Nearly two years after the beginning of their uprising, Syrians take every opportunity to show the world the true nature of their revolution and highlight the nonviolence aspects of it. Christmas holidays, a time of peace, family reunions, and thanksgiving, became an opportunity for the Syrian people to raise awareness about their struggle and the brutality they face. It was also a time to highlight the unity of the people in the face of opression and tyranny.
For decades, the Assad regime has instrumentalized the issue of minorities in order to maintain its own legitimacy. By assuring Christians and other religious groups that the Baath was the only institution guaranteeing religious and ethnic diversity in the country, the government aimed to ignite fear among people from different communities. As a response to this strategy, Syrians all over the country decided to celebrate their own "Revolution Christmas". Through several initiatives, such as the "Syrian Christmas tree" campaign, which consisted of decorating a Christmas tree with photos or martyrs of the revolution, they joined the Christian minority and celebrated diversity. Many Syrians inside the country and abroad honored the victims of the Assad regime by taking part in this campaign, which became viral through social media, with many videos and Facebook pages created for the occasion.
To help spread the campaign, a video was launched featuring several members of the Syrian opposition from diverse religious groups and communities: Rima Flehan, Amr Idlbi, Abdel Ahad Asdifo, Samir Nashar, Walid Albanni, Ahmad Ramadan, Mulehm Aldroubi, Anas Al Abda, Afra Halabi, Husam Al Qatlabi, Zena Al Hallaq, Radwan Ziada, Radif Mustafa, Jabr Al Shufi, among others . They all called on Syrians to stay united in the face of sectarianism and division, which the Syrian regime has tried to ignite for decades. In words of Italian Father Paolo, known for his humanitarian work in Syria: "Don´t fear each other. Fear for each other".
As powerful as Father Paolo´s words are those of activist Rima Flehan, who addressed the Virgin Mary and the Christian community in a letter:
Oh great Mother, who wiped away her beloved son´s blood and tears... wipe away our country´s blood and tears, from north to south... While bells are ringing in every corner of the world to celebrate the birth of the peace child Jesus, our children face bullets and displacement and fear... Pray for our children, pray for us. We need you today, we need your shoulders to cry on, our Chrstian brothers and sisters... Merry Christmas to all of you.
In a similar reference to Flehan´s letter, the documentary "The Resurrection", by Syrian film maker Omar Hikmat Khouli, presents a scenario where Jesus Christ descends to Earth only to find Syria sinking in the blood of its children. After this terrible finding, Jesus decides to send himself back to the cross.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsVrASSIdM8
Other videos show Syrian children from different areas celebrating Christmas, such as the one from the northern town of Saraqib. The man on the following video repeats a sentence that was key to the uprisings from the very beginning: "The Syrian people are one: Sunna, Shia, Druze, Christians, Alawites... We are all together, our struggle is the same, we are all Syrians."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhBxqEtblKA
The "Christmas Revolution" campaign included highlighting verses and references from the Bible by posting them on cars, doors and walls of Syrian neighborhoods. The following video shows an activist posting a message on a car in the neighborhood of Baramke, Damascus, that reads: "Jesus gave us freedom so that we hold on to it. So stay free, and untie yourself from opression and slavery". It is a message of peace, but the way the person recording the video lowers his voice and avoids showing the face of the young man posting the message indicates how risky such actions are in Syria, where every form of citizen expression is targeted by the regime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83NMuiBitgs
The celebration of Christmas continued through New Year´s Eve, with demonstrators chanting "Happy New Year to our Revolution" and "Black New Year to Bachar". The north-eastern city of Qamishli, known for its diversity and for having a large Christian community, witnessed the largest demonstrations and sit-ins during the last night of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0C2qbBEYGk
Through these very powerful videos, photos and messages, the "Revolution Christmas" campaign aims to highlight what became the anthem of the first Syrian demonstrations, in March 2011. "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one".
