Hafez al-Assad

Syria’s artists have long been unable to criticize their government and its leaders. In the wake of the current uprising, though, that prohibition has been lifted, if not officially, in practice. A group of artists are using puppets and YouTube to criticize the government and illustrate its violence.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad bases his power on his Alawite minority. They make up a big portion of his Army and his government leadership. So, when an Alawite defects, he’s cast as an outsider from his own people, but also by the rebels, who don’t trust any Alawites.

In Turkey, the civil strife in Syria has meant refugees streaming across the border. In mostly-Muslim Turkey, most Turks are staunchly on the side of the Sunni Muslims trying to overthrow Assad rule. But in Hatay province, a former Syrian province and one of the most diverse provinces in the country, more people support Assad, perhaps than anywhere outside of Syria.

As Syrians flee the increasing violence in Syria, and as government forces increase intensity of their crackdown, many refugees are discovering that Syrians forced have planted anti-personnel mines along the border — making their escape extremely dangerous.

Kamal Labwani spent the better parts of the past decade in a Syrian jail. We was freed last year, fled to Jordan and continue to agitate for the overthrow of the Syrian regime, led by Bashar al-Assad.