At
Ajyal Film Festival 2014 I had the pleasure of meeting Alaa Bastneh who is
#ChicagoGirl, an International Political Science student, a social media
political activist and the focus of the documentary. She is a great inspiration
and I really enjoyed the talk, which went like this:
KM: When you agreed to be part of the
film, have you considered how you, your family and what you do to help the
rebels would be exposed?
AB: I wasn’t prepared for the
responsibility and I didn’t have a plan, but when I saw children were being
killed, that’s when I decided I want to help and I want to go online to find
the activists and connect with them and see how I can help them. And yes, it
reached to a threat or someone’s following me and taking pictures, but that is
nothing compare to TNT barrel bombs, chemical weapons and starving children who
are eating cardboard boxes and grass in sieged areas in Syria because of the
Syrian regime.
KM: This is really inspiring, but how
did it all started?
AB: I saw the children being tortured
in Syria and I said that’s not fair. I have to do anything to help them, so I
went online looking for activists on YouTube who are uploading videos of
protest. I checked their names and I looked for them on Facebook, added them,
sent them messages and started skyping with them. I never took out my photos
online and never used faked names. I always have my full real name available,
because I want them to trust me and talk to me. I wanted for them to think:
“Oh, she’s a girl from Chicago, she’s not going to harm us, but she’s going to
help us.” And that’s how it all started.
KM: From your experience how could you
tell us people who live outside of Syria, how can we help the refugees and the
cause, other than the normal charity?
AB: Being Qatari and asking this
question is great because your country government and citizens were the first
to be true brothers and sisters to the Syrian people and that is something the Syrian
people will never forget. I would’ve wished all the Arab countries will do the
same and I say this with true honesty. As an individual the important thing is
to raise awareness, to tweet and to keep talking about the Syrian revolution.
Talk about the humanitarian side of it if you don’t want to go into politics
and just keep talking about it. People are still protesting every week so we
need to keep the conversation.
KM: And with the film, you are
re-opening the dialogue, which is great! Can you tell us a little bit about the
film’s journey? How people reacted to it in the West?
AB: The film played throughout around
50 countries in the west and this is the first Arab country to screen it. Being
here gave me the opportunity to be interviewed by people who know about the
Syrian situation. Everyone else said: “We don’t know about the Syrian
revolution and we need to know more. And now after knowing how can we help.”
This kind of stuff we hear in the west, so it’s so excited to hear, “Oh, we
know so much about the Syrian revolution.” And after the movie was screened I
received so many messages from the youth telling me they watched the film and
that they want to help. And I’m very happy for that.
KM: So what’s next for you? Do you
think that being a political activist would harm your career?
AB:
I’m an international political science student and I’m planning to take a
Master in Human Rights and focus more on children’s right. My plan is not to
only help the children in Syria but also children throughout the world.
Thank
you Alaa for this great talk! It was a pleasure meeting you and wishing you all
the best in your future! Read my review on ‘#chicagoGirl: The Social Network
Takes on a Dictator’ by clicking on this link.
Till
again!
Kemz
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