It was an explosion of a profound and entrenched desire for change.

by Assaad Al Achi

An uprising in Syria? People defying the fifty-year rule of one of the most totalitarian regimes in the Middle East? If you had asked me in early March 2011 whether this could be possible, I would have said, “No way”. How wrong I was.

The March 2011 uprising revealed to us the Syria we didn’t know. It was an explosion of a profound and entrenched desire for change. The cries of our burgeoning youth were loud and clear: the fifty-year status quo is not acceptable anymore. Change is inevitable. Or so we thought as we hoped and worked hard for our country’s future.

The first two years of the uprising were full of hope and dreams for a better Syria – a Syria for all Syrians, where democracy, rule of law, and respect for basic rights would be the norm. The protesters on the street, the media activists, the citizen-journalists all did their best to highlight the creativity and ingenuity of the protest movement. Initially calling for reforms and the end of a fifty-year state of emergency, the demands of the movement expanded as the regime’s response got more violent, until the protestors eventually called for the full dismantling of the system. Instead of deterring and quelling opposition, the regime’s violence only enflamed passions and pushed more and more people to join in and demand radical change.

Alas, the regime’s prolonged, sustained, and intense use of violence pushed the revolutionary movement to gradually militarise itself in self-defence. This led to the appearance and infiltration of extremist organisations and over time the narrative shifted away from a young dynamic movement for freedom, dignity, democracy, and equal citizenship and towards a fight against terrorism.

Does that mean that the hope for change is over? Absolutely not! The nascent Syrian civil society movement remains the torchbearer of the original ideals of the uprising and the real anchor for peace, justice, and change. Indeed, it has been a strong actor on the ground throughout the years of the conflict, responding to the humanitarian crisis, documenting the horrific human rights violations from all sides in preparation for an accountability process, and investing in society to further civic ideals and protect the social fabric of our country from completely shattering. 

Assaad Al Achi is Executive Director of Baytna, an organisation founded in 2013 with the main objective of empowering and strengthening civil societies and democracy across the Middle East and North Africa. It strives to promote human rights, accountability, and civil liberties – the core values of the 2011 Syrian uprising.

Originally published in Ten Years Later – How the Arab Spring changed the world, by Jack Dickens, December 17, 2020, Reaction.