Amidst Government Power Cuts, Syrian Activists Charge Their Cell Phones with Glasses of Water
Posted by Alex_Pasternack on Thursday, Aug 11, 2011
Update: This story isn’t true
Video cameras and social media are the favorite weapons of Syrian democracy activists in their cat-and-mouse game — no, battle — with the repressive and militaristic regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The latter’s favorite weapons are arrests, beatings, shootings, and, of course, Internet and electricity shut-downs. Here is how Omar Maquad, an activist, describes the situation to the GlobalPost, in this News Hour segment from the other day:
“It was like a war, but, for us, we use our camera. And for them, they use their guns. And we need to — to film everything for media, because we are alone inside, no one to support us, no one to film what is happening exactly in Syria. … We got a problem with the batteries because our batteries are running out, and no electric to recharge your equipment. So, for phone calls, we create a new way. It’s actually simple way to recharge your phone. We used to — a glass of water with two batteries, Duracell or something else. This already exists everywhere. We use it, keep the batteries in the water for one hour or 30 minutes. Then you put the USB adapters inside the water and start charge. That’s how we charge the mobiles.”
For them, a new Facebook page isn’t a lunchtime diversion. It’s an exhilarating inspiration to keep fighting against injustice. Said Diaa Dugmuch:
“… when I searched, I found lots of groups already there. I was happy, so I started this group and started to talk to other youths. To my surprise, I realized that they are thinking just like me. They feel the same as I do.”
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Via the Atlantic
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