27 April 2011

Beyond Fear

I think I'm quoting a half remembered book:
"if we want to live in a free country, we must begin by living as though we are already in a free country."

For an oppressive system to work, it doesn't need an enormous network of spies, of prisons, of torturers and so on (though to be sure they have all of those things):
it needs just one thing:
for the great majority of the people to actually _believe_ that the state is mighty and vicious and to be afraid of it.

For all my life, we have been afraid here. We have been afraid of each other, of discussing certain things ... we didn't talk about politics and barely about religion. We learned little ways of saying things without saying them: a knock on a tooth to say someone was Sunni, a mention of German for Alawis, a touch to the brow for a Kurd ... but never openly. If we did ask those sorts of things or mention them too often, we'd start worrying if people thought we were spies ...
or we would talk indirectly in other ways: we would discuss the oppression in Palestine or Iraq and we could be more open about things ...
but even then, caution ruled.
So a generation grew up pretending politics didn't matter, never having strong opinions about anything ... at least not where anyone could hear. Because we were afraid. A whole nation in effect in the closet.

And all we ever had to do was to stop being afraid. And the moment that we stopped being afraid, the earth shook.
The regime cannot long survive if the people no longer are scared.

They may be deadly but we are not afraid any longer. We are becoming free.

6 comments:

رأفت said...

i'm new to this blog.. this is like the third post i read - i'm hooked, but goddamit - i'm gonna go all OCD on it and read the whole archive .. for the sake of my pseudo-social life, i hope you haven't been writing for long :P

cheers.

JessHenry said...
This post has been removed by the author.
Scherezade the ranter said...

Wow,

First of all, you're one of the bravest people I know to post so openly and touch on all these subjects. I hope that the efforts of all the Syrians pay off in a democratic revolution that they created (without the assistance of outside help). I hope your family and all protesters stay safe inshallah.

Looking forward to the autobiography ;)
Love,
K.

Margaret said...
This post has been removed by the author.
mmpainter said...

The whole world knows that Amina Araf was kidnapped; the story is at the top of the headlines, so the predators who took her will not be able to hide. They can't hide -- the world is now witness. Millions of people are now praying for Amina's safe return. We are praying for you Amina.

Chris Peters said...

Unfortunately this is true: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/07/damascus-blogger-syria-detained?CMP=twt_gu

You're one of the bravest people I know and I hope you will return safely soon, Amina.

Post a Comment