تشهد اللحظة الراهنة تكثفاً واضحاً للأزمة المجتمعية والسياسية في المنطقة. وفي حين يبدو أن الأنظمة الحاكمة وقوى التطرّف هي المستفيد الأكبر من هذا التطوّر، لا يوجد في الحقيقة ما يمنع بقايا المجتمع المدني في المنطقة من الاستفادة من هذا الوضع أيضاً. بل على العكس، الظروف ذاتها التي تستفيد منها الأنظمة وقوى التطرّف حالياً (ولنسمّها هنا بقوى الممانعة) يمكن لها أن تخلق أجواءاً مناسبة للعمل الثوري أيضاً. الكرة إذاً تقع في ملعب القوى التغييرية، والتحدّي الماثل أمامنا يكمن في قدرتنا على تبنّي مقاربات أكثر محاكاة لروح العصر واللحظة الراهنة. لم يعد يجدِ بشيء أن نصرّ على التعلّل بالاستبداد والقمع والانقطاع عن الشارع لتبرّير اصرارنا على اليأس في هذه المرحلة الحرجة، فنحن إن لم نكن قادرين على تطوير أساليبنا ونُهُجنا، لن نصلح أبداً لقيادة العمليات التغييرية والثورية.
Author: Ammar
A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.
Heretical Grief!
The reasons why I left the US in 1994 and went back to Syria after a 9-year long absence are many, but one of the contributing factors was the fear of losing one or both of my parents while I was abroad. This fear stemmed from two facts: I lost my paternal grandmother who doubled as my nanny really when I was studying in the Moscow in 1984, and all the phone calls that I made in 93-94 to my parents featured announcements of someone close dying: my step grandfather, my younger uncle (a gregarious life-embracing fellow – by far my favorite uncle), and two close family friends, one of whom, the late Syrian actor Yusuf Hanna, was like a second father to me. Continue reading “Heretical Grief!”
Notes on a New Scandal – in Iraq!
The situation is getting more serious by the day for the Syrians in Iraq, as many refugees live hand to mouth and spend their time moving from one willing friend’s place to another for safety as the hunt and the raids continue. Continue reading “Notes on a New Scandal – in Iraq!”
Blood & Circumstance!
The attacks on Syrian refugees in Iraq are increasing by the day, scores have been killed so far, and dozens have been rendered homeless or under arrest as terrorists. The campaign is being justified by the Maliki government as a crackdown on terrorists, but these refugees have been in Iraq for decades having been driven out from Syria by their ideological and personal differences with the Assads. As such they have no reason whatsoever to collaborate with the Assads to bring about any instability in Iraq. Indeed many of them are organized opposition members. Some are in fact affiliated with the National Salvation Front. Continue reading “Blood & Circumstance!”