The Greek and the Syrian lessons: an overview from the grassroots level
Food for thought: How Greek and Syrian civil societies look at crisis in their own countries / The role of activism in promoting social justice, democracy and self-determination of the Greek and Syrian people / Crisis as an opportunity: grassroots practices to overcome the current deadlock
Objective of this dialogue: Expressing the potential for redemption emerged during the crisis in these two countries and using it as a model to re-discuss international relations in the Mediterranean; letting the role of citizens’ communities emerge in containing political, social and local crisis.
Summary by Lorenzo Declich, journalist (moderator)
Participants: Hozan Ibrahim, Syria, political and social activist, co-founder of the initiative Citizens for Syria, aiming at supporting civil society’s projects in Syria and to connect the Syrian democratic movement with associations and citizens belonging to other countries; Maria al-Abdeh, executive director for Women Now for Development (SFD)/Souriyat, whose mission is strengthening women’s role in Syrian communities. She’s also founder of the Syrian Non-Violent Movement; Konstantinos Triandaphyllou, Greece, versatile visual artist, writer, director and poet, member of the group Direct Democracy, whose “headquarter” is Constitution square (Plateiós Syntagmatós); Maria Peteinaki, Greece, member of the Greek party Ecologist Greens, architect working on common goods, participative city planning and “degrowth”. She has promoted the movement of self-managed urban vegetable gardens.
The activists who intervened in the meeting brought very different experiences with them.
Konstantinos Triandaphyllou (Costis) e Maria Peteinaki talked about their country, Greece, whose civil society after getting mobilized in a democratic way, felt betrayed when Tsipras won the elections. Nevertheless, it has not stopped launching initiatives whose objectives and activities are conceived in such a way that they cannot be electorally exploited by manipulated politicians. For example, Costis showed a map listing all civil and social initiatives, emerged as a form of resistance and social cohesion in order to face the disintegration of Greek State. Maria described as well new entrepreneurship initiatives such as Alternative Tours of Athens, aiming at promoting alternative touristic experiences in the city by showing its modern life and young artists, as well as the social movements emerged during last years.
Maria al-Abdeh e Hozan Ibrahim inevitably started by telling their own personal experience and the collective drama experienced by civil society during the first months of the Syrian revolution. They presented a bitter summary on the difficulties but also on the urge of building grassroots initiatives in a situation dominated by repression, war and continuous attacks. Hozan introduced the first report made by Citizens of Syria, mapping the emerging of eight hundred new subjects of a democratic and independent civil society; Maria talked about the civil campaign denouncing the bombings perpetrated by the regime of Damascus on liberated towns, using barrel bombs:www.planetsyria.org.
Generally speaking, the dialogue did not develop as required due to technical reasons (the two Syrian guests arrived very late); interventions have been followed by simple questions raised by the audience, due to lack of time. Nevertheless, guests have been able to interact with the audience after the end of the dialogue.
