Friday, May 10th, 2013 <\/i><\/p>\n
As I begin to compose this, I hear what sounds like artillery and rocket fire in the distance, mixed with occasional small arms and possible explosions. Most of their targets must be far away, because I don\u2019t hear them hit.\u00a0 The explosions may or may not be something else.<\/p>\n
I guess that after two years of fighting it is not surprising that the Syrians take it in stride, and life is surprisingly normal, if hard, for the slightly more than half of Syrians that have not been killed or displaced.\u00a0 It\u2019s a terrible statistic, equal to almost 10 million out of a total population of 23 million.<\/p>\n
The delegation has been disrupted several times by changes of plan.\u00a0 Our visas were delayed, so our time was lengthened in Lebanon and shortened in Syria, with additional days added at the end.\u00a0 Then, on our first day in Syria, our appointment with Dr. Kinda Shammat, Minister of Social Affairs, was canceled by a cabinet meeting called by President Assad, leaving us with only an improvised outing to an affected neighborhood, which I missed because of a faulty telephone in my hotel room.<\/p>\n
That evening was a large meeting of Mussalaha members from all over Syria talking about their war experiences and the intervention of Mussalaha to turn tragedy into reconciliation.\u00a0 One of them was the celebrated case of a nine-year-old Christian boy named Sari Saoud, killed by rebels in Homs.\u00a0 His body was taken by the rebels, but his mother, Georgina al-Jammal caught up with them, and her embrace of her dead son was captured on video by the rebels, who then falsified the account to make it appear that the boy had been killed by government forces.<\/p>\n
I talked with Georgina, who supports the government, but blames it for leaving the area without protection. She told me that she recognized some of the rebels from the neighborhood, but that others were strangers.\u00a0 Part of the story can be found here<\/a>, by Syrian Arab Television. It has a strong dose of propaganda but the important parts are factual and sincere.\u00a0 Another account is available here<\/a>.\u00a0 It is cruder and more amateurish, and only party subtitled, but it includes some of the footage shot by the rebels and their clumsy attempt to disguise the killing.\u00a0 It is also quite graphic and captures the terrible moment of the Georgina\u2019s attempt to revive her dead son.<\/p>\n I also met a woman by the name of Shaikha Asya al-Mashi, part of a prominent Muslim family in Raqqa.\u00a0 Her brother-in-law was offered an enormous sum of money to leave and turn over his properties to the rebels.\u00a0 When he refused, he was killed outside his home, where the family listened to him die.\u00a0 I offered to suppress her name and photo, but she defiantly insisted that I publish them.<\/p>\n I do not wish to dwell on these stories, but several things impressed me about them and the Mussalaha gathering:<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 The witnesses and attendees represented a wide range of communities, both geographically and in terms of confession.\u00a0 Mussalaha is a diverse and accessible organization that reaches many Syrians.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 There are varying degrees of support for the regime itself, but there are clearly many Syrians that support the regime\u2019s attempt to restore order.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Part of the evening\u2019s program consisted of an open mike where anyone who wanted could tell their story and ask for Mussalaha\u2019s intervention in their community.<\/p>\n 4. Much of the evening was lost on the delegates because it was all in Arabic and interpretation was inconsistent and hard to hear.\u00a0 My Arabic was of some help, but I missed a lot.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 We did not hear from the other side.<\/p>\n To elaborate on point number 5, there are Lebanese allies of the armed opposition and opposition fighters in Lebanon.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think it is impossible to meet them, but I\u2019m not sure it is possible for Mussalaha to make such arrangements.\u00a0 Mussalaha has contacts with such parties for the purpose of prisoner exchanges and reconciliation.\u00a0 However, offering us the chance to confer with such parties could possibly put them in jeopardy with the regime.\u00a0 Mussalaha tries to develop trust with everyone, but I suspect that there is a line that they dare not cross for fear of losing their mandate to operate.<\/p>\n Having said that, my experience with the nonviolent opposition is that they, too, are intolerant of the point of view of Syrians that support the regime in any way, and do not want this rather large segment of Syrian society to have a voice in Syria\u2019s future, because that voice is necessarily the regime\u2019s.\u00a0 As long as some Syrians refuse to respect the views of other Syrians, I fear for Syria\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Early the next morning I began to feel the effects of stomach poisoning, so I spent the day in bed until we met briefly as a delegation.\u00a0 We then received a visit from Dr. Jihad Lahham, President of the Parliament.\u00a0 He made a point of the fact that he is from the opposition, but the \u201cloyal\u201d opposition, saying that he would like very much for Assad to find himself in the opposition for a few years.\u00a0 I left later that evening, still on an empty stomach.<\/p>\n Altogether, we had too many meetings with too many dignitaries, all of whom had essentially the same message.\u00a0 After one interview upon arrival, I stopped giving them for fear that I would appear to be part of a propaganda machine.\u00a0 Mairead and most of the others were careful to speak of our solidarity with the Syrian people, not the regime or any other party, but Syrian News kept filming us with dignitaries of the same general stripe.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was too much to expect anything different.\u00a0 For security reasons we were housed at the Dama Rose Hotel, the most secure hotel in Damascus, because there is no doubt that we were a potential rebel target and an opportunity to embarrass the government.\u00a0 However, the reason it is the most secure is that it is also the plushest and most expensive hotel, and therefore the hangout of all sorts of government VIPs.\u00a0 Even hosted by Mussalaha, which has built trust with a wide spectrum of elements in Syria, it is exceedingly difficult to get as full a picture as we wanted and needed.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, we learned a lot, and I had to leave before the end of the visit, because the schedule had migrated beyond my original departure date, which I could not change because of personal obligations.\u00a0 I am eager to know what happened after my departure, and may yet have some more hopeful news in a later report.\u00a0 I also helped to draft two declarations for the delegation and want to share them with you, but only after they have been approved by the group, with amendments.\u00a0 I may also have further news about initiatives that were developed as a result of the visit.<\/p>\n Thank you for continuing to support peace.<\/p>\n *********************<\/p>\n The Mussalaha Delegation to Syria<\/b>:<\/p>\n William R. Stanley (USA)<\/strong> Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA. – A bipolar view of conflict resolution that began with enlisting in the Marine Corps and service in Korea 1952-53. Starting in 1964 while undertaking field work for the Ph.D. and continuing through the present, yearly research endeavors in various corners of Africa and the Middle East. Realizing that there always are weapons for warfare and men to use them, alternative options had to be explored. Visited the Falklands in early 1983 following that conflict to assess attitudes amongst the Islanders regarding long term political relationships; official election monitor in the northern (Ovamboland) region of Southwest Africa-Namibia during the November 1989 vote organized by the UN; frequent visitor to Sierra Leone and Liberia during their recent implosions. Received two Alexander von Humboldt Fellowships: National Geographic Society financial support, and Fulbright fellowship for research in Namibia. An active investigator, I continue to write on issues of conflict and possible resolution.<\/p>\n Marinella Coreggia (Italy)<\/b>\u00a0Italian journalist and writer in the field of ecological justice; and an ecological farmer, Marinella Correggia, has been active for peace since 1991. Associated with the No War Network, she co-organized many demonstrations in Rome, petitions to the UN, sending information to some Un missions in Geneva, writing articles and conferences.<\/p>\n Mel Duncan (USA)<\/b>\u00a0is Director of Advocacy and Outreach, Nonviolent Peaceforce. Mel Duncan is the founding Executive Director and current Advocacy and Outreach Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP). Modeled on the Gandhian concept of Shanti Sena, Nonviolent Peaceforce is composed of trained citizens from around the world. Mr. Duncan has 40 years of experience organizing and advocating nonviolently for peace, justice, and the environment. He currently focuses on advancing the recognition, policy and funding support for nonviolent peacekeeping at the UN.<\/p>\n Tiffany Easthom (Canada)<\/b>\u00a0She is Country Director for South Sudan for Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) which is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) engaged in the creation of a large-scale unarmed peacekeeping force, composed of specially trained civilians. Prior to becoming NP\u2019s Country Director in South Sudan, Tiffany served as Country Director at NP\u2019s Sri Lanka project as well as Country Director for Peace Brigades International in Indonesia.<\/p>\n Denning Isles (Australia)<\/b>\u00a0is a graduate of Welsey Institute, majoring in Audio Technology (2008). He currently works for Fr. David Smith with Fighting Fathers Ministries, in which he supports various youth and community organizations such as Dulwich Hill\u2019s Holy Trinity Youth Center, Binacrombi Camp Site and the Dulwich Hill Gym.<\/p>\n Franklin Lamb (USA)<\/b>\u00a0is an international lawyer based in Beirut-Washington, DC. A former Assistant Counsel of the House Judiciary Committee of the US Congress, Lamb has written widely on Middle East issues as part of his commitment to the cause of Palestine.<\/p>\n Paul Larudee (USA)<\/b> is a former Ford foundation project supervisor, and Fulbright-Hays lecturer in Lebanon, and a U.S. government advisor to Saudi Arabia. He has been a faculty member at several universities in the San Francisco Bay Area, an organizer with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine and co-founder of the movement to break the Israeli siege of Gaza by sea, and was aboard the boats that succeeded in doing so in 2008 as well as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was attacked by Israeli forces on May 31, 2010. He is a cofounder of the Global March to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n Amir M. Maasoumi (Canada)<\/b>\u00a0is a sociologist, specialist of contemporary Islam, intercultural and interfaith relations, dialogue among cultures and civilizations. He is also a peace, social justice and human rights activist.<\/p>\n Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland)<\/b>\u00a0is Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) Hon. President, Co-Founder Peace People, Northern Ireland. Mairead (Corrigan) Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) Hon. President and Co-founder of the Peace People, Northern Ireland. Mairead was responsible for co-founding the Peace People. She has received many honors and awards, including an honorary doctorate from Yale University, the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation\u2019s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award and the Nobel Peace Prize Award (l976).<\/p>\n