast are being treated in the primitive field hospitals they were covering just before the attack, as they are the only source of medical aid in the area. While some say this shows the indiscriminate bombing of civilians by the Syrian government, others say that it was an intentional attack against the journalists in order to stop the flow of information leaking to the outside world. whatever the case may be, this recent violence highlights the dangers journalists and correspondents face every day, as well as the dangers the people face as well.

Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik killed in deadly assault on Syrian city as activists warn of humanitarian crisis.

         Meanwhile, medical aid is running dangerously low in Homs as well as food, and many international organizations as well as the opposition groups are trying to guarantee safe passage for humanitarian aid convoys in order to get badly needed supplies to civilians. In the meantime however, Syria continues it's bombardment of Homs in what it calls an attack against "terrorists who have been attacking civilians and security forces".

Interactive Activism

Al Jazeera recently put up this interactive page showing death estimates per province, videos of recent events in Syria and a timeline with links, photos, and videos. Definitely a great source to get another overall gist of what's going on, and the interactivity makes it pretty powerful in my opinion. When i was clicking the different provinces and finding out the death tolls it made me realize how much death is going on over there. And to think that these are estimates, there is no real way to know for certain how many people have died. There could be hundreds that are unaccounted for, as the situation in Syria deteriorates. It is also morbidly interesting to see this deterioration in the timeline, as you start with protests and then work your way to violence, crackdowns, and armed opposition. It's a harrowing thing to witness, but a truly terrifying thing to be involved in I'm certain. Check it out, it only takes a few minutes to sort through and you'll definitely be affected by it in some way.

Syria Getting Violent

As violence has surged recently, the situation in Syria has become more and more tense. After the recent killings of two government officials in Idlib, Egypt has recalled it's ambassador to Syria, along with more calls for the international community for Assad to step down or stop the violence. Many do not want a repeat of Libya, the bloody and messy civil war that took place last year. Despite this overall agreement that a civil war would be horribly bloody, armed opposition has grown over the past months and more and more do we see men with guns fighting back against Syrian security forces. This resurgence in violence has led China to call for a peaceful solution to the conflict, after a Chinese ambassador met with Assad on Friday during one of the largest anti-government protests to date. These current events are only going to lead to more action from the opposition, violent and non-violent, as well as more focus on Syria from the international community.

Protestors flee as gunfire is heard from Syrian Security forces.

For a while now the Syrian uprising has been slowly making ground. However, there seems to be an overall miscommunication between the government, the opposition, and the international community, both media and politics-wise. First off, many do not understand the amount of leadership that is needed to put together these protests. The opposition does not just walk around chanting whatever they feel like chanting at the moment. They use a few different methods of protest. Sometimes they have spontaneous "flying demonstrations" in which they gather for only a few minutes in a location that may not be totally pro-opposition. Usually these are aimed at increasing awareness in the local populace and usually disperse after a few minutes before security forces can crack down.  Most protests are held on a weekly basis, usually on Fridays, or are held for special events or days. These sometimes last for hours numbering well into the thousands. Especially indicative of the level of planning that goes into these protests is the level of protection these protests have sometimes. Opposition forces that have taken up arms often guard the protests in order to hold off security forces from attacking the civilians. Often they post sentries to warn of incoming security and have special security teams of their own to stall the government while the protestors either move or evacuate to avoid the shedding of blood. The amount of time and coordination of these protests surprised me, but makes me respect the opposition and their struggles that much more.

For example many protests take on an atmosphere almost like a carnival, with speeches, music, and sometimes a poem or two. Usually musicians come and perform songs with clever lyrics about the uprising, and this can often lead to almost a celebrity status among the opposition. Minority groups are also represented, as many give speeches, raising awareness of current happenings or making announcements. This takes preparation and requires lighting, loud speakers, and audio systems. Along with the preparation for speeches, organizers have to take into account the resulting injured if attacked by security forces. Underground field hospitals are set up beforehand, as going to the hospital would result in arrest. Medical teams are assembled and aid kits are scrounged up from meager supplies. Media teams are also assembled, usually equipped with cameras, smart phones, laptops, and other devices in order to documents and record the protests in order to spread it to the international community. This is essential as support from outside could be a deciding factor in the success of the movement. Whenever you see the pictures of the injured, the large protests, the tear gas going off, its not always a coincidence that someone caught it on film. They know what they are doing and constantly record everything because that it the best way to raise support.

Syrian protesters burning tires and waving independence flags during an anti-regime demonstration on February 4, 2012 (AFP Photo / HO / LCC Syria) 

 

All this planning that goes into the opposition protests is done by local leaders and activists, not national opposition groups like the Syrian National Council. The SNC is mainly to do with the international face of the opposition, composed of intellectuals who have been exiled from Syrian, mainly focusing on political points. This leads to some disconnect between the SNC and those on the ground as many don't feel represented and there is no official command from the SNC. Because of this, the local activists take it upon themselves, sometime starting their own councils in order to coordinate opposition. The Homs Revolutionary Council was formed in September. It has committees dealing with security and armed operations, media, demonstrations, medical, humanitarian, and legal needs. As of January, it was feeding 16,000 families throughout the province. Its leadership is elected and lives clandestine double lives. These activists have to take every precaution necessary in order to evade capture by the government. Communication is difficult at times as they have to use different phone lines, Skype, or sometimes use satellite phones or internet in order to communicate. It is hard to imagine the things these people have to deal with daily, but they do it, and for that I have the utmost respect for them.

Break #4

Recently I've gotten into some more indie surf music, as some call it, after initially being introduced to Vampire Weekend by my uncle. This time I've found one on my own, Two Door Cinema Club, a great band that sounds amazing and has a great feel to it. An added plus are their music videos, which are great and can definitely be watched over and over again. For your audio and visual pleasure, I will post them here for you to enjoy.

What You Know-




 I Can Talk-
 The first time I saw this video, I barely noticed everything that way going on, but the repeated viewing showed me how amazing the camerawork and editing is in this one. Still amazes me.




Something Good Can Work-

The War Against Censorship: ACTA

While the controversy surrounding Anti-Piracy bills and legislation has settled down to a mere murmur in America, the European Union has gone forward with a new piece of legislation that would be worse than SOPA and PIPA combined and could spell the end for internet privacy and freedom of speech. Sponsored by the United States as well as many other prominent European countries, the ACTA legislation has risen up to the forefront in European politics. Being discussed behind closed doors, the bill would have all complying countries form an outside organization to deal with online piracy. (Similar to the the WTO or other international organizations.) However it has come under attack as restricting many forms of internet trade along with censoring the internet. Obviously this raises some fears that it would trample on the freedom of speech, expression, and digital rights. Parallels have been drawn from it to SOPA and PIPA, but with the number of countries seemingly ready to ratify it and the international aspect it is much more dangerous.

Originally drafted in 2006 by the US and Japan, more countries soon joined, in secrecy of course. These nations include: Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Morocco, and the European Union (who signed off with 22 non-represented states present). Other countries, like Mexico for example, have been involved in talks but have yet to sign on it. You would think that this would at least be decided by elected officials, representatives of government. Wrong. The main contributors to the bill have been corporations, ones that easily have a bias for this type of bill. Disney, Time-Warner, Sony, and many more entertainment and legal corporations have pledged monetary support for this bill. The bill that would help them increase and already outrageous profit while choking out individuals rights.

Similar to SOPA/PIPA, ACTA will require the internet service providers to monitor internet activity for piracy. This means they'll take the fall for anything that passes under their watch, so they will most certainly take precautions. Censorship will be inevitable as the providers work to avoid pricey fines and legal issues caused by piracy on their service. Remember how Facebook and pretty much every social media site would have to censor user content/ Emails being pre-read to determine any illegitimate material? Yeah, that would totally happen with ACTA. And because this isn't just the US, it would be way harder to circumnavigate. Think Big Brother only internationally, that's pretty much it. Or the beginning of it. Because once the world lets a piece of legislation like this pass, it will be much easier to pass similar, stronger bills than it will be to take it back. The line is drawn here, and if ACTA isn't shot down then we could all be royally screwed.

Luckily there's always things we cyber-activists can do. (I must say its cool to be a cyber-activist.) As always you can sign online petitions. You may not think it makes much of a difference, one signature. But the petitions are meant for the statistic standpoint. If representatives of opposition can go up and be like "Hey, we've got millions of people against this think, you better watch it." Its much better to have evidence of this than just hearsay. Also contact INTA, an organization currently compiling a report on the bill. Let them know your concerns with the bills in order for them to fully document the opposition and reasons for opposing the bill. And as always, read the actual bill. While the internet may be tempting with it's TL;DR versions, reading the actual bill along with these sources will give you a thorough understanding of the issues and enable you to speak about it in order to inform others. Informing others is everything. Also besides the bill, read up on it through wikileaks. This gives you background on the bill besides what it actually says. That way you know the history and where the bill is coming from.

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 Retaliation:
Recently on Saturday there was a worldwide rally against ACTA, the bill that could "destroy absolutely everything you hold near and dear, including kittens and puppies." <= (Felt like being sensationalist.)   Millions of people took to their respective streets to raise awareness and protest the bill, which has been pretty secretive until now. Thousands of places across Europe are participating, as well as those across the world. While the United States had minimal action in the physical sense, millions took to the web to express their discontent with the bill.

ACTA protests across Europe.

Happily these protests have had results with Poland hesitating last week. Several other countries have joined Poland today in withholding their support of the treaty. Slovakia, Czech Republic, Latvia and Germany have all held their support due to the popular protests. In fact, healthy opposition has even taken root in the EU parliament.  EU Parliament President Martin Schulz criticized the treaty on national television, saying he was not content with it in it's current form. Holy schnikes, things getting done. Progress being made? Can you smell the activism in the air, oh so refreshing.