Syria’s Rosa Parks
A passionate belief in non-violence following Martin Luther King inspired Amina Khoulani to become part of Syria’s peaceful uprising in 2011 and paid a terrible price with her family losing three brothers in Assad’s torture prisons and now a leading human rights defender for the disappeared
We were only speaking to Amina Khoulani for a few minutes when I found myself calling her ‘Syria’s Rosa Parks.’ That seemed so natural the way she spoke with such heart felt conviction about the importance of non-violence and the inspiration she drew from the late Martin Luther King and the American Civil Rights Movement. No surprise then that she became so involved in Syria’s peaceful uprising in 2011 and paid such a terrible price with her family for protesting against the brutal Assad regime.
No surprise either that after I found myself desribing her as a latter day Rosa Parks Amina told us when she visited Alabama in the United States, the late Martin Luther King’s home state, they introduced her as Syria’s Rosa Parks when she addressed the state legislature at the Capitol in Montgomery - a very emotional and moving tribute. Amina visited the state after she won a prestigious Woman of Courage Award in the United States and has become the living embodiment of just how egregious Assad’s propaganda, amplified by Russia’s enormous cyber assets, trolls and fake news networks that bizarrely describe all Syrians like her as “terrorists.”
We met her in Manchester in the UK where she now lives with her husband and children having managed to escape out of reach of the Syrian regime. We were in the city to attend a special screening of our new documentary ‘Bringing Assad To Justice’ being hosted by the well known and highly respected Syrian groups ‘Rethink Rebuild’ and the Syrian British Council for whom she is Campaigns Director. Amina and her husband had very generously picked us up at the airport which gave us a great opportunity to talk. Indeed, as we spoke in her home that afternoon about her work and our documentary it felt painfully ironic as she was unable to attend the screening because as advised by her doctor she must be careful about the kind of films she watches now about Syria because of the trauma she has endured not least losing three brothers in regime torture prisons.
However, in spite of all that Amina has gone through we have rarely met a more optimistic and upbeat human being which probably explains how successful she is as a human rights defender especially on behalf of detainees and the disappeared as a co-founder of Families for Freedom and in her work with the Syrian British Council. Indeed, few have paid such a high price for their participation in Syria’s peaceful uprising in 2011. As mentioned three of her brothers died in regime custody after they were arrested in 2011. She herself was arrested around the same time with her husband and children. Amina was tortured in custody and saw many of other women and children also tortured and when she managed to secure her release she promised those she left behind she would be their voice and would work tirelessly to secure their freedom.
The circumstances surrounding the arrest of half of Amina’s family in 2011 gives a unique if painful insight into the brutality of the Assad regime. Holding a photograph in her home in Manchester of her three brothers who perished in the still ongoing Syrian holocaust she said that Majd and Abd were arrested first as they were among the leaders of the peaceful uprising in Daria. Majd was responsible for the idea of presenting flowers to the soldiers — a moving early moment in the uprising. Then Amina herself and her husband and children were arrested followed by her other two siblings Mohamed and Bilal who had no involvement in the uprising.
Mohamed was eventually discovered in the Caesar photos confirming he had died under torture in regime custody and as leaders of the peace movement Majd and Abd were executed in the nortorius Saydnaya prison that Amnesty has called ‘a human slaughterhouse.’
The story of Amina’s brothers and the extreme torture and brutality they suffered resonated powerfully with us having just completed Bringing Assad To Justice. Once again we were struck by Amina’s extraordinary courage as she spoke with great emotion about what became of them. But she admitted it is hard to go on at times but the most inspiring thing for us was when she revealed when that happens she thinks of her brothers and the absolute importance of securing justice for them. In other words, that determination to see justice done drives her on.
Ultimately when people ask us why do we believe Assad will be brought to justice it is because Syrians like Amina insist there will be accountability because the crimes he has committed are so heinous and extreme that there can be no peace of mind for any of the survivors unless justice is not only done but seen to be done.
Amina has been true to her word to her fellow detainees, the women and children she left behind in prison becoming one of the best known campaigners for detainees and the disappeared by all parties in Syria especially the regime which is responsible for the largest number by far. As cofounder of Families for Freedom she has addressed the UN Security Council on their behalf and her tireless work as mentioned has also led to her being awarded a “Woman of Courage Award” by the US State Department. The latter “recognises women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk and sacrifice.” Few women match that criteria so precisely?
However, her forthright words in accepting that award show Amina is under no illusions about the failure of politicians including those in the US to act to free detainees and secure accountability reminding them that words are meaningless without action.
One of the most disturbing aspects of her address to the UN Security Council was the fact she had to face down representatives of Bashar al-Assad that day. Amnina admitted it was a struggle but she was determined to hold back her tears and in the end it proved a most empowering experience as she felt her three brothers at her shoulders. Her forthright and passionate statement in defence of Syria’s forgotten detainees and disappeared in many ways shows why there will be justice and accountability and anyone who doubts that should reflect long and hard on her words.
Amina told the Security Council it had “utterly failed Syrian detainees and their families” and it is the responsibility of the Council “to protect Syrians from a system that kills, tortures and illegally detains its own citizens”. An historic occasion in the sense that it was the first time that a representative of families who have had loved ones disappeared and detained in Syria personally gave the members a first hand account of what it is like for the millions affected by the extreme brutality that has turned Syria into what must be the world’s largest crime scenes.
Amina painted a picture of the inside of the torture machine in her country that witnesses sick, injured and dying people being subjected to daily barbaric torture with some of them scheduled for execution. Tragically she was forced to acknowledge anything she told them was not new because they had been exposed to evidence of these crimes before but very importantly she said that “this Council can save their lives if it chooses to act today.”
As Amina pointed out in spite of reports of rising numbers of detentions, forced disappearances and torture including among refugees who had returned to Syria the Security Council had “let vetoes and excuses get in the way of what is right and just,” and reminded council members they had a responsibility to “end impunity and stop the horror.”
“I don’t have enough words describe how it felt” Amina said recalling how two of her three brothers were sentenced to death by the regime “on the same day at the same minute on 15 January, 2013.” She said that she had been jailed for six months and her husband for two and a half years for peaceful activism and “we were both lucky to survive, but many others were not so lucky.”
Amina said that 100,000 Syrian men, women and children remain missing “the majority detained by the Syrian regime, but extremist and opposition groups are also responsible for the disappearances”, she said. She concluded her address to the Council by imploring the members to “make the issue of detention and forced disappearance in Syria a priority” and urged them to adopt a resolution pressuring the regime and armed opposition groups for the names and whereabouts for everyone in detention and to allow humanitarian organizations to visit the detention centres.
Reflecting on Amina’s words after a very warm and welcoming visit to her home I went back and read her address to the Security Council and it is clear her message is more relevant than ever as still nothing is being done by the Council to address the issues of detainees and the disappeared. Meanwhile her work goes on and through her determination there is hope not only for those Syrians she relentlessly refuses to allow be forgotten but for peace in Syria with justice and accountability.
