FSA media centre televises Syria's revolution

Volunteers in Aleppo guide foreign journalists and film clandestine videos to spread opposition messages

Richard Hall
Al-Jazeera

".....Here, in the headquarters of the Free Syrian Army's media centre in the province of Aleppo, a small team of people is busy spreading word of the civil war raging around them.
Many of the grainy YouTube videos of battles being fought in the city of Aleppo come through this room. Rebel commanders often sit behind the desk against the far wall -- the flag of the Syrian revolution hung behind it -- to record video messages and announcements.

While many Syrians have chosen to take up arms to fight back against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, the people here are making use of the skills gained in their careers prior to the revolution. They are well-educated, smartly dressed and softly spoken.....


Words as weapons

The media centre has been operating in its current location for nearly six months. It's very existence, just a few miles from the centre of the fighting, is a sign of how the conflict has developed. Early on in the uprising, activists would smuggle videos of fighting and purported regime atrocities out of Syria and upload them from neighbouring countries in an effort to avoid arrest. Now, as the rebels have had some success in holding on to territory, an effective network of centres such as this have been built up inside the country......



The team takes turns to ferry journalists around the country -- finding them places to stay, food to eat and often taking them into areas where heavy fighting is taking place.

The media centre receives no direct funding or support, aside from the few battered laptops on which they do their work, which are provided by the FSA. As a result, journalists visiting the country are asked to contribute to the costs incurred during their stay. The main expense is petrol, and the going rate is around $150 a day.
"We only cover our expenses. We don't ask them to pay for food or lodgings because it is not in the spirit of the revolution," says Nadim.

If truth was the first casualty of this war, the team here would no doubt see themselves as the paramedics. The model is by no means perfect, but the videos, pictures and information coming through offices such as this one have ensured that news from Syria -- even at its most inhospitable -- has gone around the world.
The technology that played such a key role in the Arab Spring has been just as important, if not more so, in Syria -- even if the outcome here has differed.

When faced with a choice between using Syrian state television and centres such as this one to gather news, journalists covering the civil war in Syria have often chosen the latter. For as long as the conflict persists, and perhaps for lack of a better option, they are likely to continue to do so."