On February 7, I published a piece in the Guardian that answered the question, Will Syria be next? That is, would Syria be the next Arab country to witness a popular uprising after Tunisia and Egypt? My answer was, no. The ground was not ready due to the complexity of the Syrian situation, I argued, though Syria was ripe for serious preparations to take place in order to ensure that it would have its turn down the road. 

Since then, in the last month, a variety of Facebook pages and groups emerged, established by in-country activists, and serious conversations regarding messaging and tactics began taking place. March 15 was eventually agreed on to be the date for the start of the revolution. And this time it happened. Simultaneous demonstrations took place in Aleppo, Hama, Deraa, Qamishly, Hassakeh Deir Al-Zor, and other Syrian cities. Although, the major demonstrations, with thousands of protesters taking part, resulting in clashes with local authorities, seem to have taken place in these cities, it was the small demonstration in Damascus, the bastion of the Assads, that got most of the attention and had the greatest symbolic value. Over 1,000 security officers took part in breaking the morning’s demonstration in Damascus of around 200 activists. The security officers’ tactic? They started by begging the protesters to stop, because the protesters were making the world “gloat.” Indeed, the mere insistence on chanting, “We sacrifice our blood and soul for you Syria,” rather than chants in praise of “Bashar,” came as a major shock to the system.