Rime Allaf, December 17, 2020

Hope still springs eternal for many young people in the Arab world today. The electrifying chants of thousands suddenly demanding the fall of their regimes had sent chills down everyone’s spines in the region, filling some with awe and excitement, others with apprehension. There were no precedents for this collective cry of rage as protesters followed their instincts and took to the streets; in response, regimes resorted to their tried and tested campaigns of intimidation, violence, and mass murder.

On the cusp of the tenth anniversary of the Syrian revolution, itself only a few months younger than similar revolts in the region, mainstream analysis seems to suggest that the Arab Spring has been a failure everywhere it manifested itself, with the exception of Tunisia. Given the immense magnitude of the death and devastation which rained upon Syrians, it may seem inappropriate to claim not only that the uprising cannot be considered a complete failure, but also that it is not over. Indeed, well over half a million people were killed and over half the population became homeless and displaced; mass torture, disappearances, and numerous crimes against humanity were committed. Yet it is precisely because Syrians have lost so much that many feel they have no choice but to continue.

Despite the hardship they face in the region, the millions of Syrian refugees will not go back to Syria while the Assad clan remains in power. Nor will many Syrians within the country hide again behind the walls of fear that had silenced them for decades. The revolution gave them a voice which they will not relinquish, and it brought them the civic governance systems and civil society networks (such as the early Local Coordination Committees) which allowed them to organise themselves in the service of their communities.

Stunned by the international community’s apathy, Syrians have shown initiative, creativity, and great courage in standing up to the regime in the worst possible circumstances – and, years later, in standing up to extremist religious groups. They have shown resilience, grabbing freedom with both hands and painstakingly documenting their history, to bear witness to the regime’s crimes and to prepare for the day after, when they can rebuild a new Syria devoid of the remnants of the past. None of this would have been possible without the Syrian Revolution of Dignity, a revolution of the mind in every sense of the word, in political, social, cultural and even religious terms.

It would be a grave mistake to imagine that the Arab Spring is on its deathbed; it may be in remission as it attempts to gather its forces again, and it may come through different iterations of the revolutionary spirit, but despite everything they have lost, Syrians still demand dignity and freedom, as do many around the region. Dictatorships would have to maintain a costly, high level of repression to kill that spirit in the next generation, a generation already born free-minded and strong-willed as it watched the world disintegrate around it.

Rime Allaf is a writer, researcher, international political analyst, and Syria specialist.

https://reaction.life/ten-years-later-how-the-arab-spring-changed-the-world/