In April 2012, several groups of young Syrian activists launched a national graffiti campaign that they called Walls Decorated With Homelands, aiming to restore the public space of their homeland, stolen by the regime over several decades.
The groups agreed on spraying and decorating Syrian walls with similar colors and slogans simultaneously, “calling for high national values that bring together all Syrian affiliations on our way to freedom.” The initiative, described by its organizers as “a national project,” aimed “transforming the use of [revolutionary] graffiti into an organized, widespread campaign using nationalistic, all-inclusive slogans.”
The campaign called on activists, groups and coordination committees in all Syrian governorates to participate in decorating the streets of their cities and villages, specifying the methods of participation as:
-
Choose a picture, print it and create a stencil, and spray
-
Choose a slogan, and spray it on the wall freely
This way, people were encouraged to participate through ready-made templates and colored graffiti.
Some of the slogans used were “With grudge, homelands are destroyed,” “Even if we have two opinions, we are one people, not two peoples,” “To love Syria, you must listen to the voice of the people,” and “Hold your spray can and go ahead, the wall is waiting for you,” to encourage people to take action.
Other slogans included specific calls for support for activists and prisoners of conscience, such as the call against hte execution of journalist Mohammad Al-Hariri, who faces the death penalty without real charges and a fair trial.
You can follow the campaign’s activities on its Facebook page.
