Syria lifts Facebook ban; exclusive interview with Syrian citizen

Since the dawn of social media, certain nations have been hesitant to permit its usage. Usually, the leaders of these nations see social media as a threat to their personal motives. But what most leaders who ban the likes of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter do not recognize is the human desire to interact with people on every corner of the globe.

Current events show social media's impact on nations like Tunisia and Egypt, which are in the midst of revolution. But what about the nations whose people are banned from using social media to spread the word about their nation, or their culture, or their citizens?

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Damascus University student Ali Hasan, a native and current citizen of Syria- a country whose government just lifted the more than four-year ban of Facebook and YouTube. I chose to interview Hasan because he truly represents the prime age of individuals in the midst of the social media revolution. He also represents a demographic of youth with a passion for social media around the world. 

I wanted to get to the bottom of why Syria had taken such a bold stand on prohibiting Facebook and YouTube to its citizens.

"Security reasons," said Hasan. "The Syrian community was not really into the Internet. Most people didn't surf the Internet until 2007, which was the year when those sites became blocked. In 2007, only young people were online and even less were surfing the Internet to make social relations." Hasan went on to say that Facebook should be a product for everyone to access, as it represents a place where people from all over can learn about each other. I could not agree more..

However, as soon as the Internet began to flourish in Syria, the Israelian Military Information Agency, otherwise known as the Mossad, became a factor. "The Mossad would plant spies in many places," said Hasan. "As a result, al-Assad and the Syrian government tried to find a solution." Mossad spies would be used in many places, including the U.S. as a way of monitoring what was being said. As a result of this continuous spying, it was decided that social media created more bad than good, so it was blocked.

But Syrians found a way around the ban. They began to use third-party proxies.

"It wasn't too hard to use proxies, for me especially," said Hasan. "I used the Saudi proxy to open just Facebook, because in Saudi Arabia, more than half of the Internet is blocked! I was also able to communicate through MSN or Yahoo services."

The topic I really wanted to get to the bottom of was whether or not President al-Assad lifted the ban in fear that what happened in Tunisia and Egypt would happen in Syria.

"No, I don't think that at all," said Hasan. "I live in Syria and I know that the people love the President. The most important thing in Syria is that our government does not follow outside objectives. Syria's top security makes sure that you can go anywhere without fearing that there would be an explosion or terrorist attack, and that makes people really happy. So being that the President is wanted and loved by his people, I don't think he would be afraid. And I think the President knows that his people understand more about the Internet and Facebook and what they are for and felt it was time to unblock it." 

Now that the ban has been lifted, Hasan feels that the people who will take advantage of it will learn to appreciate it even more and it will ultimately be a great thing for his country. "It was negative because it took too much time to come back on and the people who use it believe this is a big step to put Syria back on the right track in Internet media," said Hasan.

My final question was what he would recommend to other nations that have already banned or have threatened to ban social media.

"I would say, 'Come on guys!'” said Hasan. "The time is changing and the right way to develop is to use every available way! Facebook can be a good place, so just unblock it like Syria did!"

The interview with Hasan was very informative and I am grateful that I was able to speak with a Syrian citizen who endured the ban.

Social media's impact on other nations

You'd have to be living under a rock not to recognize that there are countries around the world currently going through a fundamental shift in power. We've seen it on the news, we've read it on the Internet, and we've heard it from our friends and family. Uprisings have occurred in Tunisia and Egypt, and there is speculation that many nations are going to follow suit. We are witnessing history in the making and we can thank social media for being able to give us a first-hand account of the events taking place. Without it, we would be left with the obvious biases our television or radio stations spew out on a consistent basis. 

Egyptians have been using a plethora of social media platforms to share stories and images about what is happening on the ground. They've also created handfuls of Facebook pages entirely devoted to the revolution - this being one of the most popular. 

Tunisia played those same cards. In fact, it was a young Tunisian man named Mohamed Bouazizi who some say was the catalyst for the series of events that have led citizens around the world to revolt against their governments. Bouazizi was a young, educated, but unemployed citizen of Tunisia who resorted to selling fruits and vegetables in the streets to try and provide income for his family. His grocery cart was eventually confiscated for unknown reasons, and as a result, with nothing left, he sent his mother a final Facebook message and set himself on fire to protest the corruption his nation practiced - thus becoming a martyr and causing an astonishing uproar throughout the entire social media community.

Social media has played such a tremendous role in recent events; some can look at it as good, some can look at it as bad. But either way you look at it, there is no doubt that it's provided a wealth of knowledge to all involved.

As Hasan said, times are changing. So let's use social media a positive tool for humanity!

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