VIDEO

AUDIO

Intro:

00.14

Music: Title: "Biyan raqam wahid" or "statement number one" by anonymous artist.

Lyrics:

For the rebels of Syria

We live in silence, it’s been years

how long do we have to stay like this—dead

they are always promising reform and freedom

but it seems there is no will and opinions are banned

You haven’t had enough of your pictures

so you filled the land with statues

Looks like you will suffer

as they burn in the moment of change

We have never been against any sect

we are hand in hand against the fake authority…

00.37

Rami Nakhle (RN)

What is really amazing about this revolution is it doesn’t have any leader, really. It’s a revolution against leaders actually.

I write it on many status “You want to negotiate with us? Okay -  go and negotiate with the street.” Really that’s true.

If you want to hear our demands, don’t take us to your palace to hear it, come down to our street and hear it.

LV RN’s livingroom

01.09

01.15

01.21

Subs typed out: Uprising in Syria: Day 25

01.25

Mobile rings

Hello. Hi Cecile, I’m with you.

…Yeah that’s true. They reveal my real name and then they threatened me and threatened my family so I’m hiding now but actually nothing changed for me. I’m still doing what I were doing before. We are cyber activists.

CU RN sitting in sofa

01.44

RN: Actually I was hiding in Damascus and now I’m hiding in Beirut - its exactly the same thing. In Syria the secret police were behind me and now they’re threatening me: “We tracking your mobile, we are tracking your… whatever.  We’ll get you in just a few days, they are telling me every day in Facebook. That’s the message they are sending to me.

RN standing talking on phone

02.11

02.27 Subs typed out: Rami Nakhle aka Malath Aumran: Syrian Cyber Activist

So I’m going on Arabic TV station and talking in Malath Aumran name. So one secret police who investigated in the past he recognised  my voice immediately and reported that Malath Aumran is Rami Nakhle.

Yes, that’s how it happened.

RN sitting in sofa

02.34

03.38

Yesterday when they revealed my real name this secret police guy he put in my wall: We know you, we know you are in Lebanon. And aren’t you afraid of ‘Tiger of National Syrian Party’ in Lebanon? They will get you. And aren’t you afraid about your family? This is in my wall.

My sister kidnapped from university one year ago because of a political discussion in the university. Someone report her and they kidnapped her.

She was in political discussion about the president of Syria and she said: No he’s not really qualified, he just the son of the leader, and he inherited everything. It’s like their family inheritance they consider it. So that’s why they arrested her. They kidnapped her actually.

He put in my wall: You have today until midnight if you did not announce your withdrawal from the Syrian revolution, we will get her.

My reply was: Hey, I were sending my friends and encouraging them to go to street all these months and I know they might get arrested and they might get killed actually, some were killed - or even injured and tortured so now when it comes to my family I will not withdraw. Because I will betray my friend. I will just send them to the dangers and when it comes to me I will be coward? That’s what I told them. Absolutely I am not withdrawing I will not fail my friends.

04.21 Computer screen Skype call

Sound of incoming Skype call

Anonymous activist (AA): You there?

RN: Yes, I’m with you. I’m getting the pictures.

AA: These are call for martyrs: We will continue.

RN: I’m hearing it, I’m hearing it.

RN: Well done guys, I wish I could be with you guys, seriously

AA: The day will come when you’ll be with us.

04.59

CU hands on keypad

RN: Its really frustrating that I cannot be there, really. All my friends many many times… because what can I do, guys? I want to go there and I want go down to the street with you. But all my friends tell me: no, you are on the street just one more, but from where you are you are doing a very important job which we cannot do from here. We cannot talk to media, we cannot get all this footage out, we cannot spread the word as you can there. You should stay hiding in safe place and keep doing this.

05.38

RN through curtain + CU Computer Screen – footage from a demonstration

05.44

Chanting: Where are the Syrian people? Where are the Syrian people, where?

AA: We are carrying the olive branch in one hand and our funeral cloth in the other

AA: We will continue our peaceful marching, we will continue our peaceful marching…

RN: Well done guys, seriously we are creating tomorrow. No more fear. We do not accept to live in fear anymore.

CU RN in sofa

06.11

RN: All of us network activists are now talking to someone live on Skype filming in the protests what’s going on and explaining for me what’s going on

Many of people in street many of them are activist. We know them in person for a long time and we share this responsibility. Each one have role to play.

They have to go down to the street to talk with us, to film this to link us between the protestors on ground and us sitting behind the computers and we will link the street in Syria with the outside media.

Actually technology is the key role for us because without technology we cannot get this picture out and we know if this regime really knows what to do it will do it in the dark They are ready to kill everyone in this protest.

CU computer screen

07.11

07.24

07.36

07.50

07.54

08.03

08.36

08.46

RN: Now we hear and see you

RN: You are now talking to me from a roof top in Banias

AA: Yes, one of the roof tops in Banias

AA: Despite the existence of this government, we are able to protest and demand freedom

RN: That’s an olive branch in your hand, right? What does it signify?

AA: This is our message of peace. Because we are protesting peacefully.

RN: In your opinion can these protests now be stopped?

AA: No, we prefere to die rather than go back to the time before. I’m at the peak of my feeling of freedom. If I was caught it is as a sacrifice for the country. On the streets and in reality this oppression will end. For sure we now live in a bitter reality, but it remains the reality, but the reality tomorrow is what matters. So we had better create it rather than let it defeat us.

RN: In your opinion, are you in any danger now? What would happen if the secret police showed up now?

AA: Welcome. Our chests are bare and we hold the olive branch to them. Our demands are clear and we will see what their message is.

Footage of protests

08.58

09.10

09.47 footage of regimes response to protesters.

09.53

10.30

RN: The barrier of fear is just getting broken piece by piece, step by step.

Music:

RN: Egypt surprised all the world. All the world was saying: Egyptian people will never have revolution, they are completely crushed also Syrian citizens and society were completely crushed.

But actually what’s really happening today… Today we have hope. People started to know that it’s our decision. It’s not our fate or destiny to be under this regime. No, it’s our decision. We can make a difference.

Gunshot

RN: The first method they used they were just firing on people, really, they were firing on them. And they learned the lesson; when you kill someone one hundred friends of this person will be ready to die. We showed for the whole world to what level this regime is really ready to go. They will slaughter their own people just to rule? Do you love us and you are ready to kill all of us to rule?

But now they have this method, okay: We will just release one thousand stick armed persons on people who will protest and we will crush any protest in its ground. Actually they are beating them to death …

Footage of secret police arrests in Syria

10.52

11.13

RN: We are just trying to have a better future because we cannot live in fear anymore. Actually, all this revolution is a revolution against the secret police, all of it. Against the fear, against the injustice. People need to live with dignity without being afraid and without being crushed by secret police.

We have people disappearing in street for years, people getting tortured, people facing unfair trials… all of this, really Syrian people cannot take it anymore.

CU Face of RN

11.26

11.34

11.39

AA: The guys are now chanting: Down with the regime. You see how it goes?

Chanting: The people want to topple the regime

RN: Can you hear it? People want to topple this regime. He’s telling me now they started to broadcast a song to calm people down, because all of them are chanting we need to topple this regime. But nothing will calm them down. The loudness of the crowd is more than any speaker, nothing can calm them. People want to topple this regime… This is… (sighs)

CU hands on keyboard and CU screen with tweet message

12.09

RN: I will tweet about this immediately

Footage of protests

12.21

12.25

12.28

Music

RN: Now we are writing our version of the revolution

Music lyrics:

Security dictates with a sword and a gun

From today until tomorrow there will be a response

The nation is robbing us and celebrating the evacuation

But a day will come when the torment will stop

Unity, freedom, socialism

Poverty, repression, dictatorship

Muslims and Christians we’re calling for freedom

We are joined in one hand with the Syrian revolution

with the Syrian revolution

Statement number one

The Syrian people will not be degraded

Statement number one

For sure we will not stay this way

Statement number one

From Huran came the good news

Image of burning poster of Bashar al-Assad and RN

13.10

RN: Burning the picture of President Bashar al-Assad in Banias now! Yes! Yes! And let’s tweet it to the whole world to know about it. In Banias…now…burning… the picture…of Bashar… Enter. YES! I want to cry, really I want to cry

13.58 CU Footage from TV

14.06

15.06 END

RN: Actually for all of us it was really a long long day. It’s complicated emotionally for me today. I am so happy because I witnessed the numbers on the street are more than I can imagine. It’s almost in every city in Syria that witnessed protests today, But also it’s complicated because many people died, many people were wounded, many people were arrested today. I don’t know how to feel.

But I am always telling myself it’s the moment that we waited for all our lives. Whatever Bashar or the secret police… they killed  many people, they arrested many people, they tortured many people. Many of my friends are wounded now in their homes they cannot go to hospital and this is… They cannot crush… they cannot crush people.