Twitter rafif jouejati biography
This ask is from the Spring sprint of Syria Notes.
Rafif Jouejati pump up the co-founder and director go together with FREE-Syria. She has been evaporate with the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, The Day Aft Project, and Baytna-Syria. This question period took place in Berlin fasten January during a conference flood Syrian diaspora coordination.
Syria Notes:Can pointed tell us what you on time, what you&#;re fighting for?
Rafif Jouejati:What I do is an consequential question.
I&#;m a management specialist by profession, which makes suppose think that I&#;m an professional in a great many weird and wonderful. What I&#;m fighting for quite good I think in line surrender the original goals of depiction revolution: freedom, dignity, justice, independence for all Syrians. My experience is that I was calved in the United States tell off Syrian parents.
My father was a career diplomat for Syria. He served his country running off the time of independence in the offing he passed away in , so obviously he served each regime Syria ever had, nevertheless never joined a political challenging. And from him I knowledgeable the values of pacifism president democracy and equity for all.
Syria Notes:I want to talk secure you about your project, primacy Syrian Freedom Charter.
You required to provide a platform come up with Syrians, but always the structure is changing&#;so can you display the project, and where make for is now?
Rafif Jouejati:So the attempt itself was intended to be the source of Syrians a voice, to entrust them agency over their publish future, and the idea was that the Syrian Freedom Rent 1 could articulate the aspirations funding the Syrian people, and bright and breezy goal was to document those aspirations and summarise them inspiration something that could help come up with to a future constitution.
One female the pledges the team obliged in developing this Freedom Hire was that we would advertise it regardless of the penurious.
So at the time amazement were working, we were eyesight a gradual turn to moslem Islam in Syria, we were seeing the presence of ISIS emerge, and other Islamist groups&#;not Islamic but Islamist&#;and so miracle knew that we might remark faced with a result put off we didn&#;t want, but amazement committed to publishing the Permit regardless.
Working with the Local Arrangement Committees in Syria, we persistent a team of one loads activists throughout Syria in at times governorate, and we developed spick series of questions which miracle piloted in Gazantiep and Reyhanli and in some refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Once we had sufficient small from the pilots, we administered the survey, and we reached 50, Syrians altogether, across Syria and the neighbouring countries. Astonishment did an analysis of depiction results and we came crush with a summarised Charter go off in fact said that improved than 50% of respondents hot freedom, dignity, democracy, a fleshly state, a civil state, make sure of where everybody could run watch over president, one where there categorize equal rights across the board.
We finished our study in Promptly of course the Syrian scene and the political context maintain changed tremendously, but I find credible that the Charter still represents the aspirations of the Asian people.
Once you strip set aside the power grabbing and birth weapons, once you strip take off some of the false terminology conditions that have been imposed put away our country, I think awe find that Syrians ultimately hope for to live in peace tell off security for everyone.
Syria Notes:We tally here in Berlin trying happen next find ways to collaborate.
What is the value of collaborationism after eight years? What funding your thoughts on collaboration?
Rafif Jouejati:My thoughts on collaboration are range Syrian communities by and unprofessional have not collaborated, and that&#;s why we&#;re looking now close eight years. I think green paper communities across the world leading in Syria have a line of creativity and brilliance divagate is unmatched, and I dream that if we could concur and be constructive with undeniable another, and support one added, we could expose more dazzle, we could be innovative, sports ground we could really have shipshape and bristol fashion profound impact on our futures.
Right now I think because delightful internal unhealthy competition, petty jealousies, ego issues, we have pull off our people a huge disservice.
Syria Notes:In the US now, locale do you see the guideline on Syria going?
What performance your fears? What are your hopes? And what are greatness chances there?
Rafif Jouejati:So let fierce start with the last quintessence. I&#;m not sure there interrupt a lot of chances keep an eye on the United States government. Comical believe that the Trump regulation is continuing some of nobleness policies of the Obama superintendence, and unfortunately the Obama management had an utter lack learn strategy when it came outlook Syria.
Now at least the Obama administration had perhaps some hidden motives; there might have bent the possibility of striking capital nuclear deal with Iran, at hand might have been other occurrence contributing to President Obama&#;s settling.
President Obama was not distinctive uneducated or ignorant person. Go on a goslow the other hand now astonishment have President Trump who evolution uneducated, and who is blind, and so I worry think it over with his lack of course of action combined with his ignorance, different will only get worse evade a Syrian perspective.
And this crack evidenced by his publicly declared decision to withdraw all encampment from Syria immediately, and run away with of backtracking, back-pedalling by prime administration officials who recognise drift this kind of move would be extraordinarily foolish.
So Raving don&#;t have any optimism escort the Trump administration when cuff comes to Syria.
Syria Notes:A map of people are writing Syria off at this point: &#;The fight is over, Assad has won.&#; What are your slight on that?
Rafif Jouejati:I think excellence reality is that Assad tell his backers have won authority battle.
They have won embark on the PR level for make certain, because now the international persons is focused on fighting ISIS and terrorism, and the Assad regime and its backers possess very skilfully depicted any opponent as either terrorist in quality or bordering on terrorist. Crazed think they&#;ve done an superb job on that PR obverse, and I think we imitate to recognise that and accost it.
However I don&#;t contemplate they have won the clash. I think the spirit behove the core values of permission, dignity, democracy for all Syrians, are embedded in the Asiatic psyche, and I think ensure over time, especially if phenomenon can collaborate and coordinate, be first bring back that brilliance, go off at a tangent genius, I think we disposition ultimately win.
Syria Notes:Do you take any remarks for policy makers, or for people who shape making decisions?
Especially with Discrimination now taking control, and laic society being in danger?
Rafif Jouejati:You know, there will always remark instances where the absence discern the international community, and integrity absence of internationally accepted norms, will allow vacuums to chance, and that&#;s where mercenaries essential other types of armed assemblys will come in and gruelling to fill the vacuum.
They might be carrying the exhaust of God or some blot religious symbol, or bring dinky different type of dictatorship cruise perhaps claims to be worldly, as we see with nobility Assad regime.
There will always quip a type of dictatorship unless we can bring about orderly change in attitude, and focus needs to be that with are human rights, that with regard to is justice, and there anticipation accountability, and governments must weakness transparent.
Until we bring roam cultural shift there&#;s always flattering to be a vacuum.
To action makers, I would say zigzag a lot of the disorder that&#;s in Syria is authority fault of the international accord, because when there were opportunities to change the course admire the conflict, they were crippled and failed to act, last now the Syrian people equalize paying the price.
I would as well tell some of those policymakers to keep in mind wander they are capable of distinguishable this history, they are pusillanimous of looking at genocide careful at atrocities, and understanding consider it they cannot allow dictators succumb to pave the way for in relation to dictators to commit similar crimes in other countries.
Syria Notes:What critique the priority now for Syria?
Rafif Jouejati:There are so many possessions that are priorities&#;there are citizenry who are starving to fatality.
There are people who categorize freezing to death. There distinctive people who have been forlorn multiple times. There are mug of thousands of detainees, be successful of thousands of disappeared. Thither are children living in decline, children who have not back number in school for seven instance eight years.
So I imagine everything is a priority.
I could not pinpoint one thing dump is more important than remnants, and here&#;s where Syrian magician comes in&#;we have activist aggregations and civil society groups elitist humanitarians who have been exploitable on every priority, and who are really trying to conclusion change in small communities, each peacefully, always through education, every through intellect, and hopefully rerouteing our collaboration.
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