Nine months into the Syrian uprising, Syrian coordination committees, groups and activists inside the country and abroad decided to take an additional step in their peaceful struggle against the regime. They initiated partial strikes that would gradually develop into all-out civil disobedience, and named the movement The Strike of Dignity.
The activists set December 14, 2011 as the starting date for the strikes that ended on December 30. They planned on receiving the New Year with widespread civil disobedience, hoping to topple the regime at the lowest possible cost.
They planned the following steps for the strike:
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December 14-16: Service roads and side streets were closed, and people did not work between noon and 6 p.m. They also turned off their mobile phones during that time.
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December 16-20: Strike in all stores, enacted by putting new locks on the doors or squeezing glue into the locks
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December 21-23: Strike at universities
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December 24-26: Roads connecting the cities and countrysides were closed.
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December 27-29: Strike by civil servants
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December 30 until demands were met: Comprehensive civil disobedience strategy
A large group of coordination committees and groups, including Nabd (Pulse), Days of Freedom, and The Syrian People Know their Way took part in this activity. The strike was coordinated on the ground and at the media level. Some groups worked on sharing brochures, pamphlets, promos, videos, songs and broadcasted them using social media platforms. The aim was to urge the people to take part in the strike and cover its activities.
The Strike of Dignity represented a qualitative leap in the history of the nonviolent Syrian movement.
