Tag: Dissent

Syrian TV star joins anti-regime protesters

Mention in The Guardian as relating to my mother’s political position:

Others have hedged their bets. The actor Muna Wassif, the mother of the democracy activist Ammar Abdulhamid, who runs a blog on Syria’s revolution, called in May for an end to the killing and the lifting of sieges on villages but stopped short of calling for the regime to go. In May a group of international filmmakers signed an online petition denouncing the killing of protesters for making “demands of basic rights and liberties”.

 

Syria’s opposition meeting was a PR exercise

Quoted in the Guardian

There are protests taking place throughout Syria almost daily, while the city of Hama is reported to be de facto without so much as a traffic policeman. As the Syrian dissident in exile, Ammar Abdulhamid, said, the Syrian revolution is not stillborn – it is a healthy baby that may form the “foundation of a future Syria”.

White House invites Arab bloggers to Obama’s Middle East speech

By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post

Of the dozens of journalists covering the speech live from the State Department, few had a greater personal stake in President Obama’s words on the Middle East than Ammar Abdulhamid.

The 44-year-old Marylander is a Syrian exile and democratic activist who contributes to several blogs closely followed by his former countrymen in Syria, where a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters has left hundreds dead. From the minute Obama began his much-anticipated speech on Thursday, Abdulhamid’s cell phone buzzed with emails and texts from readers anxious to learn details. Continue reading “White House invites Arab bloggers to Obama’s Middle East speech” →

VOICES RISING IN SYRIA

American Public Media: The Story

Ammar Abdulhamid and his family were forced to leave Syria in 2005 because of their political activity. When recent protests began, the whole family jumped in – online – to be a part of it. Mother, father and two college-aged kids are spending their nights on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Dick talks with Ammar and his daughter Oula about their involvement. Music:Statement Number One