By Paula Astatih
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – The "Academy of Change" posted a message on the "Syrian Revolution against Bashar al-Assad" Facebook page – with a link to its website – which included information on more than 60 ways ordinary people can contribute to the Syrian revolution.
The Academy of Change [AOC] is a scientific institute that was officially founded in London, in January 2001. The AOC claims to be a "specialist in the science of civilized transition and transformation of human societies." This organization posted its message on the "Syrian Revolution against Bashar al-Assad" Facebook page, which is one of the most popular Syrian revolutionary Facebook pages on the internet, with close to 250,000 people viewing this page.
The AOC message read "one of the advantages of non-violent confrontation of dictatorships is that all segments of society, regardless of their background and age, can contribute to this, not just by demonstrating [against the government], but through a number of other ways and means." This message was then followed by a link to an AOC website, which included 65 suggestions of different ways that ordinary people can take part in the revolution. This included actions that could be carried out by individuals, groups (between 3 – 5 people), as well as revolutionary acts that required thousands, and even millions of participants.
The first 18 suggestions include ways that individuals can participate in the Syrian revolution, and this includes: providing food and medicine to protesters, utilizing the internet to convince people to participate in the revolution, transferring news and information to those demonstrating and protesting in Syrian cities, putting up pro-revolutionary posters, raising revolutionary flags, conducting dialogue with pro-government soldiers and police to convince them of the merits of the revolution, providing financial support to revolutionary activities, providing financial support to the poor, amongst other suggestions.
As for ways that groups (between 3 – 5 people) can participate in "developing the revolution", this includes: painting the walls of certain important buildings in pro-revolutionary colors, changing the names of streets so that they bear the name of martyrs of the revolution, carrying out campaigns to convince neighborhoods of the merits of the revolution, defacing and fabricating official state-affiliated newspapers, making pro-revolutionary banners, obstructing certain streets with cars, creating a new constitution, and preventing government officials from going to work.
The website also included 25 suggestions for ways that groups of thousands of people can contribute to the Syrian revolution, and this includes: acts of civil disobedience, marching in the streets, including marches with demonstrators all wearing the popular anti-establishment Guy Fawkes "V" mask, taking part in strikes, bicycle rallies, withdrawing funds from government banks, not doing business with companies or shops loyal to the regime, amongst other suggestions..
As for the AOC's suggestions for ways that millions of Syrians can join together to participate in the revolution, this includes; refusing to pay electricity and water bills, refusing to pay government taxes, boycotting official state celebrations and events, disobeying unjust laws, and other widespread acts of civil disobedience.
This list draws attention to other non-traditional ways that Syrian citizens have been participating in the popular uprising against the Bashar al-Assad regime. The comments posted underneath this list of 65 suggestions includes one commenter calling for the creation of a list of products – produced by pro-government companies – that should be boycotted by the Syrian masses. This Syrian citizen, who posted this message anonymously, suggested that this blacklist could then be secretly posted at supermarkets and shops across Syria. Whilst another poster suggested pro-revolutionary youth throwing nails on the ground in front of security and military vehicles, in order to obstruct their movements.
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=25959