Ghiath Matar

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Ghiath Matar ( Arabic غياث مطر, DMG Ġiyāṯ Maṭar ; * October 8, 1986 in Darayya ; † September 10, 2011 ) was a Syrian activist who gained international fame through his peaceful resistance at the beginning of the Syrian civil war .

Life

origin

Matar came from Darayya, a suburb of Damascus . Before the outbreak of war he worked as a tailor.

activism

When the protests in Syria against Bashar al-Assad's rule reached Matar's hometown, he and his friends organized demonstrations. He always insisted on peaceful and non-violent protest, which earned him the nickname "Little Gandhi". When the Syrian army marched into Darayya a short time later to crush the demonstrations, Matar placed himself in the front row of the demonstrators and held out roses and water bottles to the soldiers. He said: "We are not against you, we are against the dictator - do not shoot your countrymen!" The pictures of demonstrators from Darayya holding roses in the air then went around the world.

Arrest and death

Ghiath Matar was arrested by the Syrian secret service on September 6, 2011 together with the two brothers Ma'an and Yahya Shurbaji . Four days later, his family, covered in traces of torture, was handed over to his family. Diplomatic representatives from many countries, including Germany and the United States , attended his funeral . The Shurbaji brothers have not reappeared to this day.

effect

The circumstances of Matar's death became a symbol of the repressive and violent way in which the Syrian regime cracked down on peaceful oppositionists. Matar's name therefore often appears in combination with Ibrahim Qaschusch and Hamza Ali Al-Khatib .

In 2016, Syrian director Sam Kadi released a film about Ghiath Matar called Little Gandhi .

Private

Matar was married. His wife was pregnant at the time of his death. She later gave birth to a son whom she named after his father.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ These Are The Stories Of 15 Fallen Syrians. In: Buzzfeed. March 11, 2014, accessed February 27, 2018 .
  2. ↑ The final hours of Darayya. In: Der Spiegel. September 6, 2016, accessed February 27, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Darayya, la città di Ghiath Matar, condannata a morte. In: Diario di Siria. February 15, 2014, accessed February 27, 2018 .
  4. ↑ As Atrocities Mount in Syria, Justice Seems Out of Reach. In: The New York Times. April 27, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2018 .
  5. ^ Syria's non-violent activists were the first to be targeted. In: The National. March 12, 2012, accessed February 27, 2018 .
  6. ^ How Syria's First Oscar Contender Eluded the Government. In: The New York Times. December 5, 2017, accessed February 27, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Matar, Ghiath
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian activist
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Darayya , Syria
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 2011