The story of the Syrian Nonviolence Movement is the story of the peaceful struggle against brutality, and a living proof of its survival despite the overwhelming focus on the militarization of the uprising. The movement has been at the core of civil disobedience and peaceful resistance since the beginning of the uprising in March 2011. Some of its initiatives have become symbols of the uprising like the Strike of Dignity, and its martyrs, like Ghiath Matar, are revered around the country.

The roots of Syrian Nonviolence 

The movement’s history is organically tied to that of the uprising. It has had to adapt and reinvent itself and its tactics in each phase of the revolution in order to keep a relevant presence. The movement has stuck to its peaceful principles in spite of the overwhelming oppression of the regime, the increasing militarization of the revolution, and even the appearance of anti-revolutionary elements within the revolution. Thus becomes the documentation of the Syrian Nonviolence Movement a documentation of the Syrian revolution itself.

The movement is unique in the Syrian context in that its members, Syrians based inside and outside the country, have been loosely organized for more than 5 years. According to a founding member of the movement, “some of the activists had been involved in activities seeking social change for many years before the revolution. The so-called Darayya Youth Group, formed an organized core of experienced activists who knew exactly what they wanted even before the beginning of the uprising.” This in part explains the “continued vitality of the movement, its ability to adapt to changing conditions, and its deep conviction in civic and peaceful tools of resistance.”

Members of the movement were active participants in the very first signs of protest in Syria, during the sit-in in front of the Ministry of Interior in Damascus on March 16, 2011. But their work became more coordinated after the establishment of the movement. One of its first campaigns was called “Stay at Home”, which was the first outright call for a general strike in the uprising. In order to pave the way for wider participation, and ease the fears of those early partakers, the group called for the strike to be for several hours only on a Thursday evening - a time when many people would have stayed at home anyway. 

Another early campaign was “Hide your money”, which called on people to delay paying their utility bills as a way of protest and economic disobedience against the regime’s violence. The campaign is best remembered for the “Died of a water bill” slogan written on a tombstone. According to one activist, “the campaign was not a real success because people were still concerned about the harm that might be done to the national economy. What they didn’t know was that the regime was dragging us to that which is worse than economic ruin.”

The movement also joined Freedom Days, an umbrella group for nonviolence movements in Syria. They were also involved in many of the creative activities aiming to raise awareness about different kinds of topics like nonviolence, civil war, civil and economic disobedience and how to establish alternative syndicates and groups. Some of these projects included “International Day for Syria - Save our Children”, “Revolutionary Scraps”, “Revolutionary Scribbles”, “A Quran for Syria” and “A Bible for Syria”. Their “Guardians of Children Network” project assigned “special guards to every educational institution to document any violations against children and report back to specialists who worked for the network.”

They also collaborated with the “Country Grapes” group in establishing a specialized magazine for children called, “Kite”. Despite their many activities, the group’s most special day is considered to be the day of the Strike of Dignity, and the night of the Noise Strike (in collaboration with other groups), because the participation level was beyond all expectations.  

The heavy price of peaceful activism

Over the course of the revolution the group lost many of its members. Their first loss came with the murder of Ghiath Matar, who gave roses to regime forces and was later detained and tortured to death. 

The group also lost several activists who had collaborated with them including Bassel Shehadeh who worked with the movement on his film, “Songs of the Revolution” and the “Freedom Money” campaign. Two more members of the movement were killed in Darayya, as well as Mohammad Quraytem and Muhammad Shehadeh, founder and editor of the “Country Grapes” journal. Another leading member of the group and of the Darayya Youth, Yahya Shurbaji, was arrested in September 2011 has not been released since.

The heavy price exacted on the movement and the continuous shift of the uprising towards militarization did not derail the group’s activities. Nevertheless the activities were adapted to the more immediate concerns of “aiding civilians in the line of fire, supporting any kind of civic activities on the ground while continuing to use any available medium to raise awareness.” 

These changing conditions have pushed the activists to become even more entrenched in their nonviolent stance. As they say, “Yes, nonviolent and civic activities still have an important role to play. We can see today in the liberated areas how civic resistance strategies are being used to rebuild a democratic community and to counter pressure from extremist groups.” 

Their beliefs, however, do not blind them to the violent reality. “Militarization is a reality we live in, but one that we do not condone. Many of the military commanders we’ve met support us and even defend us against those who would like to suppress our thought. Many of them long to the early days when nonviolent resistance was more common, and they have a role in protecting our projects because they believe in the importance of civic and nonviolent movements.”

Today, members of the group believe that nonviolent activism in on the ascendance again. “We have seen a renewed acceptance of ideas of civic and nonviolent work in both the liberated areas of the country as well as those that are still under the control of the regime.” The believe that “civic involvement is the best way to lay a strong economic, social and moral foundation for the country and the safest guarantee for democracy.”