waed_om-hod (90K) Waed Almhana and the power of words


Portrait of a Syrian Journalist,
Volunteer for World Heritage Preservation

Damascus, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is suffering permanent and irreversible damage, of a magnitude such the international association "World Monument Fund" accepted in both 2002 and 2008 to include the city on their list of the 100 most endangered heritage sites in the world. Many individuals and organizations defend the ancient city of Damascus, working tirelessly to save and/or restore its heritage so extraordinarily unique. Many try, through few succeed, for in Damascus; capital of the Syrian Arab Republic, the political, economic and financial issues are numerous and complex.

Among those ardent defenders of Damascus is Waed Almhana. A child of Syria, a journalist who specializes in cultural affairs and in particular those pertaining to heritage, both Syrian and on a worldwide scale, a clever visionary who understands context, people and places. Convinced that he could help the cause of Damascus, nothing and no one can discourage him, even if the tension under he strives to save his heritage is at times enormous.

Further to completing his studies in mechanics engineering at Damascus University, Waed Almhana found employment at the governmental newspaper "Al-Thawra" as an engineer, co-responsible for the papers website. Since his career began in the early 2000s, he has been writing articles about heritage sites, informing his readers about what has been happening to archaeological sites, denouncing abuse. In particular, he wrote a very visionary article on the endangered heritage of the Near East, alerting all and sundry to the dangers facing Irakian heritage; this article appeared shortly before the American invasion of Baghdad. He has written many investigative articles relating to Syrian sites, including Aleppo and Palmyra.

Civic societies must be developed in Syria
In 2003, Waed Almhana worked as a volunteer for the protection of one of the rare Phoenician cities in the world - Amrit, near Tartous on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. He set up a group of volunteers dedicated to the safeguarding of the site - one of the very first such non-profit associations to be tolerated by the Syrian government! He even managed to obtain permission from the public state to allow the association to operate officially, and he participated in the organization of an international workshop backed by UNESCO in 2004.

A great love of the ancient city of Damascus,
World Heritage, Cradle of Civilization, memory of Mankind…
He then decided to make an extensive investigation into the case of Damascus, and found the site to be in a state of progressive decay and destruction. Thus, in 2006, he took advantage of an opportunity which presented itself to found an NGO for the protection of Syrian Heritage "Heart of Damascus". He chose an English title as he wanted the organization to become one of international public utility, stating that "it is the right and indeed the duty of all (mankind) to defend World Heritage".

Returning to the recent case of Souk Al-Atik
The Souk Al-Atik, known in French as "Souk des oiseaux" (Market of birds), was destroyed in three days in November 2006.The place, of Mamelouk and Ottoman origin, was protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, being within the buffer zone of Old Damascus. Waed Almhana heard the noise of bulldozers one evening that November while out for a stroll. Alerted too late, all he could do was to watch the destruction as it happened. He immediately notified both the media and the UNESCO World Heritage Center. He filmed the scene using a hidden camera, and wrote an article to publicize the information and alert people to "the Road to Destruction of the Ancient City of Damascus".

A visionary mind puts a stop to catastrophe on King Faisal Street
In the article he wrote to expose the irreparable disaster that has just befallen Damascus - the destruction of the Souk Al-Atik- he also outlined the problems facing King Faisal Street (KFS), the hand-craft district of the city, along the north wall from the citadel to Bab Touma.
In the months that followed, Waed Almhana engaged in a fierce struggle to "move" people (locally and internationally) to support the cause.

Condemned for loving his country!
In 2008, Waed Almhana was summoned before the courts for publishing his article on the destruction of the Souk al-Atik. They felt that this time he had "gone too far". Yes his article was impassioned, but had he not denounced the destruction in angry terms, nor exposed the extreme gravity of the situation, would the world have been alerted? Would the UNESCO director of World heritage, Mr. Francisco Banderin have written several letters to the Syrian authorities to try to establish a dialogue; would he have travelled to Damascus immediately after the disaster in an effort to reason with the Governor of the city? Were it not for the published article, would UNESCO have threatened to put Damascus on its blacklist of endangered world heritage, on the very eve of the city becoming the "Arab Capital of Culture"!

Waed Almhana did not limit himself to writing that article. He moved to action on the ground, and thus helped stop the "KFS highway project" which would have destroyed one of the most beautiful areas of the old city of Damascus. According to him, the written word is but one instrument, there is also the power of speech, the force of conviction, a simple presence, and many other "secret formulae" with which to preserve Damascus. Further to the KFS affair, he continued to make his presence felt, alert to the slightest menace, and thus prevented several other projects which did not conform to the respect of Syrian heritage preservation.

The first court verdict was recently reached, condemning Waed Almhana to two months imprisonment and a fine of 600,000 Syrian pounds, a hefty penalty for a journalist with a salary of only 10,000 Syrian pounds per month.
Even if civic societies and Voluntary work remain to be recognized to their full value, a wind of modernization now blows across Syria. An amazing sense of opening, from all points of view, can be felt towards Europe and the World, in this magnificent country which wants to proclaim that it is indeed the cradle of civilization.
In this context, one is left to wonder whether the sentence meted out to a man of goodwill who seeks only to tries only to promote and protect the richness of his country is indeed reasonable or justified.
We can only hope that those who condemn will show leniency and understanding in keeping with the modernity currently being developed by the Syrian population in general.

The team of Heart of Damascus,
04/2009.

Press articles

Article of Waed Almhana about the Destruction of Souq Al-Atik:
- Article published online, 29/11/2006. original, in Arabic , translated in French
A new Article by Waed Almhana:
read it (in Arabic)

Articles About Waed Almhana:
- Article, by Razan Zaytounah (in Arabic), in Aljareeda online newspaper, 03/2009. link
this artcicle translated in French

- Article, (in Arabic), in all4syria, 03/2009 link

- Article, (in English), 04/2009 link

- Article, (in Arabic), in all4syria, 04/2009 link - Article, dans Annida (en Arabe), 04/2009 lien

News

Trial postponed to 10 June 2009,
The minister defense did not attend for the second time,
Many layors and journalists and many people from Old Damascus came to support Waed Almhana.

11/06/2009:
The meeting of 10 June did not take place.
Once again, they delayed the trial session until 1 July.
This is indeed a strategy. On the one hand, they may not know how to resolve this case, which is now publicized. On the other hand, to postpone the trial is time saving, and put the journalist in the embarrassment of waiting and of the doubt because, in a sense, he can not make plans for the future as this story is not settled; finally, it is what everyone thinks.