Snow is rare in Syria. Like everywhere else in the world, children celebrate it in the streets and enjoy playing with it. This year, the snow that covered most of the country at the end of January, has also become an occasion for Syrians to display their creativity under the extreme pressure they face on a daily basis. The storytelling of the Syrian uprising has found its way through snow too. In response to Assad´s latest speech, in which he repeatedly delegitimized and criminalized protesters, Syrians displayed their messages, once again, in creative ways. Cities and villages all over the country witnessed “snow demonstrations”, with snowmen holding revolutionary flags, banners and posters. “Go away” was the most repeated message. “God, Syria, our snow and nothing else”, in response to Assad supporters’ chant “God, Syria, Bachar and nothing else”.
The “revolutionary snowmen” were photographed and widely shared online, through Facebook pages such as the “Free people of Tartus”:
Message: We came from the oceans, we were transformed by the winds of conspiracy, we appeared in Qadmus... and we will overthrow you, even if we melt under your fire.
Bashar el Assad had his snow replica as well, as the video where children of Talbisah can be seen throwing snowballs at him shows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybB3wSqF3_w
Demonstrations took place under the snow near the Damascus presidential palace, with protestors engaging in flashmobs and chanting the same demand they have been chanting for two years: “The people want to overthrow the regime”.
Renown activists and members of the opposition also spread the word about the “Snow Revolution”, like Michel Shammas, a lawyer known for his work defending Syrian prisoners of conscience.
Even though the snow was enjoyed by many, there is not much to celebrate this year in Syria. The snow has added to the suffering of the majority of the population, who are facing extreme hardship. Images of homeless people sleeping in the cold, children on the verge of hipothermy both inside the country and in refugee camps throughout the region have been widely shared in an attempt to raise awareness about the dramatic situation the Syrian people face and demand assistance to those who need it the most, accompanied with the following messages:
“We don’t want snow, we want a warm house for every displaced child”.
“This year, snow brings no joy to my country, where children sleep in the open”
Photos of the graves of Syrian victims were also widely shared. The facebook page Ahfad Alkawakibi accompanied the photos with a powerful message: “The graves of the martyrs of Homs: white (souls) covered in white”.
All throughout the country the message was the same that Syrians have been repeating for two years now: We want freedom. Even snowmen want freedom.