The echo of Tunisia: Jasmine Revolution raises hopes in Syria

SMN No. 12, January 18, 2011

Syrian bloggers have seized on the so-called Jasmine Revolution as an example of social change which they hope can be repeated in the Arab world.

On Facebook, many Syrians changed their profile photos to Tunisian flags and adopted slogans of the Jasmine Revolution, expressing hope that they would soon see change in their own country.

One blogger known as AlGhath wrote on January 15, “The courage and power which Tunisia showed will be contagious and won’t stop in Tunisia, the whole Arab world is in labour, even the awareness of Arab and Muslim peoples is growing, the events of this year will be out of the ordinary.”

AlGhath added that the events in Tunisia are serving as a lesson to the people and their regimes, and that the public should reassess their strength and be confident that they can remove their dictators.

Ahmad Harb wrote in his blog on January 14 that the injustice and repression in Syria is no less than that in Tunisia, adding that he hoped that the Syrian people would follow the example of the Jasmine Revolution and free themselves from injustice, repression and corruption.

Blogger “Syrian Gavroche” wrote on January 16 that the Tunisian uprising should also be a lesson to western countries which support the region’s repressive regimes and are  the partners of dictatorships, describing this as “a stain” on western governments.

Even Syrians on Facebook who usually show little political interest and do not participate in political dialogue appear to have been active in recent days in the exchange of views about Tunisia.

Blogger Reem expressed her surprise on January 15 and noted that she had not expected any of the events in Tunisia, simply because high prices, poverty, unemployment, corruption and repression were part of ordinary life in all Arab countries, and had never led to a revolution before.

Stating that events so far seemed like a dream, she added that, “Tunisia taught us that freedom doesn’t need lot of parties and organisation, not a lot of articles and talk shows, it taught us that revolution is a decision, and that it we do not have to accept humiliation as fate.”