Basta de hablar

Texto original: Al-Quds al-Arabi

Autor: Elias Khoury

Fecha: 08/10/2012

En dialecto decimos: “¡Basta de hablar!” para decir que no sirve de nada hablar y que hacerlo se ha convertido en una aburrida repetición. Cuando tu interlocutor se alarga, hace digresiones y se queda en las introducciones sin darte nada más porque no quiere llegar a ello o lo desconoce, o porque quiere ocultarlo se acaban las palabras y seguir hablando es como arar el agua. استمر في القراءة

Elias Khury, un caffè con Padre Paolo

25/6/2012

Proponiamo di seguito un articolo di Elias Khury sul suo incontro a Beirut con Padre Paolo dall’Oglio nella nostra traduzione.

 

L’ho incontrato a Beirut. È venuto con l’amica Giselle Khury al caffè “Chase” del quartiere di Ashrafiyye, o il monticello. E dal primo momento ho sentito di essere di fronte all’esperienza della teologia della liberazione che si materializza nella Siria e nel mondo arabo.

Padre Paolo mi ha ricordato i volti dei sacerdoti dai quali ho imparato che Gesù di Nazareth è straniero con gli stranieri, povero con i poveri, viaggiatore sulla terra in cerca di giustizia e libertà.

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A Memory of A Year in the Purgatory: A Testimony about Prison and Journalistic Work

Amer Matar

25 April 2012

Purgatory, is the most proper expression to describe the world of the Syrian State Security branches.. to live death in a closed narrow space, between two worlds. Between these two worlds I lived death.

On 28 March 2011 Bashar Al-Assad was a few meters from my house, laughing, while I was being tortured in my bedroom and the jailers’ shoes were scattering my clothes and notebooks. استمر في القراءة

What exactly is the Freedom the Syrians are seeking

Odai Al Zoubi – Syrian writer

25/3/2012

There are still some people, perhaps innocently, asking what exactly is the Freedom the Syrians are seeking? Can the revolutionaries formulate a crystal clear concept of Freedom? Won’t the Syrian revolution present a risk to the Syrian society as a whole in case the Salafists took control of the State of Syria? Aren’t the Syrians risking replacing one despotism with another?

Those people are seeking a comprehensive vision of the concept of Freedom along with a clear picture for the future of the revolution and the nature of the desired regime.

The protestors and the revolutionaries are providing answers that do not appeal to the regime supporters nor those who are sceptical of the revolution. The answer of the protestors is decisive and final. We are here to topple the regime. Everything else is just details. This article is an attempt to explain the reasons why the protestors’ answer is the only acceptable and ethical answer. Any scepticism of their answer springs from unethical attitudes that ignore reality.

From a philosophical perspective, the answer to the question of Freedom arises from the circumstances the people are living. The question of Freedom is the question of Syrians living under a dictatorial regime since forty years ago. The answer to this question is their answer. Anything else is pure ranting that is not related to the lives of the citizens and does not take into consideration their circumstances, tragedies, hopes and aspirations. Any answer that does not take into consideration the specific realities in Syria is not a satisfactory answer. This analysis of the concept of Freedom extends to other concepts. The revolution is the revolution of the Syrian people and only they are able to give a true meaning to the revolution through their practices and choices.

Why do Syrians believe that toppling the regime is the means for attaining Freedom and everything else is just details?

Let us consider both the regime’s and opposition’s perspectives on Freedom.

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Размышления Башара аль-Асада

До начала арабской весны,  Башар аль-Асад был уверен, что никто из сирийцев не осмелится бросить вызов его власти. Он просто привык к абсолютной и  безграничной власти семьи Асад . Он же являлся сыном Министра обороны! Когда сирийская армия  была поражена Израилем в 1967 году, вместо того, чтобы судить Министра обороны Хафеза Аль Асада,  как было бы сделано в любом демократическом государстве, ему удалось совершить  военный переворот и захватить власть полностью в 1970 году.  Он поместил своих товарищей, которые были не согласны с ними в тюрьмы, пока они не скончались там. И привык  десятилетиями заключать в тюрьму всех своих противников, как только они заявляли о своем несогласии с действующей властью, предотвращал появление каких-либо политических или не политических организации, организовывал для своей поддержки лояльные, «пустые» организации. Растерзал общественно-потенциальные силы, которые уже не в состоянии собраться в каком-либо коллективном действии. После чего в  Сирии ничего не осталось из того, что может противостоять семье Аль Асад.

Башар продолжил  путь своего отца. С расчетом что народ имеет право только аплодировать ему, почему нет? Он же сын Хафеза Аль Асада, который преподносил себя как святого и вечного лидер.  Он возомнил себя священным символом, к которому  не возможно было  прикоснуться или приблизиться, и сделал свою власть Табу. Башар видел, как  его отец делал  Сирию усадьбой для своей семьи, и как собирался завещать сыну стать президентом. И чтобы стать им, Башар самовольно за одну минуту внес в конституцию Сирии соответствующие поправки, и никто не посмел ему возразить. И тогда вокруг него собралась толпа слабохарактерных и преданных ему собак, или же тех кому было выгодно в данной ситуации перед ним пресмыкаться.

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Inside Bashar Al Assad’s Mind

Samir Sa’ifan – Al Quds Al Arabi

23 December 2011

 

Before the Arab Spring began, Bashar Al Assad was confident that no Syrian would dare to challenge his regime. He was used to viewing the authority of the Al Assad family as infinitely absolute. He is the son of the Defense Minister whose army was defeated by Israel in 1967, and instead of being held accountable, as the case in democratic countries ruled by institutions, he led a coup and seized power completely in 1970. He imprisoned his comrades who opposed him until they died in prison. He used to jail his opponents for decades just for initiating a political entity or issuing a statement. He prevented the formation of any political or non-political organizations, allowing only the creation of hollow and loyal ones. He fragmented all powers in society, such that it became paralyzed unable to carry out any collective activity. So, nothing was left in Syria that can threaten Al Assad.

Bashar Al Assad continued his Father’s approach; he never took the people into account, expecting them to clap for him always. Why not and he is the son of Hafez Al Assad who had labeled his ‘semi-sacred’ self with titles like “the Father Leader”, “the Eternal Leader” and the “Leader for Ever”, and enforced a pattern of viewing him as a sacred god that nobody can touch or approach, and made his power a taboo subject. Bashar Al Assad watched how his father was able to make Syria a farm of his own, and how he was able to bequeath him the presidency, and how the constitution was amended in a clowning session of the Parliament without any opposition from Syrians. He watched the queues of the lowly and the opportunist gathering submissively around him.

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