This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
While repression continues in Syria, the Internet has been flooded with initiatives in solidarity with Syrian citizens and their struggle for freedom. Two of the latest are “Call Homs” and “Syrian Sit-in in Youtube.”
“Call Homs” aims to show solidarity with the people of Homs, the Syrian city that has become the symbolic capital of resistance against the regime's brutality. This week, Muslims celebrate the festivity of Eid Al-Adha, and a campaign organized by a group of Syrian expatriates encourages people to dial the area code for Homs and wish a random family Happy Eid. More guidelines can be found on the Facebook event page.
An audio recorded by Mohammed Al-Mulhim and widely shared on Twitter presents the conversation between a Saudi man and a Homsi lady. Here's the translation:
Salam Aleikom/ Aleikum Es-salam / Who's talking? / This is Mohammad AlMudhem, from Saudi Arabia / Oh, son, you got the wrong number, / Yes, I know, sister. I´m calling you randomly, to tell you just one thing. /Tell me, dear/ We stand with you in solidarity, with all our hearts /God bless you, my son/Listening to you makes me very happy, sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to wish you Happy Eid / God bless you, my son! / Best wishes and I hope you stay safe / Who's talking again? / This is Mohammad Almudhem / God bless you, best wishes and longest life to you/ But tell me about you, is your family ok? / Yes, we are, thanks so much, God bless you, God bless you!
The campaign spread quickly mainly through blogs, Facebook and Twitter, with hundreds of users sharing the #CallHoms hashtag and their stories:
SYRIAslyJana: To show your support, # callHoms: Dial 00963- 31 then 21, 22, 24 or 25 then enter 5 random numbers & say a couple of encouraging words #Syria
NoorAl_khaldi: اتصلت المكالمه الاولى كانت من البياضه عايدتهم وانبسطوا كثيير بالمعايده وحسوا انوا في احد معاهم وانا جاني نفس شعورهم شعوووور جميل #callhoms
نجتمع فيه كلنا معاً ومن كل مكان في العالم ومن كل الجنسيات… لنعلن تضامننا مع مطالب الشعب السوري الحر، ولنقول جميعناوبصوتٍ واحد لا للقتل لا للظلم لا للقمع لا للقهر، ولنقول لبشار الأسد ونظامه وعصابته أننا وبعون الله سنسقطكم ثم سنحاكمك
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
10 comments
Great post, but please correct “Homs, the Syrian city where the uprisings started”. The uprising started in Daraa, but soon spread to Homs which has been the symbolic capital of resistance ever since.
Yes, you´re totally right! Thanks for the comment, I´ve rephrased it using your sentence :)