GSPIA Interns’ blogs

Unrest, Chants and Detention in Syria
March 24th, 2011 | WaQas Yousafzai
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N.B: This blog was written months prior to posting due to the risks inherent in blogging about current affairs in Syria while being physically present in Syria.
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It seems like a perfect time for me to write a quick blog entry.  Surrounded by regional unrest of the Arab world, Syria is finally getting the press it deserves. International media has been largely pre occupied with Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and now Gaddafi’s Libya. Syria, which has been under Baath party’s leadership and ruled under emergency law ensures limited anti-government activities. It is known for its human rights record with political and human rights activists being frequent targets of its secret security services apparatus. The Baath party’s control over the population and the nation’s entire political system is evident in the fact that the Baath party is legally the only party allowed to exist under the emergency law in place due to the threat to the Syrian state caused by Israel’s existence. This justification has been used to ensure the continuous prolonging and postponement of a president-for-life style political system. My knowledge and experience in dealing with the security services (mukhabarat in arabic) had been limited to the regular “watch what you say and who you talk to” “be aware of your surroundings” “don’t panic if you are followed” types of banter from those in the diplomatic and foreign community circles of Damascus. This changed on March 19th, when I was forcefully kidnapped (Canadian terminology) or detained (diplomatic terminology) or arrested (Syrian terminology) by armed civilian clothed agents of the secret police in Damascus. Taking a taxi ride from a soiree at a diplomat’s house to my apartment, the mukhabarat waited for my friends in the taxi to leave and then rushed and arrested me. I was put in a vehicle and taken in for questioning (told to me after 2 hours of detention) at an unknown police building in an unidentified car with four unidentified people. I have been followed a few times in and around Damascus up till this point, but I thought this was a bit extreme. Syria has been shaky due to the regional unrest and it has put the secret police on edge and some of this behaviour against foreigners can be chalked off to this. My arrest may have to do with the fact that I attended the criminal court proceedings of a human rights activist, or the fact that I attended initial anti-government protesters as part of a team of international observers, or simply being out late when the country is trying to grapple with national unrest. Needless to say, the experience has been eye opening and remarkable. I felt relatively lucky and secure in knowing senior diplomats at the Canadian embassy during this ordeal. After contacting and informing them that I was in trouble, I was relived because if this had not been the case, my experience would have been hellish.
During the questioning period, I had the most interesting experience I have had in Syria. Due to my ethnic, cultural and geographical background – the secret police did not believe me when I mentioned that I was a Canadian student, working at the Canadian embassy. I had to explain why my name is Waqas (Arabic) and why I was born in Qatar. If I am infact telling the truth, why do I not look like an Arab? Explaining to them that my parents are of Pakistani origin only further complicated the story and led them to simply chalk me off as someone working for outside powers and a ‘foreign nuisance’ causing problems in Syria. Most Syrians do not travel extensively and the limits of the average Syrian travel is quite literally just Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and, if they are adventurous, Turkey. My first week in Syria, I was identified as Ukranian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Indian and a host of latin American countries. How anyone in their right mind can think I am  Japanese, Chinese, Brazilian or Russian is evidence of the general Syrian global disconnect. In stark contrast to my experience in Morroco, I was identified as a Pakistani of northern origins bordering Afghanistan. It was mind blowing to have complete strangers identify your ethnicity down to a specific region. But this was Morroco, a country that has received waves of tourists from around the globe making the domestic population very aware of a world outside Morroco even if they did not travel much themselves. Needless to say, my story was too confusing and did not seem plausible to the Syrian security forces.
The experience was also rewarding in that I was able to glimpse into the life of an average Syrian shabab (Youth in Arabic) who has to deal with similar situations on a day-to-day basis. Had I not been a non-western passport holder or simply looked western, I would not have been able to get this perspective. On a more macro level, there have been non-stop pro- and anti-government demonstrations in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and other major cities. Rallies include non stop car honking and chanting throughout the day while car speakers blast continuous slogans. Windows and trunks of cars are taped with the Syrian flag and people are holding large Syrian flags in their hands as they hang off the side of the car. At night, the convoys of cars and shababs drive through neighbourhoods continuing a similar pattern. The situation is pretty surreal as you hear nationalistic, religious and ethnic chanting in all forms that keeps residents up all night. Some choose to voice it themselves, others use large speakers set up in front of their houses or shops. Needless to say, we live in very interesting times as far as the Middle East is concerned. That is all for now, hope rest is well in Ottawa.
waQas Yousafzai | GSPIA | UOttawa

waQas Youafzai :  Damascus, Syria - March 15th 2011

Greetings from Damascus!

To me, the whole experience of living in this region is more than the typical sights of 9 year old kids driving motor bikes on crowded highways against traffic flow and people risking their lives every day by running across busy highways and getting on dodgy busses being driven at reckless speeds by reckless drivers. The reason I picked the Middle East, and in my mind, the right choice, was evident when I went to beautiful Beirut for a quick five day trip this past week and got to experience an incredible event – a political rally with a passion.
Political rallies and protests are rather common in the region currently, however – across the Atlantic in Canada, low voter turn out at all levels of government is a serious concern. So much so there is an entire body of literature looking at low voter turn out and various methods to be employed to eliminate voter apathy. Such research is absolutely unnecessary in this region as demonstrated by the swaths of people that show up to public rallies and protests here. Being in Lebanon on Sunday, March 13, for the annual March 14th alliance rally, named after the Cedar Revolution, was an intense experience. The alliance is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon that call for sovereignty over all Lebanese territories, led by MP Saad Hariri, younger son of Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated years ago. Despite tanks, armed police and security forces surrounding Beirut, the tension in the air could be felt as the rally continued in full swing. The flags of Lebanon, the Kataeb (Phalange), Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces were waved and painted on people’s faces, and worn as scarves, capes and headdresses. Days before the rally itself, the voices of prominent politicians were broadcasted on TV, radio, and in downtowns of Lebanese cities. Chanting and non-stop political chatter could be heard from businesses, homes and cars throughout Beirut adding to the significance of the rally. Due to the entire downtown core of Beirut being in lock down, it was impossible to drive out of Beirut without driving through thousands of supporters. Supporters that believe strongly in a sovereign Lebanon (hence against the presence of Syrian forces in Lebanon up until full withdrawal in 2008). This is where it got very interesting. I, a Jordanian national and a UK national heading to Damascus in a Syrian plated car have no choice but to head through the rally to get to the main highway connecting Beirut to Damascus - dotted with police check points. The supporters of the alliance, noticing the Syrian plates and realizing the destination of the car (licence plates of vehicles going between borders and offering transportation between Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey are different from personal, diplomatic and commercial licence plates) started harassing the driver and shouting anti-Syria and anti-Bashar chants. Simultaneously rally goers started to bang on the hood, windows and trunk of the car causing the driver distress and forcing him to manoeuvre quickly through the crowd so not to stay in the same location for too long before the situation got out of hand (we almost completely ran over two people to get out of this situation). In direct contrast to this experience, just hours ago - speaking to the army to get permission to walk through the downtown streets that were closed off to get to the taxi stop – we were asked where we were trying to go. After mentioning Damascus as our final destination and asking for permission to take photographs of the rally, we were encouraged by the M-16 armed army personnel to ‘maximize’ the photos. After further elaboration through hand gestures, we realized he wanted us to “tell peoples” and maximize exposure of the rally outside of Lebanon. Needless to say, in this part of the world, everyone has a political opinion and everyone tries to have their voice heard. Sadly, such can not be said for Canada, where despite having a well educated population, clear channels to express political wishes and a solid Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian public continues to be disinterested and unaware.

Until next time, Massalama

waQas Yousafzai | GSPIA

Salamalikum tout le monde,

Hope all is well in our nation’s capital and it isn’t too cold for the daily commute (my first, last and only weather reference - it had to be made as it is after all a Canadian staple of conversation)

Today I wanted to briefly write about how easy it is for Canadians to disconnect ourselves from the world at large (yes, there is more to it than US, EU and ‘hot sizzling winter get aways’ further south). As I was flying from Vienna to Damascus, the plane took a very interesting route that sparked a long drawn out dialogue in my mind. Flying in a very comfortable, almost-empty Austrian Airlines airbus, it is almost too easy to commute over the very cities that are the subject matter of countless policy documents, military and defense papers, political debates and global headlines. The plane flew over Beirut en route to Damascus, less than 150 kilometers from the West bank and 300 from Gaza, sparking a déjà vu moment from my flight over Baghdad in 2008 from Dubai. The cities have established water, electric and transportation infrastructure, active populations and from 30,000ft - the appearance of any other major Middle Eastern city. Yet, as I was flying over them I couldn’t help but think about the daily life of citizens in Baghdad under constant military oversight, or the bombings that destroyed most of Southern Lebanon including swaths of Beirut - the beautiful second oldest continuously inhabited city after Damascus. Moreover, I couldn’t help think about West Bank, Golan heights, Palestine, and the broader culturally, politically, religiously, and ethnically contentious ‘Middle east issue’. The historic and modern political and economic links between Damascus, Beirut, Tehran, Amman, Cairo, Baghdad and Jerusalem are all very complicated and require an undergraduate degree in the region’s history to even begin to understand them. Living oceans away from global military conflict zones, the average Canadian does not hear much or give a second thought to the issues plaguing other regions of our globe. In fact, as I have seen first hand, even when you do head in that general direction you can fly right over them without even realizing the significance and extent of the issues. I mean it looks just fine - what’s with all the commotion? Despite being well intentioned and making a full conscious effort to be well-informed, the regional issues of this part of the world are entirely too easy to skip. The recent disappointing Canadian performance at the U.N in October is just one symptom of this general lack of interest and global Canadian disconnect.

Arriving in Damascus, just like when I was flying over Baghdad - I once again mentally make a note to not forget about the ongoing issues and our duty as members of the global collective to work towards a prosperous and healthy state of international affairs for all. However, this time that objective can be better achieved to a much smaller degree via this internship and I whole-heartedly thank everyone involved in making it a reality.

Until next time, Masalama et Au revoir.

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waQas Yousafzai
Damascus, Syria

Cela fait plus d’un mois que je suis arrivée à Damas.  Je me souviens à peine des débuts un peu difficiles, où je me sentais complètement vulnérable devant ce monde inconnu.   Un mois après, le monde inconnu  est devenu mon propre monde.   J’aurais voulu écrire plus tôt pour rendre compte de mon expérience, mais cette ville me donne peu de temps libre.  Les journées à l’ambassade sont bien remplies.  Je vois rarement le temps passer, car je suis toujours en train de terminer un rapport, rencontrer un contact de l’Ambassade, organiser un évènement ou bien rédiger un communiqué de presse.  La saison automnale s’annonce très occupée à l’Ambassade du Canada  à Damas.  La semaine dernière, l’Ambassade a organisé pour la première fois une Foire d’éducation, qui a réuni 12 universités canadiennes venues recruter des étudiants syriens.  Plus de 450 personnes ont assisté à la Foire, ce qui souligne une fois de plus la popularité grandissante du Canada comme destination pour les études postsecondaires.   En ce moment, comme la plupart des missions canadiennes, nous sommes en train de préparer la cérémonie commémorative du Jour du Souvenir.  De tels évènements demandent beaucoup de coordination et requièrent d’excellentes aptitudes interpersonnelles.   Par ailleurs, il n’y a aucune place à l’erreur quand il est question d’évènements de telle envergure.

Mais ce ne sont pas seulement les journées qui sont remplies à Damas, mais aussi les soirées.   Damas est une ville en pleine effervescence.  Le printemps de Damas  embaume cette ville dix années après - la scène culturelle est de plus en plus riche et diversifiée, et les Syriens sont toujours au rendez-vous.  Je me rappelle d’avoir assisté à trois vernissages en une seule semaine, ce que je fais rarement au Canada.  Chaque jeudi – qui est le dernier jour de la semaine avant le week-end -, je me rends à la Maison d’Opéra, où sont présentés des concerts et des spectacles pour tous les genres musicaux.  La semaine dernière, en collaboration avec l’Ambassade de la Pologne, l’Opéra a présenté un hommage à Chopin.

Une fois les rideaux levés, nos pas nous amènent vers la  Vieille ville, où nous nous perdons encore et encore, comme si la destination finale n’avait aucune importance.  Et tout d’un coup, nous apercevons un café dans lequel nous entrons pour noyer nos souvenirs  dans le ciel étoilé de Damas.  Alors qu’ailleurs le temps passe vite, il bat à un rythme différent à Damas.  Parfois, surtout pendant la journée quand je suis à l’Ambassade,  je sens qu’il va à rythme très accéléré.  Mais le soir, quand je me retrouve à nouveau en Syrie, le temps s’arrête; le temps flâne, le temps nous accompagne vers la nuit.

Je reconnais la chance que j’aie de  vivre une telle expérience, ce qui confirme mon intérêt de me joindre au Ministère des Affaires étrangères en qualité d’agent du service extérieur.  Je n’ai pas seulement envie de voyager pour découvrir des pays; je veux vivre dans différents pays, découvrir de nouvelles cultures, et partager le quotidien de ces gens que je ferai mien.  Certes, les débuts peuvent être difficiles, mais la période d’adaptation  - la transition - se fait tout doucement sans que l’on se rende compte.  Et cette nouvelle ville qui peut paraître hostile deviendra tout d’un coup notre décor, notre environnement et notre quotidien.   Ce sentiment, je l’ai ressenti, alors que je me rendais au travail par un matin ensoleillé.  J’ai pris un taxi jaune pour me rendre à l’Ambassade, et en regardant par la fenêtre, j’ai eu l’impression que j’ai toujours vécu ici.

Je profite du temps qui me reste, car malheureusement, même si le rythme à Damas bat autrement, les deux mois qui me restent sont bien comptés.   Je saisis donc  chaque instant en me disant que ce n’est que le début d’une belle aventure sous le ciel – à la fois bleu et gris - de Damas.