One of the unknown faces of the Syrian revolution is Horan’s revolutionary artist, who chooses to remain anonymous and does not share any details about his personal life out of fear for his safety. He lives in Daraa, where he witnessed the birth of the revolution. “I was there from day one,” he said. “I joined the protest in front of the Omari Mosque, and it was a day I, like many others, had long awaited.”

Early in the revolution, the artist began designing signs for protests in Daraa. “I did it in complete secrecy,” he said. “Only three others knew that I was preparing the banners.”

He remembers the hardships they faced at the start of the revolution. “We struggled because of house raids and searches by security forces,” he said. “We were forced to constantly change our location, and get rid of any traces of our work. We hid our markers, paint, cardboard boxes and pieces of cloth in a valley near our neighborhood.” This was the start of the artist’s work for the revolution. One of his first cartoon drawings was of a protest led by children.

One situation the artist said he will never forget, and that inspired his art, was when the people of nearby villages sent relief supplies to Daraa during the blockade. “I saw packages of children’s formula and boxes of diapers that had already been opened. This meant to me that people donated to us the stuff that was supposed to be for their children. They also wrote ‘With our souls and with our blood, we will sacrifice for you Daraa,” on the bags.” He said this show of solidarity pushed him to closely follow the ongoing political analysis so that he could understand enough about what was going on to create pieces of art as part of the battle against the regime.

His drawings consistently reflect current events, and the messages they deliver are representative of the revolutionary Syrian people. He usually draws caricatures commenting on a particular political event, or mocking statements made by different people, regardless of whether they are supporters of the regime or members of the opposition.

Much of the time, there is no internet connection in Daraa, which poses a difficulty for the artist. He said, “We rely on the Jordanian network, which is tough because the signal is weak and it is often hard to add credit to our phone lines. It pains me to say that we often rely on refugees in Jordan to help us get credit.”

Another challenge is the lack of art supplies. Horan’s painter relies on basics, such as lead pencils, pens and markers, and takes pictures of his drawings using a cell phone. The images of the cartoons are then uploaded to a Facebook page dedicated to his art.

With the increased militarization of the Syrian conflict, the artist and his friends continue to promote civil resistance in Daraa. They hold protests in an attempt to send a message to the world that the fighting taking place on the ground is secondary to the nonviolent activity. “People have started fleeing Daraa, regime forces storm the city in their tanks, and clashes between regime and opposition forces are ongoing,” he said. “But despite that, there is still some room for demonstrations.”

Find out more on the artist’s Facebook page