NI 485 - September, 2015

Syria’s good guys - Inside a forgotten revolution

A note from the editor

Syria – the good guys

Before the war, the best way to enjoy Syria was in complete ignorance. That’s what I did in 2005, when I arrived in Damascus as a tourist. For two weeks I explored the country’s Roman ruins and medieval markets, enthusing about the sophistication of the food and the friendliness of the people. Syria, as my guidebook put it, was ‘the Middle East’s best kept secret’.

It was not until the following year, when I returned to Damascus to live, that I started to see that Syria had secrets of its own. Buildings from which Syrians averted their eyes. Jails from which no one emerged. To walk these streets, as writer Rana Kabbani has said, was ‘to walk on pavements that were the ceilings of basements where political prisoners hung upside down by their feet’.

As my naïveté diminished, so my admiration for the Syrian people increased. After they rebelled against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in 2011, I followed their progress closely through the blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds where activists debate the revolution, the war, and the ongoing struggle to build a better Syria.

Their stories deserve to be far more widely known, and this magazine is a contribution towards that end. In putting it together, I have relied on the insight of Syrians far more expert than me, as well as the contributions of Syrian writers, artists and activists represented in these pages. My thanks and respect to them all.

Elsewhere in the issue, French economist Edouard Tétreau urges Pope Francis to take a stand against ‘insane money and alienating technologies’ when he visits the UN headquarters later this month.

Daniel Silas Adamson for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

Syrian artist Tammam Azzam celebrates the power of creative protest in this digital artwork titled ‘Demonstration’.

Photo: Tammam Azzam

NI 485 - September, 2015

Syria’s good guys - Inside a forgotten revolution

A note from the editor

Syria – the good guys

The big story

Nonviolent activists are holding out in Syria, despite the destruction. Do not abandon them, says Daniel Adamson.

Features

ISIS’ savagery must not blind us to the bravery of civil-society activists, says Hania Mourtada.

The death toll, political prisoners and timeline of the Syrian civil war.

We must stand in solidarity with Syria’s human rights defenders, says Salman Rushdie.

Yara Badr, Darwish’s wife, says she always knew she’d have to share him with the rest of Syria.

Thousands of unknown activists have risked their lives to defy extremism and violence. Daniel Adamson interviews some of them.

The Syrian revolution released a flood of artistic and intellectual creativity. Four years later, it has not subsided.

It has been called the most dangerous job in the world. The White Helmets are a fearless volunteer force that has pulled thousands of Syrians from the rubble left by the regime's deadly barrel bombs.

The story of how Rafif Jouejati organized a survey in a warzone, and the answers she got.

Action, resources and further reading on Syria.

Edouard Tétreau makes the case for a more humane economics.

Opinion

View from America by Mark Engler.

Opinion piece by Steve Parry

Agenda

General elections in Guatemala usually follow a predictable pattern of propaganda, violence and despair, writes Anna Bevan.

The corporate lobby may be working to protect harmful chemicals rather than our health, writes Hazel Healy.

Pro-choice advocacy groups have taken up new tactics in their struggle, writes Cristiana Moisescu.

How would basic income work if scaled up?, Tom Lawson asks.

Richard Swift introduces the up and coming Turkish politician to New Internationalist readers.

Regulars

Praise, blame and all points in between? Your feedback published in the September 2015 magazine.

Help is at hand when Ruby Diamonde is involved in an accident.

Cartoon by Simon Kneebone.

Cartoon by P J Polyp and Schlunke.

Cartoon by Marc Roberts.

Mali was once renowned amongst African nations for its calm, its culture and its welcome.

Behind his fig leaf of respectability, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández hides some dirty secrets.

No development process succeeds without the participation of those it targets, argues Maggie Black.

Rajendra Singh is reviving Indian villages through traditional rainwater harvesting.

Comedian, activist and author Mark Thomas talks dissent, tax and people power.

Film, Book & Music Reviews

Theeb, directed by Naji Abu Nowar; and 45 Years, directed by Andrew Haigh.

Resistance, by Souljazz Orchestra; and Amores Pasados, by John Potter and Others.

Now and at the Hour of our Death by Susana Moreira Marques; Kill Chain by Andrew Cockburn; The Body Snatcher by Patrícia Melo; and The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret.

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