Interview with Ruben Rosiers

"We support Syria!"

Interview with Ruben Rosiers

Ex: http://manuelochsenreiter.com

Ruben Rosiers (27) is a Belgian citizen and activist of the "European Solidarity Front for Syria". Rosiers studied Public Relations and works for a Flemish company.

Mr. Rosiers, you just came back from your trip to Syria on behalf of the “European Solidarity Front for Syria” (ESFS). Your organization was criticized in the past for supporting the “Syrian regime” by the mainstream media. What is the ESFS doing?

Rosiers: The ESFS are volunteers from whole Europe. We support the Syrians in their war to keep their independence, unity and sovereignty and against the western backed terrorism.

How do you “support the Syrians”?

Rosiers: In Europe we inform the public about the reality on the Syrian battleground. We are present in all the European countries; organize demonstrations together with the Syrians here. We cooperate with some alternative media as well. We also collect money to provide humanitarian help in Syria. As we are a pure independent volunteer organization we can guarantee that 100 percent of the donated money really arrives in Syria. We don´t have any bureaucratic infrastructure.

Your trip to Syria had the character of a “fact finding mission”...

Rosiers: Indeed.

One would say: “fact finding is not the job of volunteers but of journalists and politicians.”

Rosiers: This is not so wrong. But neither European journalists nor politicians do their job in a proper way. Of course there are exceptions. But generally, the information policy in whole Europe is a disaster. That makes the work of the ESFS so important!

What facts did you find in Syria?

Rosiers: I had many meetings in the capital Damascus; I spoke to politicians, clerics, soldiers, journalists and civilians. I had the opportunity to visit the Palestinian Yarmouk Camp in Damascus; I was in the city of Al-Nabk – where the people celebrated the Syrian Arab Army which liberated them from the terrorist gangs. I also visited the city Latakia.

You were in the Yarmouk camp? European mainstream media report it is besieged by the Syrian Army...

Rosiers: And here we are. I don´t think that any European mainstream journalist who writes such stories was recently there. The Yarmouk camp is like a little city in the city. Terrorist gangs were occupying parts of the camp, the Syrian government supported the Palestinian armed groups fighting against the terrorist forces. There is no “siege”. You can enter and leave the camp in the safe areas – and safety means always: controlled by the government and loyal Palestinian militias like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In the terrorist controlled areas the situation is really dangerous. Terrorist snipers shoot at everybody crossing the streets, a large part of the population left already the terrorist controlled sectors of the camp. By the way: We had also to leave the camp very quick again because of hostile sniper activities. The vast majority people in the camp stand with the Syrian government by the way – there is no doubt in that.

European media report about starvation in the camp...

Rosiers: The problem is that the terrorists tried to isolate the parts of the camps they controlled. The Syrian government provides food and medical help, but this is dangerous. Terrorist snipers shoot at them as well.

Ruben Rosiers and minister Ali Haidar (right)

You met the Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs in Damascus. What did you talk about with Mr. Ali Haidar?

Rosiers: Mr. Haidar has maybe one of the most challenging jobs in Syria. National reconciliation is as important as difficult. His own son was killed by terrorist gangs in 2012. Mr. Haidar coordinates reconciliation talks between the different factions in Syria to find a peaceful solution. By the way, Mr. Haidar is not a Baath party member, he is oppositional himself. His SSNP party was banned for many years in Syria before it was legalized again. He knows about what he is talking. We discussed the reconciliation process, the next solidarity mission of the ESFS, the current political situation and the desire of the Syrian people for fast ending of the war. He also talked about the many kidnapped people and I had the chance to meet people who were looking for their kidnapped family members. You know that in Syria the terrorists even consider you a legal target if you are a postman? They consider you a “collaborator of the regime” and just kill, torture or kidnap you…

In Western media Ali Haidar doesn´t play any role...

Rosiers: Because he cooperates with the real opposition inside Syria and not with the foreign backed terrorists who destroy the country. This is a huge difference. Ali Haidar excludes extremists from the talks – this is why Western politics and media don´t give him any publicity.

In Al-Nabk you visited an Army celebration...

Rosiers: The people of Al-Nabk were celebrating the liberation of their city.

Mainstream media claim that those celebrations are propaganda acts by the Syrian government. They claim: The Syrians are forced to participate at those rallies.

Rosiers: Nobody was “forced” to participate. This was pure happiness that the horrible times of the terrorist control are over. The people wanted to thank the army that liberated Al-Nabk. Important to notice is that during the occupation of parts of the city by FSA and Al-Nusra, the residents of Al-Nabk didn’t flee but organized themselves to fight against the terrorists. Not a single person left the city! Nice detail, the majority of the city is Sunni Muslim - so there goes another myth the western media wants to keep alive…

You were also delivering a speech – what about?

Celebration in Al-Nabk: Liberation of the city

Rosiers: This was really a spontaneous thing: I asked if I can give a message of solidarity – and some seconds later I spoke into the microphone. I told the Syrians that they shouldn´t confuse the European governments with the European peoples. I told the Syrians that we are with them despite of the wrong politics of our governments. The people were very happy about this unexpected message of solidarity.

Some critics claim that you are an “agent of the Syrian government” and that you are paid for the “solidarity”...

Manuel Ochsenreiter and Ruben Rosiers during a geopolitical conference in Bielefeld (2013)

Rosiers: This is complete nonsense. Nobody pays us. We are a volunteer organization. My trip was paid completely by myself. Those rumors are spread to harm our credibility. And do you really think I would risk my life for some green paper in my pocket? Maybe this is hard to understand for capitalist and materialist people, but I just fight for what I believe in. Just like all the volunteers of the ESFS. If the Syrian government would ever offer me one dollar I would stop supporting them. They should use their money just to help the Syrian people!

If somebody wants to show solidarity with Syria and support the ESFS is it enough to press the “like”-button on Facebook?

Rosiers: This is a good start! But of course we are happy about any activist. As I said: We are all volunteers. We do our solidarity work because we really believe in our aims and not because we get paid or supported by state institutions or any NGOs. We are happy about every new volunteer in our rows! So please donate money, join our Facebook page, join our manifestations, spread the message and make the ESFS grow every day! Long live Syria!

Contact:

European Solidarity Front for Syria on Facebook

European Solidarity Front for Syria