Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Strike a Woman, Strike a Rock: Women Against Apartheid in South Africa


In memory of Albertina Sisulu

and all the brave, defiant, resilient women

(of all colors and classes) whose labors gave birth

to a new South Africa. Though now at rest,

they still inspire women everywhere.


"Malibongwe igama bakakosikazi. Mali-bongwe!" (1)

　

(My purpose in this post is to encourage you to explore the contributions of women to the struggle for freedom and justice in South Africa. Teachers, please "put women on the agenda" of any lessons about resistance to segregation and apartheid in South Africa or discussions of contemporary South Africa, where women face many challenges and the struggle continues.  I decided to focus on the legacy of women's resistance to apartheid, and in particular the pass laws, during the 1950s.  This activism transformed the role of women in the liberation struggle.)

　
INTRODUCTION

In 1956 women in South Africa took to the streets, pushing back against a government that had disrupted their lives and communities through a cruel migrant labor system and--especially since the apartheid election of 1948--had imposed increasingly onerous, discriminatory laws and regulations. On August 9, 1956, women marched to a song that expressed their militant fervor: "Now you have touched the women, You have struck a rock, You have dislodged a boulder, You will be crushed." Albertina Sisulu was a woman and a rock, a participant in that march, whose death this past June was mourned by women activists in South Africa and around the world (2). But South African women’s history is strewn with such rocks, strong women whose legacy extends beyond South Africa.

The 1956 Anti-Pass March was a critical milestone in the struggle against apartheid and that is  why South Africans celebrate National Women’s Day on August 9th.   And why August is Women’s Month in South Africa, "dedicated to women because of the oppression and exploitation they face and the fact that they suffer from gender inequalities" (3).

During the apartheid years Black women in South Africa had to contend with a triple burden: patriarchy, capitalism, and apartheid. To put it another way their lives were "dramatically shaped by the patriarchy of their own society and its disruptions by an equally if very different, patriarchal mission Christianity and the form of South Africa’s racially structured capitalist order, based on a migrant labour system" (4). In one way or another these factors shaped the lives of colored, Indian, and white women, too. So gender, class, and race–important topics in world history’s "big picture"--provide spaces for putting South African women on the classroom agenda.

Women’s Resistance in South Africa

As President Jacob Zuma reminded his audience in his speech on August 9th, women’s resistance to unjust laws goes back to 1913, when women marched to the Magistrates’ Court in a small town in the Orange Free State and burned their passes. After this, the South African government decided that women living in urban areas would not have to obtain monthly entry permits, an exemption that would last until the 195os. In the meantime, however, women suffered from the effects of pass laws on the men in their families–as well as from efforts to discourage women from settling in towns and the exclusion of wives and families from the migrant labor camps of the mining companies.

After the apartheid election of 1948, as the government enacted a series of laws to implement the apartheid system, the Group Areas Act (1950) and the Pass Laws Act (1952) regulated residency and the movement of black South Africans.   In 1950 the government proposed changes to the Urban Areas Act (1923), designed specifically to prevent black women from residing in cities and townships. In practical terms this meant the extension of passes to women–who then mounted local anti-pass protests. While the 1952 legislation required black men over the age of 16 to carry passes–and included the extension of the law to include women–for women the implementation was slow. Nevertheless, it was anticipatedthat soon women in urban areas would have to carry passes, too. This helped to bring more women into the Defiance Campaign of 1952--in which large numbers of people voluntarily defied the apartheid laws and as many as 8000 were arrested, some of them women. Bertha Mashaba was among those eager to defy apartheid’s unjust laws. Having observed the hardships of the permit system (while growing up on the Germiston location), she was more than eager to defy the system by entering another location without a permit. (5)

The African National Congress (ANC) and other pioneering organizations were dominated by men. By 1931 the Bantu Women’s League (founded in 1918) was functioning as an ANC auxillary, but women had to wait until 1943 to join the ANC itself. Women who joined the ANC in 1943 included Dora Tamana, who would lead women’s protests in the 1950s. But the ANC Women’s League, formed in 1948, soon discovered that ANC men were disposed to using its members "mainly for catering and mobilisation" (6).

Women’s anti-pass activism in the early 1950s–in which ANC Women’s League members demonstrated their leadership–had shown that women could play a vital role in resisting apartheid. But many women, especially very independent-minded trade unionists, such as Lillian Ngoyi, were convinced that women needed to organize as women so that they could more forcefully articulate their concerns. Of course, they were also seeking to draw more women into the liberation struggle. In April of 1954 a group of like-minded women created an umbrella organization, the Federation of South African Women (FSAW, also referred to as Fedsaw). Its first president was Ida Mtwana of the Johannesburg branch of the ANCWL.  Lilian Ngoyi, one of four vice-presidents, would soon become its president.

The ANC Women’s League was a major component of the Federation, but it included colored, Indian, and white women--making it the first women’s organization in South Africa to subvert the lines of race (even more rigidly constructed after 1948 than under the early segregationist system). Playing a catalytic role in the process were two white members of the South African Communist Party, Ray Alexander and Hilda Bernstein, who attended FSAW's inaugural meeting as representatives of the Congress of Democrats. Helen Joseph, another COD member, would emerge as a tireless fomenter of protests. FSAW’s first treasurer was Amina Cachalia, an Indian woman who had joined the ANC during the Defiance Campaign–when she carried out many tasks (leafleting, recruiting protesters) on behalf of the protesters. Another early member of FSAW was Lizzy Abrahams, a coloured woman, who was active in the Coloured Peoples Congress. (7)

While most black and coloured members of FSAW were part of their respective community’s small professional class (teachers, nurses, social workers) or trade unionists, even these women often came from impoverished backgrounds. That is certainly evident from reading their biographies. Lilian Ngoyi, though a nurse, suffered many privations throughout her life. Others were factory workers (a status above that of maid or nanny). But a powerful commonality reaching across class lines were the difficulties facing working women with family responsibilities (dependent parents or older relatives, their own children and youngsters from their extended families).

At its very first meeting, the Federation of South African Women adopted a "Women Charter." This document, drafted by Hilda Bernstein, called for full political rights for women and men and for equal pay for equal work. It proclaimed "a single society" in which women "share the problems and anxieties of our men, and join hands with them to remove social evils and obstacles to progress." More precisely, the charter called for the abolition of all laws and customs infringing on women’s equality–so that women would no longer have the status of minors. This was a call for an end to patriarchy, in the form of "laws and practices derived from an earlier and different state of society." Its education plank was unequivocal--free and compulsory education for every child. Its practical concerns included paid maternity leave, childcare centers (referred to as creches) to meet the needs of working women–and such basic needs as clean water, sanitation, and access to transportation. Then, in May of 1955, FSAW produced another key document, "What Women Demand." (8)

It should be noted that both of these FSAW documents preceded South Africa’s famous manifesto, the Freedom Charter. In the classroom, comparing the Women’s Charter with the Freedom Charter would be an insightful exercise. Note that the preamble to the great manifesto calls upon "the people of South Africa, black and white, together equals, countrymen and brothers [to] adopt this Freedom Charter" (9). So clearly, from the perspective of anti-apartheid activists in 1955, discrimination against women as women was a ‘‘secondary problem." Yet, a close reading shows that the women’s concerns did influence the content of the Freedom Charter. And Lilian Ngoyi, president of the ANCWL, did become the first woman elected to the ANC’s Executive Committee (10).

With the apartheid government becoming more determined to restrict women's entry into urban areas, FSAW focused on this issue, deciding to organize protests against the government's decision to require women to carry passes (effective on January 1, 1956). After a big demonstration in Pretoria in October 1955, led by Ida Mtwana, their growing movement attracted women from many corners of the country. The culminating event of local protests would be the August 9th, 1956 protest in Pretoria. Since Prime Minister Strijdom had refused to meet with a FSAW delegation, the women would present him with a massive pile of petitions.  So FSAW leaders canvassed the country to collect petitions and at the same time recruited women willing to march in Pretoria. This task fell mostly to Helen Joseph and Bertha Mashaba, who managed to visit local leaders in nearly every large urban area. To be fair, it may be noted that one fellow from the ANC, and another from the COD, assisted them. Albertina Sisulu, a member of both the ANCWL and the FSAW, was also one of the chief organizers of the march. (11)

What was different about this protest was its broad base, including the mobilization of many women whose resistance had been directed towards local issues. Ray Alexander, under banning orders that prevented her from marching, did her part behind the scenes, especially in the effort to recruit women from Cape Town.  Leading the Natal women on August 9th was Dorothy Nyembe, who had challenged the government’s attempt to control traditional beer-brewing in Durban–as well as forced removals from residential areas (12).

Imagine 20,000 marching and singing women, some with babies on their backs or children in tow, converging on the Union Buildings, where the Prime Minister had his office. Yet, this massive march on August 9th was an orderly march. When no one at the Union Buildings would see them, the women left their petitions at the doorway of the Prime Minister’s office. Then, instead of just leaving, Lilian Ngoyi suggested that they stand there, in silence, for 30 minutes. After that, to signal the end of their protest, they sang Nkosi sikeleli Afrika (the ANC, now national, anthem) and then it was over. This really shows how clever an activist Lilian Ngoyi could be. (13)

In addition to outrage over the pass laws, women were motivated by the impact of Bantu education on their younger siblings and their own children. During the march they sang a very militant song, with the line "We do not want Bantu Education." In the 1950s Albertina Sisulu set up a classroom in her home to provide a higher standard of education--until the authorities prohibited such "home schooling." Like Lilian Ngoyi, whose own education had been cut short by poverty, they wanted their children to receive the kind of quality education that would lift them out of poverty. (14)

In December, 1956 the government retaliated by arresting and charging with high treason 156 of those who had signed Freedom Charter. Among those arrested–along with Nelson Mandela–were Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, and Dorothy Nyembe. While the charges against most of those arrested were dropped, Helen Joseph stood among the accused at the infamous "Treason Trial" Nyembe dropped (1957). Their trial lasted nearly five years, yet the prosecution failed to show that any of the accused had conspired to use violence. Thus all 30 remaining defendants were  acquitted, in March, 1961 (15).

In the meantime the liberation struggle continued.  In 1958 when the ANC executive committee tried to organize a general strike, but when their planning hit a hard patch, Nelson Mandela became more than a little frustrated. In his autobiography he tells us about a comeuppance he received at this time, from a woman who worked for him as his "house assistant" (his politically correct term for a maid), someone he called sister describes as "more a member of the family than an employee" (16). On the day just before the strike, he casually asked to her to wash and iron some shirts for him on the following day. Here’s the rest of the story, as Mandela tells it:


A long and uncharacteristic silence followed. Ida then turned to me and said with barely concealed disdain, "You know very well that I can’t do that."

"Why not?" I replied, surprised by the vehemence of her readction.

"Have you forgotten that I, too, am a worker?" she said with some satisfaction.  "I will be on strike tomorrow with my people and fellow workers!"

Her son saw my embarassment and in his boyish way tried to ease the tension ... In irritation, she turned on her well-meaning son and said, "Boy, where were you when I struggling for my rights in that house? If I had not fought hard against your ‘Uncle Nelson’ I would not today be treated like a sister!" Ida did not come to work the next day, and my shirts went unpressed.
　 Thus even Mandela had to admit to that ANC men often underestimated the fortitude of ordinary women. This anecdote captures, I suspect, the "attitude" of more than a few, otherwise humble, ordinary women–who were not afraid to challenge (in their own way) the prerogatives of those comrades who might take them for granted. So, when putting women on the agenda, let’s remember all those strong working class women, especially the maids and nannies in white households and in the homes of the better-off, colored and black middle classes.   Though most of their names can’t be found on any membership lists, they often made incredible sacrifices for the cause. 

Given the cooperation between the ANC and the SAIC, a number of Indian women figured prominently in the anti-apartheid struggle. Fatima Meer, for example, an activist from the age of 16, helped to organize the Durban and District Women’s League, now recognized as the first women’s organization with both Indian and African members.   Fatima and her husband Ismail Meer were at the center of efforts to forge strong ties between ANC leaders and their counterparts in the SAIC. As one of the founding members of FSAW, Fatima became one of the organizers of the Anti-Pass March of 1956. Another woman activist, Phyllis Naidoo (married to M.D. Naidoo), worked with Dorothy Nyembe to oppose the Bantu Education Act and during the Treason Trial raised funds to assist the families of the accused. In the late 1950s, she and her husband, working as part of the underground helped several comrades escape from South Africa. (17)

Six liberal white women formed the Women’s Defence of the Constitution League in 1955 for the purpose of demonstrating against legislation  that would remove coloured people from the voting rolls. To show their utter disdain for the manner in which the apartheid system was dismantling the constitution, they wore black mourning sashes across their right shoulders. The media began referring to them as the Black Sash, a name that stuck. Unfortunately, early efforts to link Black Sash and the FSAW failed. Nevertheless, Jean Sinclair (one of the founders), who was adamantly opposed to apartheid system, helped to propel Black Sash towards more actively assisting black South Africans caught up in the miasma of the pass laws and also helping them with a whole range of employment-related problems. To do this work Black Sash opened Advice Offices in urban areas. Black Sashers attended trials to monitor the proceedings and also began to protest against forced removals. Quite remarkably, in the years since the demise of apartheid, the Black Sash has transformed itself into a multiracial, vocal hub of advocacy on a range of community, development, health, and social-economic issues. (18)

After Sharpville

After the Sharpville Massacre in 1960, the context and the nature of the struggle were transformed. A State of Emergency was proclaimed and with it a crackdown on ANC members and other activists. In the 1960s South Africa entered the era of "Grand Apartheid," when setting up Homelands for black South Africans–removing them from urban areas and sorting them according to ethnic identities-was a government priority. With the ANC banned, many activists went underground--while others escaped to continue the struggle from bases outside South Africa. Reluctantly, Nelson Mandela, together with Walter Sisulu and other ANC leaders turned, to armed resistance.  This became the task of a new ANC military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Walter Sisulu was put in charge of building up Umkhonto’s regional units and local cells.  After he was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison, he jumped bail (while an appeal was pending). The police tried to catch him at home, but he had already fled. So they arrested Albertina and her son, under the the draconian General Laws Amendment Act (detention without charges for 90 days).  Albertina spent two months in solitary confinement while the search went on for her husband. He was captured, along with Mandela and others at a farm in Rivonia. The Rivonia trial resulted in life sentences for Mandela, Sisulu and four others. Mandela and Sisulu were sent to Robben Island. And their wives were also sentenced to a kind of torture that is almost impossible to imagine.

During "Grand Apartheid" the government’s repressive tactics prevented both the FSAW and the ANCWL from operating as legal entities. In fact, the ANCWL would not be reconstituted until 1993.  Women suffered separation from their arrested, detained, and imprisoned husbands, brothers and sons. Women who resisted--whose voices were raised in protest--were banned, put under house arrest, and imprisoned. Here are some examples of how leading activists of the 1950s fared during the era of "Grand Apartheid" and (if they survived) after 1994:
  • Lilian Ngoyi: arrested in 1960 during the Emergency, spending some time in solitary confinement; banned for 18 years–the silencing of a powerful voice; died in 1980.
  • Helen Joseph: banned in 1957 and then placed under house arrest in 1962; banning orders lifted briefly during terminal illness of her husband but reimposed in 1980; died 1992
  • Frances Baard: on the executive committee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, but detained in 1960 and again in 1963 (in solitary for 12 months); sentenced in 1964 for her ANC work; released in 1969, then banned and restricted; part of the United Democratic Front in the 1980s; died 1997.
  • Dorothy Nyembe: joined Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961; organized rural women during the Natal Women’s Revolt (1962); arrested in 1963, imprisoned for three years; banned but still pursued underground work; arrested for protecting Umkhonto operatives and sentenced (1969) to 15 years in prison; after 1994, helped to write the new constitution and served as a member of the National Assembly; died in 1998.
  • Ray Alexander Simons: after living under strict banning orders for many years, she and her husband Jack left South Africa in 1965; while Jack was teaching at Manchester University they collaborated on a major work of labor history, Class and Colour in South Africa: 1850-1950; in 1967 they moved to Zambia, where they engaged in underground activities, such as training young exiles in the bush camps; Ray and Jack were the first whites accepted as regular members of the ANC; they returned to South Africa in 1990; died in 2004.
  • Hilda Bernstein: since 1958 her banning orders had included a ban on writing or publishing, but she continued working in secret; after Sharpville (1960), detained under provisions of the Emergency; her husband Rusty was charged and tried along with Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu at the Rivonia trial; in 1964 he was acquitted, but after he was rearrested and released on bail, they fled to Botswana, ending up in the UK; living in exile Hilda was active in the ANC’s External Mission, speaking on behalf of the ANC in Britain, Europe, and Canada; after Rusty died (2002), she returned to South Africa; died in Cape Town in 2006.
  • Fatima Meer: a leading voice in the 1970s through her work as an activist, academic and researcher; gravitated to the views of Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness movement; under banning orders from 1975-1980; arrested in 1976 (after the student revolt) and detained without trial for six months; after 1994, served the ANC in advisory positions; died in 2010.
  • Albertina Sisulu: arrested in 1963 and held in solitary confinement for two months; worked to maintain ties between ANC members in exile and those in prison–even when she was banned and under house arrest; detained in 1981; joined the United Democratic Front, serving as co-president in 1983; detained again in 1985; leader of a UDF delegation to Europe and the US in 1989; rejoiced when Walter was released in October, 1989; in 1994, served in the first democratic Parliament; died June, 2011.
Three of the women listed above received the Isithwalandwe Medal, the ANC’s highest award, for their courageous contributions to the liberation struggle: Lilian Ngoyi (1982), Helen Joseph (1992), Ray Alexander Simons (2004). Isithwalandwe means "the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird." Across Africa, wearing a rare plume is a sign of great moral authority and leadership. Even so, these women were themselves beautiful "rare birds."

Amandla!

ACTIVITIES

Ask students to EXPLORE South African history during the apartheid era from the perspective of Black/Coloured women. Let them begin with the rich resources on the South African History Online and Overcoming Apartheid web sites. To organize what they are learning, they should list the major pieces of apartheid legislation and then, for each of these, describe its impact on the lives of women. Encourage students to think beyond the legal discrimination to consider the practical impact on the daily lives of women and their families. For this exercise the "Women’s Charter" and "What Women Demand" are key primary sources. EXTEND this activity by sending students to search on-line biographies for specific examples from the lives of women who participated in the struggle against apartheid. Some students might want to consult print biographies (see RESOURCES: Biographies of South African Women).

COMPARE primary source "manifestos": First discuss the nature of such documents, the importance of the context in which they were created and adopted, and the goals of the leaders of the organizations involved in drafting them. ASK: Who was the intended audience? (Make sure that students understand that all three were intended for multiple audiences.) More specifically, ASK: What does the Freedom Charter (1955) say about women’s rights? How does the content of the two FSAW documents overlap with the Freedom Charter and how does it differ?

READ/DISCUSS: Distribute copies (or read online) President Jacob Zuma’s address on National Women’s Day address. ASK: What historical landmarks did he mention? Why are these important? According to President Zuma, what were the four pillars of the freedom struggle? EXPAND the discussion by asking: How did women contribute to each of these pillars? (To give specific answers, students should be encouraged to do independent research–a possible homework assignment.)

READ/DISCUSS/RESEARCH: In his speech President Zuma called Albertina Sisulu an "icon" of the struggle? (To help students with this concept, talk about Nelson Mandela as an iconic historical figure.) ASK: What has made "MaSisulu" an iconic figure? He also names four other iconic women. Who are they? What can you find out about their contribution to the struggle? (This discussion could be preparation for the GROUP WORK activity since the images will re-inforce the concept of an iconic figure.)

GROUP WORK: Use either the five women across the top of the ANC Women’s League home page OR the nine women on the FSAW poster (1987) to jump start in-class research (if computers and the Internet are available). Divide the class into small groups, each working up a brief report on the contribution of a particular woman to the anti-apartheid struggle. They can begin with the South African History Online biographies and, if time permits, search for more information (or supply the URLs for additional resources). (See RESOURCES for the ANCWL page and for an online poster image.)  OR, create your own list of South African women for your students to select from and research.

COMPARATIVE POLITICS or CIVICS CLASS: Distribute copies of President Zuma’s National Women’s Day address (or excerpts from it). ASK: How did South women contribute to the writing of "a new gender-sensitive Constitution"?

WORLD HISTORY CLASS: Begin with a close reading of Lilian Nogyi’s 1956 address to the ANC Women’s League (in Women Writing Africa: The Southern Region). Discuss it as a primary source document in the context of South Africa in general and the pass laws in particular. EXPAND this lesson by turning to Nogyi’s remarks on colonialism and imperialism, which she relates specifically to Egypt. What was going on in the Middle East in 1956? How does this inform us about Ngoyi’s worldview beyond South Africa. (She also took up the cause of women in Algeria and Palestine.)

DISCUSS: Select one or more of the articles about this year’s National Women’s Day for a classroom discussion of challenges facing women in South Africa today. EXTEND the topic: Students search the web for more information, especially from South African newspapers and magazines online.  (Send them to http://allafrica.com/southafrica/, where they can select "Women" as a topic from the menu on the right; or to the list of newspaper sites at http://library.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/southafrica/rsanews.html.)

EXPLORE the web site of the Black Sash. What was its "mission" during the apartheid years and how did it changed after abut 1990? What’s so exciting about today’s Black Sash? Students could make a poster or short slideshow to answer either of these questions.  (See the Black Sash set in RESOURCES: South African Women's Resistance.)

GENERAL RESOURCES

South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za
Overcoming Apartheid (Michigan State University):  http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/index.php
  • For more about this program check out the "About" page.
  • Click on interviews for oral accounts by 60 participants in the struggle, including Luli Callinicos, Ayesha Hoorzook, Phyllis Naidoo and other women (see also under Black Sash)
TEXT: "Freedom Charter." http://www.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv01538/04lv01600/05lv01611/06lv01612.htm

"South Africa: Women." Africa South of the Sahara (Stanford University): http://library.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/southafrica/rsawomen.html
  • Amazing list of relevant web sites, vetted by African Studies specialists.

Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Little, Brown and Company: New York, 1994, 1995.

Thompson, Leonard. A History of South Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.



RESOURCES: National Women’s Day 2011

Zuma, Jacob. "Their Struggle Was Not in Vain." Politics Web (August 9, 2011): http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71656?oid=250082&sn=Detail&pid=71616
  • Keynote address by the President of South Africa, on National Women’s Day, speaking at Peter Mokaba Stadium, Limpopo.
"National Women’s Day." ANC Women’s League (August 10, 2011): http://www.anc.org.za/wl/show.php?id=8868

　
"Men Must Join the Gender Dialogue.’" South Africa Info (August 10, 2011):
http://www.southafrica.info/news/women-100811c.htm
  • See roster of related articles on right side for more Aout challenges facing women in South Africa today.
  • Features the comments of Javu Baloyi (speaking on behalf of South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality), a man calling upon South Africans to challenge "the social constructs resulting from patriarchy."
"Power to the Women: No Progress until Female Contribution is Recognized." Dikgang Tsa Mogale (August 2008): http://www.mogalecity.gov.za/content/pdfs/dikgang/2008/aug4.pdf
  • Column by a public servant and former Sunday Sun columnist.  (Since the column he wrote for this year is no longer online, I decided to add this shorter piece.)
Kupe, Tawana. "Opinion: Media Needs to Mainstream Women." The New Age (August 9, 2011): http://www.thenewage.co.za/printstroy.aspx?news_id_1042&mid186
  • Ms. Kupe, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Wits University (South Africa), is also an associate professor of media studies. Here she challenges the media to embark on "analyses, investigations and debates about the condition of women in society in the same manner they give black coverage to Mandela Day."

RESOURCES: South African Women's Resistance

"The Women’s Struggle, 1900-1994." South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/20th-century-south-africa/womens-struggle-1900-1994. For the history highlighted in this post see especially:
"Women in the Struggle." Overcoming Apartheid: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=30

　
"1956 Women’s March." http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=11

"Women’s Struggles." African National Congress: http://www.anc.org.za/themes.php?t=Women`s%20Struggles
  • 26 documents, from 1954 to 2007, including "The Women’s Charter" and "What Women Demand"

African National Congress Women’s League: http://www.anc.org.za/wl/

TEXT: "What Women Demand." African National Congress: http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2601&t=Women`sStruggles

TEXT: "The Women’s Charter." Access from either of these URLs:
IMAGES: The Poster Book Collective. South African History Archive. Images of Defiance: South African Resistance Posters of th 1980s. Ravan Press: Johannesburg, 1991. See pages 86-87 for the following:
  • "Federation of South African Women" (1987). This poster honors key figures of Fedsaw and other women leaders (Annie Silinga, Francis Baard, Albertina Sisulu, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Ray Alexander, Dora Tamana, Amina Cachalia, Liz, Mafekeng). (Full-page reproduction could be scanned to use in class.)
  • Above poster online: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/image.php?id=296
  • "National Women’s Day" (1984) and "Slogan Poster" (1981). These posters documents the inspiration that women itne 1980s drew from the 1956 march. The latter features the 1956 slogan, "You have tampered with the women, you have struck a rock."
PHOTO: "Women Resist the Pass Laws." Overcoming Apartheid: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/image.php?id=232
  • Women demonstrated against the pass laws in Cape Town, on the same day as the massive national women's protest in Pretoria.
Women Under Apartheid. International defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa, in co-opration with the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid. London, 1981.
  • Find it in a public or college library. Worth the effort for its many excellent black/white photos.
  • Student friendly, brief text covers the migrant labor system, family life, working women, squatter camps as well as the history of women’s struggle against apartheid.

Bernstein, Hilda. For Their Triumphs & For Their Tears: Women in Apartheid South Africa.  International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa. London, 1975, 1978. Revised ed. 1985.

"Honour the Women." Pan-African News Wire: http://www.rusty-bernstein.com/hilda/panafrican_hourthewomen.htm
  • Extract from the 1985 edition of Hilda Bernstein’s For Their Triumphs; covers the history of the women’s struggle, with discussion of the Defiance Campaign, the Federation of South African Women, the Freedom Charter, FSAW and the 1956 Anti-Pass March.
Daymond, M. J. et al. Women Writing Africa: The Southern Region. New York: The Feminist Pres at the City University of New York, 2003. Especially relevant to resistance in the 1950s:
  • Federation of South African Women. "Women’s Charter." (Document also available online, as listed above).
  • Lilian Ngoyi, "Presidential Address to the African National Congress Women’s League, Transvaal." Delivered in South Africa, 1956.
  • Cherry Stephana Mogolo Sibeko, "African Women Do Not Want Passes." South Africa, 1958.
  • Phyllis Ntantala, "The Widows of the Reserves." South Africa, 1958.
Walker, Cherryl. Women and Resistance in South Africa. Onyx Press: London, 1982.
Reprint: New Africa Books, 1991.
  • Source of much of info provided on this topic on the SAHO site (where Walker 1991 is cited).

Black Sash–Then and Now

Black Sash. http://www.blacksash.org.za/

VIDEO: "55 Years of the Black Sash." 08:47 mins. http://www.blacksash.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2612&Itemid=242
  • Concise narrative accompanies many excellent photos.
"The Black Sash."  South African History Online.  URL: http://sahistory/org.za/organisations/black-sash

"The Black Sash: Video Interviews." Overcoming Apartheid: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=10
  • Short excerpts from 7 interviews, with links to the full interviews; see esp. Lettie Malindi, interpreter in a Black Sash office in Cape Town
  • Links to two articles from The Black Sash, published in the 1950s

RESOURCES: Biographies of South African Women

South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org/people.  Great place to explore the lives of South African women activists. Send students here to find information about both major and minor figures, for example:
Overcoming Apartheid: People: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/listpeople.php. This section includes biographies from SAHO, notably the following:
  • Frances "Ma" Baard
  • Dorothy Nyembe
  • Dora Tamana
Freedom Fighters (Three series of children’s biographies).  Awareness Publishing: South Africa.  For Series 1 a sample page, and for Series 2 and 3 several pages, are available online. This makes these links an excellent resource to use with elementary and middle school students.
Includes these biographies:

Albertina Sisulu

"Albertina Nontsikeleo Sisuslu." South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/node/65389
  • Links at the end provide access to a "Detailed Biography." 
    Presumed source for much of this biographical information is the account by daughter Elinor Sisulu, Walter & Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime (Claremont, South Africa: David Philip, 2003).
  • See also the link to "Letters: Albertina Sisulu" (annotated letters between Albertina and Walter Sisulu, during the years he was imprisoned).
"A Life Well-Lived."  Sunday Independent (June 6, 2010): http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/sisulu-a-life-well-lived-1.1079205

"Albertina Sisulu, Who Helped Lead Apartheid Fight, Dies at 92." New York Times (June 5, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/world/africa/06sisulu.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=albertina+sisulu&st=nyt
  • Includes photo of with Mandela, a close friend of both Albertina and her husband Walter
MORE ON ARTICLES FROM New York Times online archive:

Lilian Ngoyi

Mphalele, Ezekiel, "Lilian Ngoyi–The Most Talked-of Woman in Politics." Drum (March 1956). Online as 2nd comment after "Honour the Women" (URL: http://www.rusty-bernstein.com/hilda/panafrican_honourthewomen.htm)
  • Lively report by one of South Africa’s leading literary figures of the 1950s/60s; useful as a primary source for perceptions of Lilian Ngoyi in 1956, giving a sense of her oratorical skills and charisma.
Smith, Gail.  "Introduction" to Lilian Ngoyi, "Presidential Address" (in Women Writing Africa; see citation above).

Bernstein, Hilda. "Isitwalandwe for Ma-Nogyi." Sechaba (August 1982). Online as 1st comment after "Honour the Women" (URL: http://www.rusty-bernstein.com/hilda/panafrican_honourthewomen.htm)
  •  "Honour" plus two comments were uploaded (apparently) as tributes to Lilian Ngoyi, who was the first women to receive the ANC’s Isitwalandwe award (1982).
     
PHOTOS: "Lillian Ngoyi." URL: http://www.africamediaonline.com/mmc/gallery/detail/african_calendar/Lillian%20Ngoyi,%20leader%20of%20ANC%20womens'%20league:%2035th%20anniversary%20of%20her%20death
  • Five photos (shift cursor over each photo for historical info about it). A Commercial site (copy only for limitedfair-use in the classroom) but students will enjoy viewing these and can pick up details not readily available elsewhere.

Phyllis Naidoo

"Phyllis Naidoo."  South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/phyllis-naidoo

PHOTO: Phyllis Naidoo. URL: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/image.php?id=163
  • Show students this photo, then ask them to find out why she was banned.
DOCUMENT: "'But Why Must We Go?" asks a Tiny Girl who doesn't Know Why her Mother was Banned", Sunday Tribune.  By Tribute reporter February 18, 1971.  URL: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/original_docs.php?id=6
  • Adapt this to help younger students understand how apartheid's restrictions and penalties affected children.

Hilda Bernstein

"Hilda Bernstein Profile." URL: http://www.rusty-bernstein.com/profile_hilda_bernstein,htm

"ANC Statement on the Death of Hilda Bernstein" and "Obituary." Pan African News Wire (September 2006): http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2006/09/anc-statement-on-death-of-hilda.html

Bernstein, Hilda and Rusty Bernstein. The World That Was Ours. 1967.
  • Account of Rusty’s arrest, the Rivonia trial, and their subsequent escape from South Africa

NOTES

See full citations, with URLs, in RESOURCES.   
SAHO = South African History Online:  http://www.sahistory.org.za

1) Lilian Ngoyi, at the end of her address to the ANC Women’s League, November 1956. As quoted in WSAW (p. 244). Translated as "Praise the name of women. Praise them."

2) Barry Bearak, "Albertina Sisulu, Who Helped Lead Apartheid Fight, Dies at 92," New York Times (June 5, 2011). Reading this obituary it inspired the writing of this post.

3) Tawana Kupe, "Media Needs to Mainstream Women" (August 9, 2011).

4) Shula Marks, "Introduction," to Not Either an Experimental Doll (1987), page 24. For an account of one woman’s experience of patriarchy in Zulu society, see Zulu Woman: The Life Story of Christina Sibiya by Rebecca Hourwich Reyher (New York: The Feminist Press of the City University of New York, 1999).

5) For the history of pass law legislation see esp., "The History of Pass Laws in SA-1800s-1900s," SAHO. The official name of 1952 law was the Natives Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents Act–which replaced the earlier passbooks with a more rigorous "reference book" consisting of numerous documents. For a clear explanation of how pass laws for women were implemented (prior to 1956), see "1956–The Women’s march: Pretoria,9 August," SAHO. A photo documenting the imprisonment of women (including an Indian woman) for participating in the Defiance Campaign is reproduced in A. E. Afigbo et al., The Making of Modern Africa, Vol. 2, (Longman, 1989), page 205. The Defiance Campaign was a joint effort by the ANC and the South African Indian Congress. "Bertha Gxowa (Mashaba)," SAHO.

6) "A Short History of the Women’s League," ANC Women’s League website.

7) See "Women known to have attended the inaugural conference of the Federation of South African Women (FSAW) and the organisations which they represented," a document on the ANC website ( ttp://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2601&t=Women`s Struggles).  Amina Cachalia’s father, an activist during the Gandhi era in South Africa, died when she was 12; she then came under the influence of Mervy Thandray of the Transvaal Indian Congress.   As a member of the TIC’s Youth Congress she met ANC leaders, including Lillian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph. Biographical sources for women mentioned in this paragraph are listed in RESOURCES: South African Women’s Biographies.

8) Both texts are available on line (see Resources). The Women’s Charter is also included in Women Writing South Africa (a wonderful compendium of primary sources), where it is preceded by a short commentary (this volume is worth a trip to the library).

9) The Freedom Charter is online (see GENERAL RESOURCES).

10) Gail Smith, "Introduction" to Lilian Ngoyi, "Presidential Address" (in Women Writing Africa).

11) See biographies of these women.

12) This convergence (as well as the memorability of the songs) is confirmed in "Women’s March Interviews," SAHO. See also the SAHO biographies of Ray Alexander Simons and Dorothy Nyembe.

13) "1956--Women’s March: Pretoria, 9 August," SAHO.

14) See biographies of Lilian Nogyi.

15) For an acct of this trial see Mandela, Long Journey (1995), pp. 239-61. The specific charge was "treason in form of conspiracy to overthrow state by violence and replace it with a state based on communism" (Leonard Thompson, A History of South Africa, page 209.). For primary sources see "The Treason Trial," Overcoming Apartheid (URL: http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/multimedia.php?id=12).  Charges against Nyembe were dropped 1957 (see "Dorothy Nyembe," SAHO).

16) Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (Little, Brown and Company, 1995 paperback edition), page 219.

17) See Meer and Naidoo biographies, SAHO.

18) See Black Sash section in Resources: South African Women’s Resistance.


 
Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , ,

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Syrian Mosaic--Under Siege During Ramadan

(It is with a heavy heart that I write here about the horrific recent events in Syria, intending in this installment to put the Ramadan offensive into a broader perspective. The threat of of sectarian conflict, amid an escalating crackdown, is real enough, as is the possibility of civil war. These are indeed trying times for those who espouse non-violent tactics as a means of bringing about political change. The next post in this series will focus on the diversity of Islam in Syria.)

　

INTRODUCTION
"In Damascus, people of different religions have always known how to live together. From an early age we learn to distinguish our religions and ourselves, but not to hate other religions. We respect each other’s right to live together, and to share land, air and food. In this respect, Syria presents a model for the west on dealing with minorities." 
Sheikh Muhammad Al Yaqoubi (1A)
　

"The advantage of having these demonstrations is that we are creating a Syrian identity."

25-year-old Damascus activist/protester (1B)

 "A sectarian civil war on the Iraqi or Lebanese model is every Syrian’s nightmare. There must surely be another way out of the crisis."

Patrick Seale (1C)

A common view of Syria’s version of the Arab Spring is that it is unfolding amid fears that "Assad’s fall could bring a sectarian bloodbath" (3). These fears are not unfounded–but they are often exaggerated. Syrians are well aware of the sectarian violence that has plagued neighboring Lebanon and Iraq. Yet, any critical analysis needs to examine exactly how this bloodbath "boogeyman" has served the interests of President Bashar al-Assad–not only since mid-March, when the current uprising began in the town of Daraa–but for all the years of his presidency (since he succeeded his father President Hafez al-Assad in 2000).

For many years, with considerable skill, President Assad promoted the idea that he was first and foremost the defender of a tolerant social order–and it is true that many minorities in Syria have felt protected–at least in certain respects–by his policies. Moreover, he did reach out to moderate Sunni Muslims, as well as to Christians and Druze. But the favoritism shown towards his own Alawite community was resented–especially by less fortunate members of other communities and by those opposed to the Baath Party (in general) and to the Assads (in particular). Thus, when Syria’s pro-reform and pro-democracy protesters began to call upon President Assad to step down, those who had benefitted from his regime felt that their interests, and even their lives, were at risk (3).

Finding himself under pressure from protesters in nearly every corner of the country, Assad reiterated that only he could preserve Syria from an era of post-Assad sectarianism and intolerance (should his regime collapse). For the regime this notion has been an effective tool, shoring up its support among people who wanted desperately to believe Assad’s oft-repeated promises of reform. This message was aimed at members of religious and ethnic minorities–but resonated widely with the middle class professionals and the business elite, even those who were Sunni Muslims (4). Moreover, in the international arena it was also widely accepted that a post-Assad Syria would be a chaotic Syria, that could destabilize the entire region. This helps to explain the lagging response of the United States--as well as Israel’s unenthusiastic stance towards the possibility of regime change in Syria (5).

The Syrian uprising is now in its fifth month. Given Syria’s complicated religious and ethnic mosaic, news analysts have kept repeating, for all these weeks, that most of the protesters out on the streets are Sunni Muslims. Should this surprise us? Since the 1960s many Sunnis have denounced the Baath Party for its secularism. In the mid-1970s conservative Sunnis mounted a vocal and active opposition to the policies of President Hafez Assad, who then suppressed this movement with great force. This led to the Hama massacre in 1982 (when 10,000 or more were killed in the crackdown) (6).

By early July Anthony Shadid was reporting that "Hama has begun to emerge as a symbol of the uprising’s success" (7). And on every Friday in July there were large protests in Hama. It is these protests in Hama and in other cities and towns (Homs, Daraa, Jisr al-Shghour) that are well-known strongholds of Sunni conservatism that have given the Syrian uprising an Islamic (but not necessarily Islamist) dimension. When President Assad pointed to Islamists, Salafists, and their foreign backers as the instigators of the protest movement, he reinforced this view. That Islamists have consistently opposed the regimes of both Hafez and Bashar Assad is beyond dispute–and the animosity is deeply rooted–since the most conservative Sunnis still exclude the Alawi from the broader community of Muslims (8). Since the Assads and the regime’s inner circle are nearly all Alawites, it has been very easy for pundits to slip into a Sunni versus Alawite narrative when trying to explain the Syrian revolt.

Nevertheless, two demographic facts belie any characterization of the uprising as essentially Islamic (at the same time that they undermine the Sunni versus Alawite storyline). First, since Sunni Muslims dominate the country demographically, any political movement/ uprising/ revolution that managed to gain widespread popular support would have mostly Sunni feet on the ground. Therefore, it is necessary to look much more closely at what is motivating those who are calling for regime change. Secondly, the organizers of demonstrations have been mostly young people so there is a strong generational component to their activism (9). These young activists are surely, to some degree, out-of-sync with older political dissidents (who are often living abroad), but their political grievances are genuine: they are simply fed-up with an authoritarian regime–with its proclivity to arrest and torture people. They are savvy users of social media–as shown by how skillfully they have evaded the government’s news blackouts. Though they speak of democracy, it is true that their understanding of what democracy entails is incomplete. Yet, they are not unaware of Turkey’s democratic example. Of course, none of this is sufficient to remove the danger of sectarianism from any analysis. It is part of the Syrian reality–as recent sectarian incidents in Homs seem to suggest (10).

The Ramadan Offensive

In my previous post (July 28) I imagined Syria at a fork in the road, with its people facing the Lion of the Assad regime and the Alligator of civil war. Events since then have propelled the process forward in ways that are horrifying, so horrifying that the UN Security Council (after dallying for months) finally issued a statement condemning the violence in Syria (11).

Meanwhile the European Union and the US have imposed stricter economic and travel sanctions and the US is planning to take additional steps. U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford, who was in Washington this week, is urging the Obama administration to start thinking about how the US should respond when the Assad regime is toppled. At this point it is unclear what will happen next, but the Ramadan offensive is certainly changing the trajectory, perhaps towards more violence. Few believe that Assad will follow through with his reform agenda–that now includes multiparty elections, to be held before the end of 2011–when he has just arrested Walid al-Bunni, a venerable political dissident, and his sons–and while he is engaged in the most horrific crackdown yet, one that has now lasted more than a week. (12)

President Assad’s decision to launch a major offensive on July 31st –on the eve of Ramadan–shows how determined he is to suppress the uprising, regardless of the cost. Assad and his inner circle, fearful that the situation would get totally out of hand during Ramadan, ordered attacks by security forces on several several "hotspots" across Syria: Hama and Homs in center of the country, Deir al-Zour and Abu Kamal in the east, Daraa in the south, and Idleb in the northwest. On August 2 (Tuesday), in addition to a rising toll of dead and injured, hundreds of suspected organizers were arrested in the Damascus suburbs and in Zabadani (near the Lebanon border). By August 3rd, despite barricades hastily erected to keep them out, troops and tanks had penetrated the center of Hama, where they occupied Aasi Square. In addition to the 100 or so tanks in Hama, it was reported that about 200 tanks had surrounded the city of Deir al-Zour, where the shelling had begun on July 30th. Most of Syria’s oil fields are in the governorate of Deir al-Zour, which is also the home of many Sunni Muslim Bedouin with ties to their counterparts across the border in Iraq. Also of strategic importance in the east is the town of Abu Kamal, under attack since July 29thwhen security forces cut off its water, electricity, and communications. This eastern region Sunnis with close ties to fellow Sunnis in Iraq. Homs is strategically important too for its oil refinery and pipeline (bombed on July 29th). (13)

Assad’s priority, however, is putting down the revolt in Hama, with whatever brutality is necessary. The very large protest rally there on Friday (July 29th), followed by noisy gathering on Saturday night, provoked Assad but did not precipitate the assault on Sunday (July 31st)–which the regime might have been planning throughout July. The assault, from four directions-- with tanks shelling, machine guns rat-tatting, and snipers firing from roof tops--would last more than a week. By On Wednesday (August 3rd) the city’s water and electricity supplies have been cut and food and medicine were running short. Mostly unarmed civilians put up barricades and tried to keep the tanks from occupying the center of the city but eventually gave way.  The tanks now have occupied Aasi Square and other key areas. (14).

On August 5th (last Friday) people across Syria voiced their solidarity with the besieged residents of Hama in protests tagged as "The Day of God With Us." In and around Damascus there many more than the usual number of protests, with crowds marching to chants of "Leave, Bashar" and "Hama, we are with you until death." No doubt more intense demonstrations, nearly every evening and spreading into the center of Damascus and those breaking out in Aleppo (hitherto mostly quiescent, due in part to its moderate Muslim and Christian merchant class–and to its Sufi heritage) is causing great anxiety in Assad’s inner circle. There were also large protests in Homs, Daraa, Qamishli in the north (a Kurdish area). It has been reported that In Homs security forces fired into a mosque and in Damascus they surrounded one. The defiance was remarkable in tank-surrounded Deir al-Zour, which is now feeling the brunt of Assad's wrath. (15)

The Ramadan offensive is unrelentless. During all of last week the violence kept escalating and the death toll mounting (though without reporters on the ground there is much uncertainty about the intensity of the shooting and shelling). On July 31st the death toll was already more than 100 (including 76 in Hama), by Tuesday (August 2) it had risen to at least 125, and by Friday (August 5) it may have been as high as 250 in Hama alone. These numbers must be added to counts reported previously (July 28th) of more than 1600 protesters and civilians killed, nearly 3000 people unaccounted for (i.e. disappeared), 26,000 arrested (often beaten and tortured), including some 12, 600 still in detention. It is also thought that more than 500 members of the security forces have also died in the violence. (16) On Sunday (August 7) more than 50 and perhaps as many as 70 people were killed in by the security forces. The death toll was highest in Deir al-Zour (reported as 42), indicating that the offensive is shift eastward. (16)

Despite the ferocity of the crackdown protests and resistance have continue in Hama, Homs, and other cities.  It is as if the Syrian security forces are playing a game of "whack-a-mole" and perhaps they will becomes overstretched or exhausted before the protesters give up.  Let's hope the government collapses before a emerges on the eastern front, where Deir al-Zour is now under heavy attack. (17)

The symbolism of the assault on Hama is inescapable. Assad can’t escape from the consequences of what he is doing there (at least not in the court of world opinion). This week Ban Ki-Moon rebuked Assad for having "lost all sense of humanity" and even Russian President Dimitry Medvedev issued a stern warning–while the Turks are becoming more and more disgusted (18). Though the Arab response has been muted, on Saturday the Gulf Cooperation Council called for an immediate end the bloodshed. If Hama epitomizes the conflict between the regime and conservative Sunni Muslims (as I think it does), what can he gain by sending tanks that are "blasting at the minarets of mosques." How can the launching of a religious satellite station begin to compensate for the deaths of so many unarmed (or very lightly armed, with a stick) civilians–who are mostly Muslims–or the seizure of mosques so that they can be used as barracks? (19) This only brings the sectarian feelings, especially anti-Alawite resentment, from the background to the foreground. It reminds both Syrians and foreign observers that Assad’s most reliable units of the security forces are dominated by Alawite loyalists.

For Muslims Ramadan is a time for prayer and spiritual reflection, for compassion and forgiveness. It is a time for reconciliation, not retribution and ruthlessness. Families, neighbors, and friends gather to break the fast together. People open their hearts and their pocketbooks, sharing what they have so that others may enjoy the bounty of Ramadan night-time feasting. (The obligation to give alms to the poor is one of the Five Pillars of Islam). That President Assad has launched a Ramadan offensive is highly offensive--not only to Muslims but to many other people of faith and good-will throughout the world.

The timing of this offensive is sure to anger Muslims across the board. If Sunni Muslims begin to perceive these assaults as the full force of an Alawite regime attacking centers of "true" Islam, this would surely increase the potential for sectarian strife. Another sobering possibility is that people will take up arms to defend themselves (especially in areas along the Iraq border, where access to firearms is less of a problem) (20).

At this fork in the road–at what may be a turning point–at what may be a tipping point for those who have withheld their support for the protesters but are now appalled by recent events–we may ask: Will the tide turn? Will those who have been neutral or passive cast their lot in with the protesters? Will Sunnis and others in the military defect? Will the business elite respond if economic begin to bite harder? If Assad becomes weaker, will political loyalties shift? How might the composition of the crowds out on the streets change?

Like other commentators, I’ve been curious about the extent of participation by members of minority groups (those who are not Muslim, not Sunni Muslim, not Arab). Who’s protesting? Who’s chanting, "Come on Bashar, just leave"? (21). Who’s still backing Assad and where do these die-hard supporters fit into the Syrian mosaic? Who’s willing to give him another chance? Who really believes that he will eventually permit a multi-party elections?

Answering these questions is difficult. As the Ramadan offensive continues, protesters and the Local Coordinating Committees are making extraordinary efforts just to inform the rest of the world about what people are facing out on the streets (tanks, artillery, snipers, lack of medical supplies). The biggest impediment for those based outside the country, who would like to know more about the participation (or not) of minorities is the absence of foreign journalists–since the government has had a policy of keeping them out. Thus the contributions of a few, often anonymous, reporters or stringers on the ground is extremely valuable (22). Additional information is funneled via out to dissidents and human rights activists, whose reporting may be somewhat selective (or their sources unverifiable). Although most Christians are holding back and some are ardent supports of President Assad, Syrian opposition leaders in their talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have assured her that the ranks of pro-democracy activists inside Syria do include Christians. In online media there are references, here and there, to Christians, Druze, and Kurdish protesters. It is also being reported that some Christians, Alawites, and a few Sunni businessmen are starting to ease away from their relationships with the Assads (Bashar, his brother Maher and their extended family of cousins and in-laws). (23)
(I will integrate whatever information I have gather into my future posts in this series, where appropriate.)

One of the great pitfalls of trying to understand what’s happening in Syria is the habit (especially in the West) of framing events in terms of two-sided, overly simplistic scenarios: i) Muslim vs. "the Rest"; ii) Sunnis vs. Alawites; iii) Sunnis vs. the Assads. A closer examination of Syria’s mosaic, including the diversity of its Islamic traditions, undermines these scenarios, even as each contains a measure of truth.  That is coming in "Syria's Ancient and Modern Mosaic (Part II)."

ACTIVITIES

EXPLORE the Reuters "interactive" map and timeline to get a sense of how the Syrian uprising has developed--and sometimes stalled--over time. Good preparation for a current events discussion when school starts in the fall.

VIEW: Select footage to show in class to give students a sense of the scale of the demonstrations, their peaceful nature, and the brutality of the crackdown. Find clips on the CNN, Al Jazeera English , BBC News sites–in addition to those feature in The Lede (check previous posts on Syria for links to older material).

LISTEN: Deborah Amos is providing concise, interesting and accessible coverage on NPR [National Public Radio]. Select a recent item or a set (to provide more background) for a listening session in a social studies, history, or journalism class. (Some are listed in RESOURCES but search NPR for "syria deborah amos" for more items.)

READ/DISCUSS: To introduce the topic of the Syrian uprising and put it into a broader perspective assign Nour Ali’s article, This is a good place to start because it gives a very clear explanation of why what happened in Hama in 1982 resonates so deeply today (for both the people of Hama and the Assad regime).
  • What do Syrians think of when they hear "Hama 1982"?
  • What actions by the Muslim Brotherhood provoked the 1982 attack on Hama?
  • Is this an example of a disproportionate response? Students should back up what their answer with details about the indiscriminate loss of life, the destruction (leveling) of large swathes of the city. Encourage them to use additional RESOURCES on Hama will help them answer this question.
  • Why did people call this conflict the "war of the pyjamas"?
  • How have people’s memories of 1982 "fueled" the current uprising, especially in Hama?
  • Note how Mohamed's experience in 1982 connects with what he’s doing today. (The relevant parts could be extracted for a reading comprehension exercise, with this in mind, if you are unable to assign the entire article.)
  • For "why Hama" Larbi Sadiki’s article also offers insight–that includes a discussion of the larger societal-political picture when he goes on to blame "four layers of power for what happened in Hama."

INVESTIGATE: Using Nour Ali’s article ("Hama–The City That’s Defying Assad") as a starting point. ASK: What clues do you find here about Hama’s ancient and pre-modern history? Then send them to the web to learn more. A Google search of "hama waterwheels syria" turns up the videos listed in RESOURCES and plenty of other good info. WORLD HISTORY: These wheels are an important component of the "Muslim Agricultural Revolution" so this provides an excellent past/present tie-in. When so much in Hama was destroyed, even mosques, the survival of the wheels sends a message about their great cultural significance.

MATH CLASS: Show the short video "Waterwheels of Hama" (just part of it would suffice). The largest wheels are 20 meters in diameter. ASK students to convert this to feet. Then ask them to compute (using either meters or feet) the circumference of a wheel of this size and the area of the space enclosed. NEXT, to connect the results of these calculations with the immense size the wheels, show "Salto de cabeza desde las norias de Hama" and pause when the clip shows the man walking at the top the wheel (unpause to show him jumping off). There’s plenty of info on the web to grab for an entire math lesson (e.g. using statistics about how much water a wheel can lift per hour or minute).

SPANISH CLASS ("Bell Ringer" activity): Show (or project/pause) the clip "Salto de cabeza desde las norias de Hama" and ask students to TRANSLATE the caption which appears below the video (distribute a paper copy or put it on white/black board).
  • Caption text: "Escena captada en Hamma, Siria, donde los chavales se tiraban al río con apenas profundidad desde sus famosoas Norias de agua.
  • Explain the historical link between Syria and Spain (the Umayyad dynasty).
READ/DISCUSS/DEBATE: Assign Patrick Seale’s short article, "Way Out of the Syrian Crisis" and ask students to make a bullet list of problems facing Syria OTHER than sectarian or ethnic divisions. Then DISCUSS whether or not dialogue is a realistic solution to Syria’s national crisis. This will help to put the Syrian mosaic into a much broader perspective. This discussion could be a starting point for further research, followed by an in-class DEBATE on how Syrians might reform or restructure their political institutions.

READ/DISCUSS/DEBATE: As an alternative to the Seale article, assign Hugo Dixon’s "Can Non-Violent Struggle Bring Down Syria’s Assad?" Focus the discussion on the efficacy (or not) of non-violent tactics.
  • An excellent article to use when studying Gandhi’s efforts in India or the Civil Rights movement in the US (or other cases that are part of your curriculum).
HISTORY or PHILOSOPHY CLASS: If your world history, European history, or intellectual class includes the political theory of Hobbes, assign Larbi Sadiki, "In Syria, the Government Is the Real Rebel," to illustrate a contemporary, events-oriented engagement with those ideas. It is also a good item for POV analysis.

ANALYSIS: Speaking of POV, several op-ed contributions on the Asharq Alawsat provide excellent pieces for analysis. See especially those by Tariq Alhomayed. This news source has a very definite take on events in the Arab world, with a critical edge. Since the positions taken are clearly stated and strongly expressed, you can use items from this site to help students who find the concept of POV difficult.

GENERAL RESOURCES

"Recent Developments in Syria." Map and timeline [March 6 to August 3]. Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/interactive/idUSTRE77424P20110805?view=small&type=worldNews


  • Excellent: map shows locations of all major protests. Drag bar to go back to March 6 (check especially what was happening on the Fridays).
"Syria: Governorates."   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syria-blank-governorates.png
  • A governorate is a province. A handy map to consult when the names of provinces appear in news articles. Some province names are also names of cities, for example, Deir al-Zour.
Syria Comment: http://www.joshualandis.com/blog
  • Blog of Joshua Landis, a Syrian expert (married to a Syrian Alawite woman), who is frequently quoted in the media.
  • Great resource–since there are now 83 posts tagged "Syria Revolution 2011" (plus earlier posts for background). Posts are compendiums of Landis’s opinions (with links to news items), commentary on others’ opinions (with links, often excerpts or translations), and guest or re-published posts.
Asharq Al-Awsat: Arabic International Daily–English Edition. http://www.asharq-e.com/default.asp
  • See esp. opinion by editor-in-chief Tariq Alhomayed (a young but very experience journalist), who doesn’t pull any punches in his critiques of the Arab world’s responses to events in Syria. In addition to a BA in Media studies from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Alhomayed has worked towards a Master’s degree from George Washington University (Washington D.C) but is now based in London.

Historical Background


Heck, "Religion and the Authoritarian State: The Case of Syria" (2005): http://www.ou.edu/mideast/Additional%20pages%20-%20non-catagory/Heck_Religion.and.the.Authoritarian.State.pdf

  • Scholarly article with much important background info (college students could profit from reading part/all of it).
  • Browse links on the Syrian Studies Association web site for more high-quality material: http://www.ou.edu/ssa/links.htm

Fisk, Robert. "Ghosts from the Past: Syria’s 30 Years of Fear." Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies (June 24, 2010): http://www.dchrs.org/english/news.php?id=98&idC=3

Lund, Aron. "The Ghosts of Hama: The Bitter Legacy of Syria’s Failed 1979-1982 Revolution." URL: http://old.silc.se/files/pdf/The%20Ghosts%20of%20Hama%20by%20Aron%20Lund.pdf

Ali, Nour. "Hama–The City That’s Defying Assad." The Guardian (August 1, 2011): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/01/hama-syrian-city-defy-assad
  • Nour Ali is the pseudonym of a Damascus-based, very knowledgeable journalist.
VIDEO: "Waterwheels of Hama." 01:43 mins. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1meWUfXZP7o

VIDEO: "Salto de cabeza desde las norias de Hama." 0:33. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rhpwRlYEtc&NR=1


Discussion and Commentary  

(I decided to list these chronologically as opinions shift as events unfold, circumstances change.)

Seale, Patrick. "Way Out of the Syrian Crisis." Gulf News (July 22, 2011): http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/way-out-of-the-syrian-crisis-1.841275
Kodmani, Bassma. "To Topple Assad, It Takes a Minority." New York Times (July 31, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/to-topple-assad-it-takes-a-minority.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bassma%20kodmani&st=cse

Sadiki, Larbi. "In Syria, the Government Is the Real Rebel." Al Jazeera English (July 31, 2011): http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/07/2011731113293285318.html
  • Insight from Middle East expert, a lecturer at University of Exeter, UK
Dixon, Hugo. "Can Non-Violent Struggle Bring Down Syria’s Assad?" Breakingviews: Reuters (August 1, 2011): http://blogs.reuters.com/columns/2011/08/01/can-non-violent-struggle-bring-down-syrias-assad/

Hounshell, Blake and Josh Rogan. "The Last Stand of Bashar al-Assad?" The Cable : Foreign Policy (August 1, 2011): http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/01/the_last_stand_of_bashar_al_assad

Alhomayed, Tariq. "Syria: Closing Mosques and Launching Satellite Television Channels." Asharq Alawsat (August 2, 2011); http://www.asharq-e.com/print.asp?artid=id26110
Maclean, William. "Analysis: Syria Army Keeps Cohesion but Risks Overstretch." Reuters (August 2, 2011): http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/02/us-syria-army-idUSTRE7713FK20110802

King, John. Interview with Susan Rice. "U.N. Ambassador Rice on the Violence in Syria." Real Clear Politics (August 4, 2011): http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/08/04/in_ambassador_rice_on_the_violence_in-syria_110842.html

Slim, Randa. "Where’s Syria’s Business Community." Foreign Policy (August 5, 2011): http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/05/wheres_syrias_business_community

Alhomayed, Tariq. "Is Walid Muallem Joking?" Asharq Alawsat (August 7, 2011): http://www.asharq-e.com/print.asp?artid=id26167
  • Good piece for POV analysis, an Arab’s POV that considers the official Arab response to events in Syria–with a focus on Arabs as Arabs rather than as Muslims (though Islamic values of justice and respect for civilians is where he’s coming from–as shown in other essays). Note references to Iran and arms shipments from Tehran (reported elsewhere on this site).

RESOURCES: BREAKING NEWS

Mackey, Robert and Elizabeth Harris. "Video Shows Large Protest in Hama, Syrian City at Heart of Previous Uprising." The Lede: New York Times (July 1, 2011): http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/video-shows-syrian-protesters-in-hama/

Shadid, Anthony. "Syrian President Fires Governor in Charge of a Restive City." New York Times (July 2, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/world/middleeast/03syria.html?scp=18&sq=shadid+hama&st=nyt

Amos, Deborah. "Protesters Gather in Hama." NPR (July 8, 2011): http://www.npr.org/2011/07/08/137709656/protesters-gather-in-hama-syria

Oweis, Khaled Yacoub. "Tanks Shell East Syrian City, 5 Killed." Reuters (July 31, 2011): http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/30/uk-syria-idUKTRE76S3YW20110730

Amos, Deborah. "Syrian Government Escalates Crackdown Ahead of Ramadan." NPR (July 31, 2011): http://www.npr.org/2011/07/31/138875992/syrian-government-escalates-crackdown-ahead-of-ramadan

"Scores Dead’ as Syrian Tanks Storm Hama City." Al Jazeera English (July 31, 2011): http://englishaljazeera.net/english/middleeast/2011/07/201173143432348733.html

Bilefsky, Dan. "Video from Deadly Raids in Syria." The Lede: New York Times (July 31, 2011): http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/video-from-deadly-raids-in-syria/

Borzou Dargahi and Alexandra Sandels, "Syrian Forces Attack 4 Opposition Strongholds," Los Angeles Times (July 31, 2011): http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-fgw-syria-hama-20110801,0,7890854.story

Hammond, Andrew. "Arabs Angry Over Syria Crackdown but Governments Silent." Reuters (August 1, 2011): http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFL6E7J11PT20110801

Amos, Deborah. "Syrian Opposition Echoes Cry for Liberty or Death." NPR (August 2, 2011): http://www.npr.org/2011/08/02/138834930/syrian-opposition-echoes-cry-for-liberty-or-death

Ali, Nour and Ian Black. "Syrian Death Toll Rises in Crackdown." The Guardian (August 2, 2011): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/02/syria-deaths-protests-crackdown

"Al-Assad’s Reign Is Over," Asharq Alawsat (August 3, 2011): http://www.asharq-e.com/print.asp?artid=id26117.

Syria Unrest: Tanks ‘Advance’ on Beseiged City of Hama." BBC News (August 3, 2011): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14385981?print=true

Bakri, Nada and Rick Gladstone. "Casting Aside World Criticism, Syria Invades Town [online headline]." New York Times (August 3, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/world/middleeast/04syria.html?scp=1&sq=nada%20bakri%20rick%20gladstone%20syria&st=cse

Derhally, Massoud and Flavia Krause-Jackson. "Syrian Forces Shell Hama as UN Struggles for Agreement on Condeming Assad." Bloomberg (August 3, 2011): http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-03/syria-violence-escalates-as-un-struggles-for-agreement-on-condemning-assad.html

Goodman, David. "Video from Syria Shows Tanks in Hama." The Lede: New York Times (August 3, 2011):
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/video-from-syria-shows-tanks-in-hama/?scp=7&sq=syria&st=cse

Worsnip, Patrick. "U.N. Council Statement Condemns Use of Force." Reuters (August 3, 2011): http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/04/us-syria-un-idUSTRE7724EB20110804.

Sly, Liz. "Syrian Troops, Tanks Push into Hama." Washington Post (August 3, 2011): http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/syrian-troops-tanks-push-into-hama/2011/08/03/gIQAoZpsrI_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads

Bakri, Nada and Anthony Shadid. "Broadcasting Hama Ruins, Syria Says It Has Ended Revolt." New York Times (August 5, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/world/middleeast/06syria.html?scp=8&sq=syria&st=cse

Sly, Liz. "Syrian Forces Press Onslaught in Hama." Washington Post (August 4, 2011):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/syrian-forces-press-onslaught-in-hama/2011/08/04/gIQAy2QwuI_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads

Karouny, Mariam. "Syria’s Tribal Eastern Region Braces for Army Assault." Reuters (August 5, 2011): http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/05/us-syria-east-idUSTRE77440720110805

VIDEO: "News Wrap: Syrian Regime Proclaims Victory in Hama Crackdown." PBS Newshour (August 5, 2011): http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec11/othernews_08-05.html


  • Short video clips, but significant content on intensifying protests in Damascus (transcript available).
Knickeyer, Ellen. "Defiant Syrians Hold Huge Protests." Los Angeles Times (August 6, 2011): http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-syria-protests-20110806,0,2255646.story

"Syria Vows ‘Free Elections’ as Pressure Grows," Gulf News (August 6, 2011): http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syria-vows-free-elections-as-pressure-grows-1.848183

"Syrian Troops Kill at Least 52 People." Gulf News (August 7): http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/syrian-troops-kill-at-least-52-people-1.848557

Shadid, Anthony. "Syrian Military Pressure Mounts on Another City." New York Times (August 7, 2011): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/world/middleeast/08syria.html?scp=2&sq=syria&st=cse

 NOTES    (For full citations see RESOURCES sections.)

1) A: Quoted in Simon Burns, "A Spiritual Experience: Sufi Dhikr at Muhieddine Mosque." Forward Magazine (February 13, 2011):
http://www.forwardsyria.com/story/407/A%20spiritual%20experience:%20Sufi%20dhikr%20at%20Muhieddine%20Mosque. Al Yacoubi is a prominent Syrian Islamic scholar, well-traveled, with many followers. He now lives in Damascus but in the 1990s he was the Mufti of Sweden. B: Quoted by Deborah Amos in "Syrian Opposition Echoes Cry for Liberty or Death," NPR (August 2, 2011); in mid-March this fellow left grad school in Beirut to join the protest movement in Damascus. C: From "Way Out of the Syrian Crisis," Gulf News (July 22, 2011).

2) For example: David Ignatius, "Tom Donilon’s Arab Spring Challenge." Washington Post (April 26, 2011):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/tom-donilons-arab-spring-challenge/2011/04/26/AFWVE2sE_story.html; Liz Sly, "‘Doomsday Scenario’ if Syria Fails," Washington Post (May 1/2, 2011): http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/unrest-in-syria-threatens-regional-stability/2011/05/01/AF3OQtUF_story.html; Mariam Karouny, "Analysis: Civil War Fears Grow in Syria," Reuters (June 10, 2011): http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE7592T320110610

3) For an overview of the mosaic see my earlier post, "Syria’s Ancient and Modern Mosaic (Part I). The Alawites, about 10-12% of the population, are an offshoot of Shia Islam but historically resided outside the mainstream due to peculiar beliefs that suggest syncretism with other religious traditions (including Christianity); for a brief discussion see Christopherm Howse, "Secretive Sect of the Rulers of Syria," The Telegraph (August 5, 2011): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8684113/Secretive-sect-of-the-rulers-of-Syria.html.   They were mostly rural and poor prior to benefitting from the two Assad regimes. The Druze are abut 3% of the population. Despite having also emerged from Shia Islam, are more willing than the Alawites to accept a distinctive identity. The Christians, about 10% of the population, belong mostly to a number of Orthodox and Catholic denominations–and to different ethnic identities. More information will be presented in Part II (on mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam), Part III (Alawites, Druze, Christians and other religious identities), and Part IV (ethnic groups). In the meantime the presence in the army of both Alawites (dominating the officer class and a few crack units) and Sunnis (a few officers and many "foot-soldiers") is a critical factor; see William Maclean, "Analysis: Syria Army Keeps Cohesion but Risks Overstretch," Reuters (August 2, 2011).

4) In a speech on June 20 Assad talked about pursuing reform through national dialogue (convened, with little effect on July 10th), but it elicited anger almost immediately on the streets–where protesters threw shoes at and stomped on his portrait. The next day Assad’s supporters came out in force, unfurling a massive flag, and though not everyone in the crowd was a true fan of the president, it was clear that he did have genuine supporters. But security forces then attacked a university dormitory, where students had refused to join these pro-Assad demonstrations. See NYT (6-21). For economic factors see Ausama Monajed’s comments in Hugo Dixon, "Can Non-Violent Struggle Bring Down Syria’s Assad?" Breakingviews: Reuters (August 1, 2011). Randa Slim, "Where’s Syria’s Business Community." Foreign Policy (August 5, 2011).

5) Lachlan Carmichael, "US Hedges Its bets on Syria,"AFP (April 2): http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gmzQ9zxbgskrumsw9ON1Tu6VtdNw?docId=CNG.34b89149aa6e7d06680c9cf785978729.b21.  See also Ignatius (note 2).

6) Ali, Nour. "Hama–The City That’s Defying Assad." The Guardian (August 1, 2011). For a scholarly account see Aron Lund, "The Ghosts of Hama: The Bitter Legacy of Syria’s Failed 1979-1982 Revolution" (in RESOURCES). The minimum toll of 10,000 (most often cited) is based on Human Rights Watch data but estimates range up to 40,000.

7) Anthony Shadid, "Syrian President Fires Governor in Charge of a Restive City," New York Times (July 2, 2011).

8) Since the constitution requires that the president be a Muslim, when Hafez Assad took over in 1970 he arranged a formal recognition from Sunni clerics. Since then the Alawites appear to have moved closer to "orthodox" beliefs and practices. Bashar Assad’s wife is a Sunni. This will be discussed more in a subsequent post.

9) For the views of these young organizers, see especially Deborah Amos, Deborah, "Syrian Opposition Echoes Cry for Liberty or Death," NPR (August 2, 2011). See also Ausama Monajed, "In Syria, an Opening for the West to Bring about Assad’s Downfall," Washington Post (June 26, 2011): http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-syria-an-opening-for-the-west-to-bring-about-assads-downfall/2011/06/24/AGz4hcmH_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions.


10) Syrian human rights activists have acknowledged the sectarian aspect of these incidents but this view is not uncontested (others have blamed the regime for provoking them); Nour Ali and Ian Black, "Syrian Troops Kill 16 People in Homs," The Guardian (July 19, 2011): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/syria-troops-homs-security-crackdown; and Deborah Amos, "Syrian Opposition Echoes Cry for Liberty or Death" NPR (August 2, 2011). In a opinion piece Hussein Shobokshi (apparently drawing on sources inside Syria) alleges that the regime has tried to incite violence between Sunnis and Alawites and between Muslims and Christians; see "Al-Assad’s Reign Is Over," Asharq Alawsat (August 3, 2011). U.S. Ambassdor Ford is remains convinced that the protesters are committed to peaceful tactics; see Lachlan Carmichael, "Syria Protesters Ask Obama to Demand Assad Resign," AFP (August 3, 2011). Some organizers have received training in non-violent tactics, as reported in Hugo Dixon, "Can Non-Violent Struggle Bring Down Syria’s Assad?" Breakingviews: Reuters (August 1, 2011).
11) Patrick Worsnip, "U.N. Council Statement Condems Use of Force." Reuters (August 3, 2011); John King, interview with Susan Rice, "U.N. Ambassador Rice on the Violence in Syria." Real Clear Politics (August 4, 2011).

12) Anna Fiifield, "‘Time to Think about the Day After Assad,’" Financial Times (August 2, 2011). Despite Assad’s recent military advances, several commentators see these as detrimental in the long-run; as reported by Lachlan Carmichael, "Syria Protesters Ask Obama to Demand Assad Resign," AFP (August 3, 2011). Syrian expert Andrew Tabler thinks that neither Assad’s political nor his military strategies are not working; see Ellen Knickmeyer, "Defiant Syrians Hold Huge Protests," Los Angeles Times (August 6, 2011). Kickmeyer quotes a Damacus lawyer, who labels Syria "a failed state." A draft of the party law (now officially promulgated) states that no parties based on religious, tribal or ethnic beliefs–nor any discriminating against a gender or a race would be recognized (in accordance with the Baath Party’s historically non-sectarian principles; see Liz Sly, "Syria Permits Opposition Parties on Restrictive Terms," Washington Post (July 25, 2011): http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/syria-permits-opposition-parties-on-restrictive-terms/2011/07/25/gIQAGiWyYI_story.html.  For elections and the arrest of the al-Bunni family, see Gulf News (August 6, 2011). The background of the al-Bunni’s is apparently Christian.

13) Among the abundant media coverage, see esp. Khaled Yacoub Oweis, "Tanks Shell East Syrian City, 5 Killed," Reuters (July 30, 2011); Borzou Dargahi and Alexandra Sandels, "Syrian Forces Attack 4 Opposition Strongholds," Los Angeles Times (July 31, 2011); Liz Sly and Joby Warrick, "Syrian Forces Intensify Assault on Hama," Washington Post (August 1, 2011); Massoud Derhally and Flavia Krause-Jackson, "Syrian Forces Shell Hama as UN Struggles for Agreement on Condeming Assad." Bloomberg (August 3, 2011); "Syria Unrest: Tanks ‘Advance’ on Besieged City of Hama," BBC News (August 3, 2011). For video footage see "Syrian Tanks Move into Hama, Drawing International Protest," Global Post (August 3, 2011); Dan Bilefsky, "Video from Deadly Raids in Syria." The Lede: New York Times (July 31, 2011). For the oil fields (which account for one-third of Syria’s export revenue), see Lachlan Carmichael, "Syria Protesters Ask Obama to Demand Assad Resign," AFP (August 3, 2011).  

14) Nour Ali, "Hama–The City That’s Defying Assad." The Guardian (August 1, 2011).

15) Liz Sly, Liz. "Protests Erupt Across Syria in Defiance of Crackdown." Washington Post (August 5, 2011). For video footage of these protests see esp. PBS Newshour (August 5, 2011). For chants (quoted from videos posted online), see Andrew Osborn, "Syria: Dimity Medvedev Warns Bashar al-Assad," The Telegraph (August 5, 2011): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8684255/Syria-Dmitry-Medvedev-warns-Bashar-al-Assad-to-prepare-for-sad-fate.html.  For Damascus see Ellen Knickmeyer, "Defiant Syrians Hold Huge Protests." Los Angeles Times (August 6, 2011). There have been mass protests in Damascus every night this week (according to "Alexander Page" on PBS).

16) For these tolls see various news articles for the week of August 1-7, including: Nour Ali and Ian Black, "Syrian Death Toll Rises in Crackdown." The Guardian (August 2, 2011); "Syrian Troops Kill at Least 52 People." Gulf News (August 7). For tolls as of June 28th, see web site of Avaaz, an international human rights organization, URL: http://www.avaaz.org/act/media.php?press_id=262 (check site for updates). Updates are often provided by activists with contacts in Syria, such as those cited in Derhally/Krause-Jackson, (source of the 500 killed on the government side).

17) Anthony Shadid, "Syrian Military Pressure Mounts on Another City," New York Times (August 7, 2011).

18) For Ban Ki-Moon and the Turkish deputy prime minister, see Nada Bakri and Rick Gladstone, "Syria Sends in Tanks to Storm Center of Rebellious City," New York Times (August 3, 2011). Andrew Osborn,"Syria: Dimitry Medvedev warns Bashar al-Assad," The Telegraph (August 5, 2011) (see note 15). For the Arab world’s response see Andrew Hammond, "Arabs Angry Over Syria Crackdown but Governments Silent" Reuters (August 1, 2011); "Syria Vows ‘Free Elections’ as Pressure Grows," Gulf News (August 6, 2011); and opinion essays on the Asharq Alawsat site.

19) Nada Bakri and Anthony Shadid, "Syrians Strike Restive Cities, Killing Dozens," New York Times (August 1, 2011). Alhomayed, Tariq. "Syria: Closing Mosques and Launching Satellite Television Channels." Asharq Alawsat (August 2, 2011).

20) For access to arms see Mariam Karouny, "Syria’s Tribal Eastern Region Braces for Army Assault" Reuters (August 5, 2011); Shadid, "Syrian Military Pressure Mounts on Another City, New York Times (August 7, 2011).

21) Robert Mackey, "Video of a Syrian Protest Anthem." The Lede: New York Times (July 21): http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/video-of-a-syrian-protest-anthem/. "Syria Vows ‘Free Elections’ as Pressure Grows," Gulf News (August 6, 2011).

22) Note esp. unnamed Damacus reporter with leading by-line (with Anna Fifield in Washington) in the Financial Times (August 4, 2011); Nidaa Hassan (The Guardian); Nour Ali (The Guardian); unnamed correspondent in Damascus (Los Angeles Times), as indicated in Knickmeyer; "Alexander Page" in the PBS segment.

23) Lachlan Carmichael, "Syria Protesters Ask Obama to Demand Assad Resign," AFP (August 3, 2011). Blake Hounshell and Josh Rogan, "The Last Stand of Bashar al-Assad?" The Cable (August 1, 2011). For Alawites as the key, see Bassma Kadmani, "To Topple Assad, It Takes a Minority," New York Times (August 1, 2011).
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)