Reports | 25 05 2020
By: Fadi Azzam
The ways in which Syrians affiliated with the Revolution eulogized Naji al-Jarf, based on linking his name to that of [the late Palestinian Caricaturist, slain in 1987] Naji Al-Ali; were anything but coincidental.
Both have the same first name; both stem from a revolution betrayed; both were slain with a silencer bullet, in their exile; both never once compromised their revolutionary ethics, or placated the parasites that accreted on its body.
It is customary for people, in the in the midst of a eulogy, to employ hyperbole. In the particular case of Naji al-Jarf—scion of a family long opposed to the regime, whose sons have for the past fifty years suffered all forms of detention and silencing—I believe that there has been a lamentable negligence.
If one should laud the personal virtues of a noble man, when eulogizing him; then the death of Naji al-Jarf made those who personally knew him—or know of him—to laud the virtues of the Revolution itself.
Its values, dreams, its setbacks; but also more notably, the burning desire of its enemies to liquidate it with their silencers.
Much has been—and will continue to be—said about this noble young man. What was significant about him was not a consecration of gratuitous individual heroism; it rather is the free and moral person’s continued willful commitment to the principles of the Revolution for freedom and dignity. The presence of such a person today, has become a virtual thorn in the sides of an entire herd of wolves.
What should be remembered today in Naji’s death, is the set of values he embodied; values that do not die with the death of their holders—but that, on the contrary, are irrigated anew with their blood. If I, who never had the chance to personally know him, were to speak of him; then I would have to encapsulate what he did—through my following him, for several years—as follows:
Syria belongs to all Syrians—not to tyrants or to aggressors; black [Islamist] flags are the shrouds of the homeland; the objective of the Revolution of freedom is a future for generations to come, to live in freedom—not an obscure sky that feeds on [their] remains.
To love life is not disloyal; death for a free and dignified life is the noblest sort of martyrdom.
The Revolution may be obliged to take up arms, to save itself from [the regime’s] arms—not to make arming itself an objective in and of itself. Free Syrian Army [FSA]; you are the supporter of our dream.
The media that points out errors may end up killing those defending them!
The Revolution is not merely to say ‘no’ to the regime; but to rid ourselves of all that which we had learned through its establishment. True, we do have a serious opposition to the regime; but we ought to cleanse ourselves of its [the regime’s] mentality in which it has imprisoned us.
We must possess the audacity of critical review, rather than recreate the regime’s frameworks, or conjure excuses. When openly admitting to our own mistakes, we must possess the qualities of objective; so as to demolish the structure, and construct [in its stead] a proper, healthy media and political body.
The absence of genuine institutions represents the absence of any genuine hope for the future. Our present is indicted, because the future is suspicious and dubious. Hope requires that we do not waver in dreaming and working.
To set the opposition media free from the reins of [dependence on] financing, represents the second goal—in order to liberate the Revolution from guardianship, tutelage, and the political objectives of others. Our deficient thought processes vis-a-vis media work remain; and while we have acquired the voice [of the Revolution], we have forfeited the call. That is because we are governed not by spirit of the Revolution, but by financiers’ objectives.
Objectivity does not mean to be against the regime in every news piece; but to defend the credibility of your source. One cannot be a genuine revolutionary without credible news.
That represents what I understand from Naji’s works and words—which I did not convey verbatim, but most certainly captured their essence. I would claim that he had effectively participated in, formulated, and contributed to most of the Revolution’s media campaigns. His most significant contribution may prove to be “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,” and his latest was the “Say it Right”—the latest of many a campaign Naji worked upon. He did so as part of a group that never ceased to create hope, to change course and straighten the compass to the true areas of disrepair .
To restore these corrections and properly follow-up on them, would represent the ideal response to al-Jarf’s martyrdom. We ought not merely content ourselves to wallowing in our grief; but to rise with what he dreamed of, and continue his path.
As to the identity of those who have an interest in Naji’s killing, they are an entire grouping of murderers—all of whom were adversely affected by what he did and stood for.
The first of which are [the] violence and terrorism practiced by the Assad State that, in turn, produced the Islamic state; both of whom mendaciously hijack the term ‘state,’ while embarking on gangland, mafia-style activities.
It is also quite significant to remind oneself that the solid bloody mass of the regime is, itself, of Syrian’s own making as well. That is why, today, all Syrians—chief among them a comprehensive group of free men—are paying dearly therefore. The martyrdom of Osama al-Yateem; of other FSA leaders; of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” activists; of hundreds of activists under torture; as well as the liquidation of field commanders untainted by extremism; all are but the tip of the iceberg of a voracious campaign. A campaign whose objective is to crush the very notion of the Syrian Revolution, and to keep the arena hostage to the duality of either extremism or submission [to the regime].
If I were to reach a conclusion out of this tragic death, I would say;Naji al-Ali remains relevant to date; dozens of his contemporary military commanders have been swallowed by oblivion. If a military commander were slain, his loss can be replaced; to slay those few remaining sons of the true Syrian Revolution, however, represents a loss of epic proportions.
If some military commanders—of sectarian, populist, religious stripes—who were killed in defense of the homeland, were now likened to the Revolution in its fifth year; Naji al-Jarf’s martyrdom may help set this record straight. The ideologized military men may resemble the shape of the revolution in its fifth year; whereas Naji al-Jarf, more importantly, resembles the Revolution true self in all its years. What is more important, is that he remain an inspiration for its future.
We may be comforted in the fact that he coached hundreds of Syrians that he scattered his Hinta [Wheat, the name of an alternative magazine he established] in their spirits. He inspired dozens within the new generation, and believed that the homeland’s ground remains fertile for coming years of harvest. He always resembled his homeland that was being killed, every day, with a silencer—but that still utters “no to silencing our voices.”
Finally, if it is desirable not to drown in our sorrow lamenting his wrenching loss; then we should borrow the best eulogy to this noble man from his friend and cousin, Mustafa al-Jarf. He introduced him with a few words, that speak of him in a simplicity that resembles him, and his city Salamiyyeh, grieving on the outskirts of the desert:
"You ought not to have used a silencer…
It would have sufficed for you to make him listen to a verse of ‘Ataba [traditional sung poetry] from Salamiyyeh;
Being as meek as he was, he would have voluntarily given you his own soul,
While he cried… and smiled."
* Opinion pieces do not necessarily express the views of Rozana Media.