The Assad Regime and the Chaos of Freedom

Posted on 10 جوان 2014 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Yesser Afghani

15 May 2014

A Surrealistic Introduction

Almost nothing has changed since I last left the place. Sitting there next to the yellow jasmine tree at my mum’s house while sipping my cup of coffee has still got the very same effect on the soul. I sat there, waiting to wake up from a dream that kept recurring a lot during my recent expatriate years of immigration. I was sure something in the dream will definitely take me back to my comfortable bed under that inclined European ceiling. When awake, man can usually distinguish between reality and fantasy, yet for sure, in our expatriate life we did learn how to differentiate between those two extremes even when we’re dreaming.

I woke up of course. I slowly walked into the bathroom; and I shall skip some of the details of what happened with me there! I looked for my glasses, made myself a cup of coffee and went out to the balcony… I sat near the yellow jasmine tree. The sun was shining… Damascus’s sun… Damascus’s air… Damascus’s traffic and voices speaking my same language… Even the microbus flashing by like an arrow, causing unbearable noise, and releasing enough carbon dioxide to pollute half of Europe. استمر في القراءة ←

A Night Tale – a true story

Posted on 17 أكتوبر 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Michel Kilo¹

8 October 2012

Suddenly, the door of my cell in the dungeon was open. It was around 3:00am. The security man ordered me to follow him. After about fifty steps, he opened the door of another cell, and entered before me, holding my hand, and pulling me behind him. He removed the blindfold off my eyes, and whispered to me: “I will come back an hour later to return you to your room” (in Syrian prisons, the solitary cell is called “Room”). He pointed out to an empty corner and said: “Sit there, and narrate a tale to this little/child boy.”

In that narrow place (2m x 2m), there was a woman in her thirties. The security man got out and closed the door, ordering me not to talk in a loud voice lest any of his colleagues would hear me, and then a disaster may occur which could see both of us sent to Tadmur [the most notorious political prison in Syria, located in the desert in the East of Syria]. استمر في القراءة ←

How the Assad Regime Destroyed Syria

Posted on 1 جويلية 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Written by: Dr. Khaled Al-Huroob

Published on 11^th June 2012

The chain of historic disasters that the Assad’s (the father) regime brought upon Syria and the Arabs in the past decades are being crowned by the catastrophic additions of his son’s regime. These disasters will place him on the wrong side of history.

The regime’s mouthpieces and means of propaganda have been boasting and clapping for its “defiance” and “resistance” (to Israel and the super powers in the world). They keep repeating dumb slogans and tailoring all the crimes and disasters that were committed by the regime to accuse the Syrian people and its revolutionaries. Where the regime creates the disasters and fabricates the financial, political and ethical crimes and accuses the opposition of creating them through starting the vulgar whining and weeping claiming innocence and virtue. This is not too smart on the regime’s part, it is in fact a total ethical degeneration repeatedly cloned and reproduced in a manner more repulsive than anything else. Having said that, we have to admit that the regime proved superiority in the ability to continuously manipulate many voices that are still deceived by the tales of “the regime’s resistance” and “the strategic plan” aiming at toppling it.

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He Who Justifies the Murder of a People is Killing the Human within Himself

Posted on 29 ماي 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Arab Intellect Azmi Bishara

1 May 2012

When a regime sends in tanks to shell its own people in their cities and residential neighbourhoods, the natural ‘instinct’ reaction expected from any ethical person is to stand with the people against the regime. In such a person’s opinion, the regime, whether it was democratic or not, becomes illegitimate if it finds it necessary to kill, repress, and torture people en mass in order to stay in power because the people no longer accept it or can no longer tolerate living under its rule.

There is a moral defect in a person that finds himself justifying killing as a mean to respond to a conspiracy or for the sake of a noble goal the regime is claiming to be working for forgetting the pain of an entire nation in the process. Such a person will lose his humanity and defame himself while he is ranting about conspiracies.

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HOMS

Posted on 26 ماي 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Testimony of Activist Hadi Abdulla on Al Jazeera, speaking about the massacres committed by the Syrian Regime against civilians on 25 May 2012.

Three massacres were committed in Hawla City, and more are being committed now 76 martyrs are confirmed in Hawla alone, and more than 300 wounded.
Hawla city has been under shelling for more than 12 hours.

Shooting started at a demonstration with bullets and artillery, and the shelling has not stopped for more than 12 hours.
Hundreds of missiles hit the civilian homes, causing hundreds of them to burn.

Assad thugs (Shabeeha) supported by the security gangs attached the houses located at the edges of Hawla city, and committed field execution against the civilians, they slaughtered them with knives… most of the killed are children.

I called up to the UN monitors and begged them to come to Hawla , they promised to come tomorrow morning.
I asked the UN monitors to stop the shelling for only half an hour.

The UN monitors are sleeping now, while the massacres are being committed.

We used to count the number of martyrs, but now, we are counting the number of families slaughtered.
The whole world helps in killing the Syrians, not just the Syrian regime.

We have many martyrs and wounded that we could not reach because of the continuous shelling and the cut-off of electricity.

We are still discovering more massacres in the city.
The Syrian regime is now killing under the nose of the whole world and in the name of the UN monitors.

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Syria: Autopsy of a Regime

Posted on 18 ماي 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Nadia Aissaoui and Ziad Majed

21 March 2012

More than a year has passed since the start of the Syrian revolution demanding freedom, dignity and the departure of the Assad family. Over ten thousand dead, a hundred thousand injured and more than 40 thousand refugees fled to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordon as well as about a hundred and fifty thousand citizens who were arrested, twenty thousand of them are still in detention. All this in addition to damages to property and infrastructure and the systematic destruction of many regions.

The original article in French can be read here. An Arabic text is also available here.

Tens of reports have been published by various human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations Council for Human Rights, and Médecins Sans Frontières documenting verified cases and eye witness accounts. All these, as well as films and interviews conducted with doctors, activists, and defected soldiers ascertain that atrocities and violations are being carried out in Syria which can be classified as crimes against humanity.

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Flood in Baath Land, Documentary by late Syrian director Omar Amirallay

Posted on 1 ماي 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

ولد عمر أميرالاي (1944- 2011) في دمشق من أسرة لها أصول شركسية وتركية وكردية وعربية. درس المسرح في جامعة “مسرح الأمم” في باريس عامي 1966-1967، ثم التحق بالمعهد العالي للدراسات السينمائية في باريس، لكنه انقطع عن الدراسة بسبب أحداث الطلبة عام1968. عاد إلى دمشق عام 1970.

Omar Amirallay (1944-2011) was born in Damascus, he descended from a family with Sacristan, Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic roots. In 1966-1967, he studied at the university of “the theatre of nations – Théâtre des Nations), then joined La Fémis (École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son) in Paris before he had to stop his study due to the events of the students in 1968. He returned to Damascus in 1970.

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What exactly is the Freedom the Syrians are seeking

Posted on 15 أفريل 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

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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برامج التجسس على الحاسوب (Spyware) هي أحدث الأسلحة في الصراع بسوريا

Posted on 26 فيفري 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

ملخص

توارد في الفترة الأخيرة تقاير عن استخدام النظام السوري لفيروسات تجسس Spyware لمراقبة الناشطيين وسرقة المعلومات من حواسبهم واستخدام هذه المعلومات لاقتناص شخصيات مما يتيهح للنظام الإقاع بنشطاء آخرون.

أسلوب التجسس لا يعمل على مراقبة الخطوط (لذا برنامج التور Tor لا يحمي منه) بل عن طريق القيام بتحميل ملف فيروس على الحاسوب يقوم بجمع المعلومات.

يقوم الفيروس بإصابة أحد الأجهزة ويعطل تنبيهات برامج الحماية من الفيروسات ويقوم بالبحث في الحاسوب عن المعلومات. خطورة الفيروس أنه يستطيع عمل مايلي:

– تسجيل كل نقرات على لوحة المفاتيح أي تسجيل كافة المعلومات التي يقوم المستخدم بطباعتها على الحاسب (ملفات, كلمات سر, محادثات الكترونية, أسماء مواقع الانترنيت التي يزورها.. كل شيء).

– أخذ صوراً لما يعرض على شاشة الحاسب (مواقع, صفحات أدمنز, حسابات مصرفية على الانترنيت, محتويات الملفات التي تفتح وتقرأ).

– التنصت على الصوت الملتقط باستخدام الميكروفون (محادثات أو تسجيلات صوتية).

– التجسس على الصور الملتقطة من كاميرا الحاسوب.

ترسل هذه المعلومات لجهاز في مؤسسة الاتصال بسوريا.

تستخدم هذه المعلومات لاقتناص شخصية الشخص الذي أصيب حاسبه وبالتالي الدخول إلى حساباته على الانترنت وإجراء اتصالات الكترونية باسمه. ومن ثم إرسال ملف الفيروس إلى أصدقائه أو المرسالة باسمه والإدعاء أنه من الضروري فتح الملف لأسباب أمنية لتأكيد أن الطرفين ثقة. وعند فتح الملف تصاب أجهزتهم بالفيروس.

وهذا دواليك.

هنالك عدة أسماء للفيروس: backdoor.breut- DarkComet -BKDR_ZAPCHAST.SG- BKDR_BREUT.A ولكن هذه القائمة ليست شاملة.

يمكن للملف الفيروس أن يرسل عن طريق محادثات سكايب.

خطوات تساعد على الحماية من الفيروس:

– تحميل وتحديث برنامج للوقاية من الفيروسات. من الضروري أن يكون للبرنامج ميزة الحماية من الفيروسات العادية بالإضافة إلى ال spywareو ال malware ومن الأفضل أن يكون لديه ميزة التعرف على الفيروسات بتقنية ال heuristics . من الضروري تحديث ملفات التعرف على الفيروسات الخاص بالبرنامج باستمرار.

– فصل الاتصال بالانترنيت وعمل سبر شامل للحاسوب – قد تستغرق هذه العملية عدة ساعات.

– تغيير كلمات السر المستخدمة في الحاسوب وعلى حساباتكم على الانترنيت.

برامج التجسس على الحاسوب (spyware) هي أحدث الأسلحة في الصراع بسوريا

بين برامفيلد

17 شباط/فبراير 2012

سي ان ان CNN — يوظف مؤيدو النظام سلاح جديد في الحرب الالكترونية على نشطاء المعارضة وهي فيروسات تصيب أجهزة حواسبهم وتتجسس عليهم كما حصل مع أخصائي معلوماتية في مجموعة معارضة سورية وعامل في احدى المنظمات في مجال الإغاثة .

قالت شركة منتجة لبرامج الحماية من الفيروسات والتي قامت بتحليل احدى الفيروست نزولاً عند طلب السي إن إن بأنه تم كتابة شفرة الفيروس خصيصاً لاستعمالها بحملة تجسس الكترونية على الانترنيت وأنها تقوم بارسال المعلومات التي تسرقها من الحواسيب إلى مخدم موجود في شركة اتصالات ممتلكة من قبل الحكومة السورية.

قال المهندس دلشاد عثمان: في الخطوة الأولى يقوم مناصري الدكتاتور بشار الأسد بسرقة معلومات شخصية لنشطاء المعارضة ثم يقومون باقتباس شخصيتهم في محادثات على الانترنيت. يكتسبون ثقة المستخدمين الآخرين لارسال فيروسات من نوع ملفات حصان طروادة Trojan horse viruses ويشجعون الناس على فتح تلك الملفات. استمر في القراءة ←

On Lies, Fear and the Construction of Normality… and Rebellion

Posted on 23 جانفي 2012 by المترجمون السوريون الأحرار

Yassin Al Haj Saleh

It was clear that Sheikh Nawaf Ragheb Al Basheer was released, after two months of arrest, only after he was forced to appear on Syrian state television and say what the regime wanted to hear. It is also clear that the regime is not keen on hiding this fact. What they hoped for is not to convince Syrians about the contents of the Sheikh’s talk about the regime and the president, but rather to humiliate the Sheikh as a well known opposition figure.

Previously, the regime followed the same approach with Sheikh Ahmad Sayasenah, the Imam of al-Omari mosque, who is well respected in his hometown of Dar’aa. The aim was also to disgrace the man as a symbol and distort Syrians’ perception of him. The regime has no intention to prove that it is a just and dignified regime. The aim is to humiliate its citizens who oppose the regime and strip them of all dignity.

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