Syrian army fighting on Lebanese border as Assad accepts the Annan plan

The "Friends of Syria" meeting this Sunday should decide on action they can take immediately, especially considering that the Assad government 'agreed' to the Annan plan. Taking advantage of the proposed two-hour daily cease-fires will not only help the people on the ground, but will also be a test of how far diplomacy can go.

NY Times: Syrian Clashes Reported on Lebanon Border (Click Here)








This announcement comes as the Syrian army moves into Lebanon, escalating the conflict even more. Are we so foolish as to think the Syrian regime is sincere?

al-Jazeera: Syria Accepts Annan Plan to End Strife (Click Here)

Big Brother Is Watching You

Newsweek's blog, The Daily Beast, just published a small online photo gallery of Syria with the theme 'Big Brother is Watching You.' It includes a short text comparing  Bashar al-Assad to George Orwell's concept of 'Big Brother' in his book 1984. Similarly, back in April I drew comparisons of living in Syria with 1984. I wrote:

"The dystopia has exposed itself slowly and is something that the two-week traveler would probably miss. The veneer of a wonderful and exotic oriental façade slowly peals away to reveal a sense of fear, hopelessness, and wearing frustration. The traveler can escape the lack of free speech, inadequate access to information, and peering eyes of big brother when he leaves but the Syrian cannot. The longer you are here the more it becomes a reality weighing you down. How fortunate I am to have the luxury of escape when I want it."

(click here for the full post: War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.)

Newsweek's gallery is no exaggeration; Assad's picture is absolutely everywhere and he is often joined by the late Syrian president (his father Hafez) and the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Displaying Assad's picture has some real benefits for those who do it (most business owners do). For one brief example, Syria instituted a complete ban on indoor smoking in public buildings, including the ubiquitous Shisha (hookah) cafes. However, the ban is only enforced on establishments that do not display Bashar's photograph. Furthermore, restaurants, shops and nearly any place open for business that does not profess support of Assad via a large, visible photograph is liable to pay a fine based on phony laws.

Here are a few of my own 'Big Brother is watching' photos:

"We love you." This kind of graffiti is tolerated.

Taped to the hood of a car. This design depicts a thumbprint in the flag's colors behind Assad.

Notice the scale. There are people standing above the banner.

On the Road

Friday prayer before demonstrations on May 24 in Tahrir Square, Cairo

May 24 in Tahrir Square, Cairo - Demonstrators dubbed it "The Second Revolution." I was given a press pass and a perfect spot on the main stage to take photos--very few foreigners were around.

Sorry to my readers for a lack of posts: It was difficult to blog from Syria because of security concerns and now I am constantly traveling and have unreliable Internet access. Since leaving Syria about a month ago I've been to Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel and I am now in Aswan, Egypt. I planned to go to Sudan but they are no longer issuing tourist/student visas to Americans—no exceptions whatsoever (I tried in the embassy in Cairo and the consulate in Aswan to no avail).

Because of the lack of Internet access, I've adapted to creating shorter posts and uploading pictures to Facebook, so "friend me" if you haven't already and are interested in current updates and photos (there are a lot of Michael Fishers out there, so put in my email address to find me: msf43@yahoo.com). As for the blog, I will probably not be writing in depth or adding many photos while continuing my travels, but I will certainly have a lot to say when I get back home (and I have a lot of notes to aid my memory).

It would be wonderful to share my experiences with you as they are happening, but—in addition to the technical challenges—the time spent on constant updates and uploads would in some way detract from the very story I wish to share. So, my time will be spent immersing myself in this journey as it unfolds. I look forward to reminiscing about my experience when I am stateside.

A Peaceful Land

I lie here as if in a dream, intoxicated by aromas of the Levant. A breeze rolls over the hills of the Holy Land and infuses with fresh cardamom, saffron, olives, and thyme as the overlapping babble of Hebrew and Arabic becomes one language. Muezzins lead the call to prayer, church bells ring, and worshippers cry for Yahweh. The trees sway and the birds dance to the backdrop of a passing sun; children laugh in the distance. If only this were a peaceful land.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

Following a long day of raucous demonstrations a few weeks ago, I was woken the following morning to the harsh sounds of pro-government rhetoric blaring from van-mounted speakers. “Where am I?” I asked as my mind tried to sift through the fog of waking up with little sleep. “Bi rouh, bi daam…With soul, with blood, only Syria and Bashar,” I recalled hearing the day before. “Allah, Suria, Bashar ou bes (God, Syria, and Bashar only),” it continued. A gigantic portrait of President Assad remained in Omayyad Square following an orchestrated pro-regime demonstration and the already ubiquitous pictures of him on every wall and in every shop seemed to have quadrupled. Turning to the news I discovered that the Assad Administration blamed recent protests on “foreign conspirators” such as Syria’s perpetual arch nemesis, Israel. Syria’s state-run news agency, SANA, compiled staged video footage of alleged weapons stocks in a Dara mosque while authorities deported foreign correspondents and apprehended American students who were forced to give false confessions. Dissident “thugs” were arrested and they very well might never be heard from again. I’ve woken up in 1984.

The similarities to Orwell’s timeless classic are numerous. From a young age the Syrian student is indoctrinated in the sacrosanct Baathist ideology of the dictator’s regime. As Orwell wrote in 1984, “If all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed--if all records told the same tale--then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’” SANA and its print counterparts continue the dirty work and take the rhetoric of spin to a whole other level. As Orwell wrote, “Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record. All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary." The state media is doing its job well. The Syrian version of thought police, the mukhabarat, are salivating for action.

The dystopia has exposed itself slowly and is something that the two-week traveler would probably miss. The veneer of a wonderful and exotic oriental façade slowly peals away to reveal a sense of fear, hopelessness, and wearing frustration. The traveler can escape the lack of free speech, inadequate access to information, and peering eyes of big brother when he leaves but the Syrian cannot. The longer you are here the more it becomes a reality weighing you down. How fortunate I am to have the luxury of escape when I want it.

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(I will be in Lebanon for a week, but I will continue to write a string of posts originating from this one as I turn a few notes into something decipherable).

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Worthwhile Reading from Foreign Policy:

When the Arab Spring Turns Summer: A must read for those interested in the Arab world

Unmasking the False Reformer: the rule of Bashar al-Assad

Syriana: A historical look at Syria and the current unrest

Iranian Troops in Syria, Major Protest at Damascus University

At least one person has been killed in a protest of 1,500 students at Damascus University today and roads leading to the Faculty of Sciences building have been closed. There were initial reports from al-Jazeera Arabic that two foreigners were killed, but no other news sources have confirmed this. This is the biggest protest in Damascus to date.

Also, there may be 10,000 Iranian troops in Syria in an effort to help clamp down on the protests. The World Tribune reported that Syria's main opposition group made these claims, which support evidence and statements from citizens of Banias and Homs that some of the security forces were speaking in a foreign accent. Citizens from Dera also say that foreigners may be involved in the current clampdown there. Read the article here to get the details.

Fear and Loathing Fear In Damascus: Letters from a dissident and other links

(The post-title is not in reference to my life here, but of many Syrians)

Opinions and analysis on the street regarding the recent protests and killings veer from one extreme to the other. A Syrian friend's star-struck gaze at the television during Assad's speech, along with exaggerated sighs of endearment, resembled that of a tween at a Justin Bieber concert, while others used expletives to describe what they were seeing. Regardless of your opinion here, however, it’s wise to keep it to yourself. Amid all the speculation, one thing is for sure: the administration has been successful at spreading its own version of the truth, which has contributed to an already abundant amount of confusion.

The following are some of the better articles on Syria that I've read recently:

Syria: The Republic of Fear - written by a Syrian dissident about the secret police and the challenges of organizing and assembling for change.

The Delusions of Bashar al-Assad - opinion piece arguing that "The rhetoric of resistance no longer conceals the repressive policies of the Syrian regime."

The Ghosts of Syria - on the secret police and recent deaths in Lattakia.