Wissam Tarif - Back in Beirut and Then Syria

Back in Beirut and Then Syria

Immersing himself in civil society institutions in Beirut, Mr Tarif started by working for Greenpeace where he began to get a feel for the region's concerns at grass roots level, making his initial appearance on the opinion and analysis pages of well-known and respected Middle East newspapers and magazines, such as An-Nahar. Coming, as he did, to the attention of numerous politicians and leading intellectuals in Lebanon (as was the case with the redoubtable Samir Kassir, with whom a warm friendship grew), Mr Tarif soon became an integral part of intellectual life in Beirut. Anxious, however, to continue contributing to democracy and human rights values in the region, he eventually moved to Damascus, Syria, where he founded a cultural centre.

Parallel to this, Mr Tarif became a prime mover of the Opposition forces in Syria, working closely with well-known artist, political dissident, prisoner of conscience and human rights leader Kamal Labwani, (sent to jail in Syria on a 15 year term for his advocacy of democracy) to found the Liberal Democratic Union. Tarif worked to support and promote the values of a movement known as the Damascus Spring, which blossomed following the coming to power of the new President of Syria, Bashaar al-Assad. Sadly, the hope of those early days was soon smashed with the tightening of the Syrian regime's grip on power which led to the imprisonment of the majority of voices claiming freedom and democracy.