Tag Archives: Syria

Lessons from Somaliland for Kurds and Catalans

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The Kurds and the Catalans are voting for self-determination. It seems nothing can stop a people who have decided to vote for self-determination, although it seems not a single state is ready to accept it. The lesson from Somaliland, an unrecognised country since 1991, is: there is no need to worry about not achieving international recognition: you can live very well without.

Certainly these elections will be held, one way or another, and the outcome is predictable: overwhelming support for independence.

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Article about Jonas Staal in Syria

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Closing ceremony of the New World Summit in Derik, Syria

I published this article in the December 2015 edition of The Art Newspaper – with first a ‘news’ story on page 3, and then a feature on pages 58-59.  Continue reading →

The Rojava Revolution

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Syrian Village

A unique experiment in ‘stateless democracy’ and effective armed resistance against ISIS in Northern Syria is led by Kurdish women. Could their innovative model for social organization, which has brought peace, stability and progress to their region over the past three years, provide a way out for the crisis in Syria and other minorities in the Middle East? A personal account of a ‘political tourism’ visit to Rojava.

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New World Summit in Rojava – Day 1

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The 5th edition of the New World Summit opened today in Derik / Al Malikiyyah in northwestern Syria. The Dutch artist Jonas Staal and his team, in tandem with the authorities of the autonomous canton of Cizire, drew full audiences with a thorough, two-day discussion of ‘Democratic Confederalism’ by international delegates and local specialists. Continue reading →

Life and death in Rojava

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Day 2 in Northwestern Syria

Commander Axin and soldier Haifa talking with our delegation

Commander A… and soldier H… of the YPJ talking with our Filipina delegation member Ilena, with our translator Nahla in the midst

Today we were confronted more squarely with the war being fought in Syria, and the intensity of life and death in a beleaguered war zone; although we also got the chance to visit the 4000 year old archaeological site of Urkesh, one of the earliest cities.

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Can we still believe in revolution?

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Day 1 in Northwestern Syria

Street scene in village between Derik and Qamishlo

Street scene in village between Derik and Qamishlo

My first impression in Rojava, the autonomous Kurdish area in northeastern Syria, is that everything seems quite normal. For a small region still engaged in the fight against the Islamic State (although only three people die on the front per day, as compared to 20-30 a few months ago) and in the stranglehold of Erdogan’s Turkey, the area is remarkably quiet, and even seems prosperous, with shops full of goods and the fields and herds well-tended to.

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Exhibition of Mahmoud Dayoub in The Hague

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I recently set up an exhibition in the headquarters of the Humanistic Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) in The Hague. The works are by the young Syrian artist Mahmoud Dayoub. Hivos headquarters are situated on the Raamweg 16 in The Hague and the exhibition can be seen every weekday during office hours (8am to 6pm) until 7 December 2011.

Mahmoud Dayoub, untitled; oil on canvas, 180 x 140 cm, 2011

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The vibrant Syrian art scene part 2

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The old city of Damascus counts dozens of ateliers and artists initiatives, especially in the Jewish quarter, which was neglected after most of its inhabitants emigrated to Israel.

 

Ammar al Beik: Basic Instinct, 2008

Ammar al Beik: Basic Instinct, 2008

For example Mustafa Ali, the ‘Syrian Picasso’, bought an old house in this area. His professional success – last year he completed a giant installation on top of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, and now he’s crafting iron gates for the presidential palace – allow him to live as a patron of the arts. He organizes concerts and performances in the central courtyard, which along with the bar in the ancient cellars, rooms for visitors, friends and family and a gallery which sells his sculptures, make his compound a forum for art lovers.

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The vibrant Syrian art scene part 1

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Syria has always had a lively visual arts scene. Appreciated by regional Arab collectors it failed in contrast to attract the attention of the West, where Syrian art was seen as a decorative mix between traditional Islamic themes and dated Western influences. Over the past two years, however, Syrian artists and galleries have rejoined the Middle-Eastern avant-garde, which is slowly but surely establishing itself internationally. Continue reading →