Letters for Bassel رسائل لباسل

On 3 October 2015, Bassel's wife Noura reported that he had been transferred from Adra prison to an unknown location. This news is very disconcerting - and if you are reading this now - please sign the petition calling for his immediate release, and help to show your support for him publicly, via social media, writing, conversations, creative work. 

Coincidentally, on this same day I had been invited to do a reading about Bassel at Adobe Books in San Francisco as part of the Mission Arts Performance Project event "Breaking the Prison Industrial Complex."

Listen to a recording of the reading, layered over some music created in solidarity with Bassel through the Disquiet Junto, here. 

Here is the text that I read:

My name is niki and I’m here to tell you about my friend Bassel. Bassel is a computer engineer and open web developer who has been illegally detained in Syria since March 2012, because of his work in the open community, and his efforts to help increase technological literacy in his country of Syria.

I know we’re here to talk about the prison industrial complex, as it exists in America. And although Bassel’s case is one that takes place in Syria, it underscores the manner in which our fight for reform in the American prison system must expand to include people who are imprisoned unjustly in other countries. More specifically, in the case of people like Bassel, we demand his release and for the release of others like him who have been imprisoned because of exercising free speech. Not only free speech itself, and the right to have open discussions about affecting change in one’s country, or the world, but the right to share the knowledge and tools that help to make this possible, and help to advance freedom of discussion.

I first became aware of Bassel in April 2011 when I was organizing an event at the San Francisco Art Institute. At this time, Bassel was still free, and was living in Damascus. The event we were organizing was about projection mapping, do you know what that is? It’s doing projections onto 3D objects, such as buildings.

One of the people we invited to the talk, Barry, recommended that we connect with his friend Bassel. Bassel is a cool guy in Syria, he said. He doesn't’ work in projection mapping per se, but he is currently working on a project involving the 3D recreation of the ancient city of Palmyra.

So it’s not so much mapping projections onto 3D objects as it is projecting and mapping 3D objects into a digital space, to help people understand how the ancient site looked back in the day. 

Also, he said, he started a hackerspace in Damascus, where he helps teach people, especially youth, how to code and how to use social media and open source tools.

We were, of course, very interested in inviting Bassel to the event, especially since it was right when the so-called Arab Spring was starting, with protests in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. So Bassel skyped in, and told us about his Palmyra project, and he also told us about the work he was doing in Syria at the time. As I mentioned, he had started a hackerspace where people were working on technological and art projects. The space had fast internet and was a positive space for people to come and work on creative and open source projects. After violence broke out in the country, though, they converted the space to a triage center. People were dying, he said, because of superficial wounds, like a gunshot to the shoulder, because it was so difficult to get people to basic first aid care quickly enough to save them. They converted the space to help teach people basic first aid, and to help take care of people who were not able to get to hospitals.

He was so calm and earnest in what he said, and frankly I was stunned to be speaking with him during that time. It left a strong impression on me and, for the next year, I kept thinking about him, hoping he was okay, and being glad that I knew he existed, when I heard about what was happening in Syria, as the revolution evolved into a war, and the death toll rose. Then, in summer of 2012 I received an email about Bassel, stating that he had been arrested in March, a few months before, and that his family had finally confirmed his whereabouts. He was alive, but had been tortured, and his family and friends feared for him.

I was stunned, because this was someone I had emailed with and spoken to. The war did not feel so far away. So I signed the letter of support and said I wanted to help. Since that time, I’ve been involved in the campaign, trying to raise awareness of his case to call for his release. I’ve researched him and interviewed his friends and family, learning that he is not only an incredibly gifted computer engineer, but what his friends call a social engineer - he is charismatic and inspiring, able to connect with geeky programmers, to eccentric artists, to major figures in the technology world like Lawrence Lessig and Joi Ito. He helped start Creative Commons Syria and to widely expand internet access in Syria. He was instrumental in the translation of Creative Commons licenses into Arabic, and contributed code to huge open source projects like Mozilla and Wikipedia.

Although I’m an artist and not a programmer, I could relate very strongly to his commitments to the open movement, and also to the fact that he seemed to be unconstrained by diversity of projects. He wrote the code that powers openclipart and openfontlibrary, two major repositories of openly licensed content that help people create, share and remix. Like me, and perhaps like many of you, he was eager to be a part of a global community of people who create, share, and work peacefully toward a better world.

So together with people from all over the world, we’ve been working hard to tell his story and amplify his message and call for his release. All accounts of him testify that he is a peaceful figure with remarkable technical skills, and a great resource of creative, free-thinking, and entrepreneurial spirit in Syria, a country that desperately needs such figures.

In the last 3+ years, we’ve all been concerned about his well-being. His wife, thankfully, is able to visit him and share with the outside world the fact that he is alive, and generally okay. despite constant worries for his psychological well-being, and the fact that any day, something could happen that radically alters his fate.

Besides this, we do not hear specific updates from Bassel very often. But then, this morning we received some news, the type of news we fear, news that he was told to pack his bags, and was taken to an unknown location.

If you search the #freebassel hashtag on Twitter right now, you will see that there has been a frenzy of activity, we are all worried about what this means, and need to make sure that the Syrian authorities know that we are watching and paying attention. We’ve asked his wife, Noura, if she could give us any further information, and just a few hours ago she told us the following:

I don't have any new update about Bassel, just what I said this morning:

Bassel called and told me "a patrol arrived, they asked me to take all my belongings, and said I should go with them". One of his cellmates called me after Bassel was gone and confirmed that he was taken to the military court.

He was investigated at the end of 2012, with no court sentence. It is very strange that they are taking him again now, and why do they ask him to take all his belongings? There are different possibilities, but I'm scared, as his wife, same fear I had when they took him from me 2 weeks before our wedding.

As his lawyer, a human rights lawyer, I am worried about his life, and his uncertain future, now again. As his lawyer and wife I ask you, please help: Human rights organizations, media, diplomats, etc.. Help save Bassel ... Please pray for Bassel, me and Bassel need your support, any kind of support. Our families need your support. Syria, which is burning, now more than ever, needs Bassel and everyone like him.

Bassel and Noura together, when he was free. Image stylized via openclipart.

We, here, are all very far away from Syria, it’s true. He is on the other side of the world, in a radically different environment than the one we are in now, here in San Francisco, in book store that also doubles as a gallery and social space, a space to meet new people and share ideas, and feel empowered that our voice matters. The kind of space that is difficult to imagine in Syria.

But we all have something that we can do, thanks to the sort of tools he was working on, and that is to share his story and the story of others like him. And there are people here in San Francisco who are working hard to tell these stories. Danny O’Brien, for example, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has a website (eff.org/offline) that chronicles Bassel’s case and cases of other technologists who have been imprisoned because of free speech, or sharing knowledge and access to the tools that enable it. We can go to these sites to learn, and share the information that we learn. We can help give Bassel a voice and share the work he did and the ideas that drove him. And we can make sure the Syrian government knows that we are watching, and that we will not be silent. Because we do have a vessel to communicate. A simple tweet on social media will help amplify this voice to the people who follow you, and maybe they will retweet and help to spread it further.

Dear Bassel, 

It's been too long, and this is the first of what I hope to be more frequent letters, giving you updates on the world outside (there is a lot to report on). I'm writing you now about the Zone9 bloggers, a group of 10 journalists/bloggers (personally, I think the two terms should be seen as nearly synonymous) in Ethiopia who were arrested in April of this year under terrorism charges for their reporting and for taking a course on digital security. They were charged in accordance with the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation which has been widely used to suppress critical voices and criminalize dissent, and stand accused of collaborating with opposition groups in the country who they were, in fact, criticizing in accordance with forming an honest, candid, and civic minded dialogue. 

I would imagine you would sympathize with their situation and would join in the call for their release, were you not in prison yourself, and cut off from communications about such topics. 

Their trial is beginning on the 4th of August, and today there is a global tweetathon in solidarity with the bloggers and to draw attention to their case. 

Here's a screenshot from Twitter today in searching for the #freezone9bloggers hashtag:

This tweetathon thing is an interesting concept - a similar endeavor was made for your birthday recently. And one would certainly be organized at the time of your trial, were it ever to take place (although for that you would need to be charged, which, like thousands of your fellow prisoners in Syria, has not happened, despite your being locked up for more than 860 days). 

In the interest of archives, here's a screenshot of searching #freebassel on Twitter today:

The name Zone9 is derived from the section in Kality Prison in Addis Ababa where journalists and human rights workers are held, which is called Zone8. Zone9 refers to the invisible prison that the bloggers describe as surrounding all the citizens of Ethiopia, who could be arrested at any time for speaking out. 

The bloggers of the group were arrested just 2 days after announcing that they would be returning to blogging after nearly 6 months of silence.

Similar to the Syrian government, the Ethiopian government is among the greatest violators to the right of free expression and has one of the largest and most sophisticated Internet monitoring and filtering systems in the world, as both countries use counterterroism laws as a means to stifle dissent. 

Syria has been named as the most dangerous country for journalists, while since 2001, Ethiopia has forced more journalists into exile than any other country. 

I'm curious how similar situations are in the prisons as well - does yours have different zones? Do you perceive an invisible prison beyond your walls as well? Given your experiences in prison over the last 2+ years, what would you do in response to the Zone9 bloggers if you were free now?

Like millions of others, I wish for all of these walls to come down - in all countries, and especially the walls inside ourselves, the ones we erect out of fear of retribution and punishment for speaking out, engaging rights we are given by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But who enforces these rights? How can we leverage the digital tools that enable us to come together and show solidarity in order to actually maintain and expand these rights to all people?

I have to end this letter now, but will come back to edit it and add more information, eventually creating a more conclusive conclusion -- although, really, a conclusion is not appropriate since this is all ongoing, and will always be (could there ever be a global free press? Or must the press, by definition, always exist in opposition to a censoring body? In such a vision where global freedom of information and knowledge is possible, technologists like yourself in tandem with fearless writers like the Zone9 group are a necessary part of the equation). I will start a new letter with information on the trial, hoping that the solidarity and accountability efforts will have an impact on it. Perhaps from this we could learn about strategies to help you as well. 

Dear Bassel,

Happy Birthday to you. This video is a happy birthday song from Krokodil Gena from the Russian, Soviet era animated series Cheburashka. It's a very special song to me, which my sister sings to me every year on my birthday. I know it might seem strange to be thinking of a Russian song for you, given the current relationship between the Russian and Syrian government - but to me this song, like all art, and especially that which is made for children, transcends the politics of nations states through its ability to appeal to imagination, wonder, and innocence in a way that is exceedingly more universal than it is divisive. We were all children once, no matter where we came from. And there is great hope there.

Obviously children's literature and film is often used as a propaganda tool - so don't get me wrong, it's clearly much more complicated than I allude to above. But beyond that, this song is simply a song about being happy because it is one's birthday, and it has a bit of a minor key to it which sounds sad at some moments. And in the animation, it is raining. But Krokodil Gena is happy, and playing his accordion. He is happy despite everything, because it is his birthday. 

An English translation of some of the lines illustrates this further:

I wish that a wizard Would fly in, in a light blue helicopter, And show a movie for free. He would wish me a happy birthday And probably, leave as a present 500 ice cream sandwiches.

But I'm playing the accordion For all the passersby to see. Unfortunately, Birthdays Only come once a year.

I wish that a wizard would fly in and do more than show a movie for free - I wish he would set you free! And as a present, give you as much junk food as you want. 

But more realistically I hope that, like Krokodil Gena, you find yourself happy today, because you know it is your birthday, and because somehow you are able to receive all the messages your friends, loved ones, and supporters are sending you today. And that you are playing your version of the accordion. 

There is indeed a lot of Internet buzz about you today - many people and organizations tweeting and blogging about you and your life and sending you birthday wishes. I made this short video for you as well. The common sentiment in all messages is that we hope this will be your last birthday in prison, and that by this time next year, you will be free with your family. 

One of my favorite lines that I have seen is from Larry the Free Software Guy, who says: "Let’s get Bassel back home to his loved ones, so he can resume his life and, once he’s ready, let’s get him coding again."

I find it very touching that people are thinking of you coding again, but only in the context of you being ready. It's true, many are eager to work with you and/or your code again, and it seems like you're being away for so long will give you a fresh perspective that could usher in a whole new era of web technology. Or maybe you won't want to code anymore - who knows? Maybe with all this time you've had away from computers - you've come up with ideas that are beyond computers... But to me, Krokodil Gena's accordion is like your computer (the proverbial computer) - and I hope that somehow you've found a way to play it today. 

Happy Birthday, dear Bassel. 

Interview with Bassel's friend Dino, conducted in Paris (originally in French) in early 2014. 

How do you know Bassel?

I worked at Al-Aous, so he was in charge of programming there. Al-Aous is a publishing house, but they also have a website, Discover Syria, where they give information, also about the city of Palmyra for instance. Bassel was in charge of developing technology as well. I started working there when I was an assistant teacher at the University of Fine Arts. After a few years I received a fellowship to continue my education in France. So I moved, and it was the first day of the Syrian revolution.

Describe the impression the Bassel gave you. Why is his freedom important?

He is a very active person, he does not sleep much. He often works for no money. He likes to help people, by teaching them how to use new technologies, new ways of thinking. He is the first person who launched the Creative Commons in Syria, he organized the first symposium with Joi Ito. So I used to work with him to make the posters, flyers for the symposium. It was good because usually creative workers like me work on their own and we don't often share our work, we are afraid someone would steal it; but Bassel showed us that it is not like that, you can't stay on your own, the world has changed. You have to give your work, and someone else with share it, and another person will share their own work, and in this way you will create a network and everyone will know your work. And that's how we started to know Creative Commons. Also, Bassel created the Aiki Lab, he rented a big apartment, it was a place opened for everyone. Which means you could arrive at anytime, and choose yourself a space on a table with your computer and work. There was free wifi, a kitchen, a bathroom, everything you need. It was a collective space, a collective mood to work. Everything was free of charge, but had had to bring your own material. You could also use some meeting spaces to organize workshops or lectures...Personally, I used the space for a photography workshop with 15 students from the University, we made collages, we printed photos and made a little exhibition. We also had an exhibition made in partnership with Libyan artists. This did not exist before, you couldn't find a place to initiate projects and express yourself.  Bassel is very dynamic and does a lot of projects for no money. For this I think he tried to find cultural funding, not political funding from parties or so.

When did you leave Syria and why?

As I said I was awarded a fellowship from the Syrian government to come study in France. About a year ago, they stopped my funding, because of my political activities, because I am against the regime and I participated in demonstrations, and made some posters. Some friends in my program reported my activities and those of others to the Syrian regime. It was a bilateral fellowship between France and Syria, we were twenty-three people benefiting from the funding in the program, in Grenoble.

How can creativity be useful against violence or be an alternative to violence?

First of all, personally I don't have any other means of action. But the question is always to know if what I do has some effect or not in reality, in society. I think that in a way, yes. Maybe the effects are very small, but they exist. When you address someone about the Syrian war, you need to speak to them in their own language, so I can't use any traditional imagery from Syria in Paris. I have to adapt to the language here. I think some people understand the message; I receive a lot of feedback on Facebook for example, comments from foreigners (Europeans). I think each person has their own way of expressing things and mine is creativity, not to be a politician or a social worker.

About my work, I have already been interviewed on French television (channel France 24), I participated in a radio show on France Culture, there was a book published by Le Monde called “Syria, art is armed” (L'art en armes). For me, all this social networking is for the public, it makes a lot of people look at my work and more aware of what is happening. At least, some people can see, even though they are not convinced, they see.

If you don't see the conflict, it is as if it didn't exist?

Exactly. I don't want to have strong effects on people, I can't change their life or the world, it is impossible. But I want them to see what is happening and at least to know about it. Here, in the media, everyone thinks the revolution is now radically Islamic. But there is only one view, and someone told me one day, when all the media say the same thing, you know there is a problem. But for us, the Syrians, we could also relay information; we have family and friends there, even though sometimes they are scared and don't say anything.

How can artistic activities be seen as a threat to an authoritarian regime or to a democratic regime?

Letter* to Bassel from his wife Noura, on the occasion of the first anniversary of their marriage (6 January 2014). 

One year of marriage where they have only been able to hold hands through the bars of his cell. 

#freebassel so that he and Noura can embrace, for the first time as husband and wife. 

Letter* to Bassel from his wife Noura from 1 January 2014, wishes to him about their relationship and the New Year. 

A heartfelt and inspiring letter from Bassel's dear friend Dona.

"Let's go back to work," indeed. 

Happy Anniversary to Bassel and Noura and may you be together again soon

6 January 2013 was the 1 year anniversary of Bassel's marriage to Noura, a human rights lawyer. The letter above, which is as moving and heartbreaking as it is passionate and hopeful, was sent to Noura from Bassel in commemoration of their anniversary. 

Bassel was arrested a few days before their Islamic marriage contract was due to be signed. Noura decided to finalize the marriage contract while he was in prison, explaining: “Bassel had been detained for about a year. Its been a long time and therefore I decided to finalize our marriage contract and officially get married while he is in prison. Yesterday I visited him with the lawyer and we declared our marriage. Perhaps our joy is not complete while he is still imprisoned but our rings have tied us together as a married couple. Bassel went on hunger strike in prison when they took his ring from him. Me too. I’ll hold on to this ring until Bassel comes back.”

A question for written answer on the imprisonment of Bassel Khartabil has been officially raised in front on the European parliament. "In March 2012, the Assad regime in Syria arrested Bassel Safadi Khartabil, a 31-year-old Syrian of Palestinian origin. Mr Khartabil is a distinguished computer engineer who, through his innovations with social media, digital education and open-source web software, is credited with opening up the Internet in Syria - a country with a notorious record of online censorship - and vastly extending online access and knowledge to the Syrian people. He has contributed to numerous Internet projects, and was ranked by the American 'Foreign Policy' magazine as the 19th most influential thinker in 2012 (one place above Mario Draghi). His volunteer work, which was always anti-violent in its nature, was greatly valued by Syrians of all backgrounds, and it is strongly suspected that his arrest was designed to stifle free expression in Syria, and restrict Syrian citizens' abilities to engage with online communities and discourses. It is alleged that Mr Khartabil has faced torture at the hands of the Syrian authorities, and throughout his incarceration he has been denied all forms of legal representation. Although he has been moved from a military to a civilian jail, and despite his total absence of military activity, he still faces a military court, and a life sentence. Despite all of this, he has still not been formally charged with any crime. 1. Is the VP/HR aware of the ongoing imprisonment of Bassel Safadi Khartabil? If so, has she issued any public statement on the matter? 2. Does she agree that this represents a further abuse by the Assad regime in its attempts to block the free spread of information? 2. Will the VP/HR use the leverage available to her to press for his release, insisting upon his status as a non-combatant whose only crime has been to oppose censorship and promote the freedom of information?"

Dear Bassel,

Dear Bassel,

The above letter from your friend Céline, who you met in Beirut through Creative Commons Lebanon, was decorated with the help of her daughter. This strikes me as a touching idea: involving children in this letter-writing act. 

Céline also shared this drawing she made of you on your most recent birthday, your second birthday in prison. I will post it here with the hope that you will be free to celebrate your next one with family and friends in May. This is also a good moment to reflect on some of the Birthday Wishes that were collected for you by the Index on Censorship this year. 

Dear Bassel,

The interview with your friend Barry has now moved into the realm of video. In this first segment, Barry reflects on when he first met you (and others from Fabrikatorz) in China in 2010 and discusses some of the projects, such as the Aiki Framework, that you were working on at the time. Barry also talks about his impression of your personality (which I imagine is strange for you to hear), and the ways in which your approach to the world has left an impact on him. 

The next Barry interviews are about the Fabrikatorz trip to Damascus in 2010, and more specifically, Aiki Lab, the hackerspace you started there. These are important histories to record and I'm honored to be a part of their documentation. If only your imprisonment wasn't the factor compelling them to be collected and shared at this time. (Or perhaps this is a double-sided silver lining). 

In any case, be well and know that you are missed.

Dear Bassel,

The above graphic, depicting you with many languages above your head and, sadly, you behind bars, is a gift from your friend Ahmad, who is now living in Paris.

Very soon after this image was shared online, your friend Jenny remixed it into posters and stickers that she then placed around Hong Kong and brought into her daily life (and of course documented/shared with #freebassel hashtag on Instagram, sending the images straight to the freebassel.org homepage.) 

Never skipping a beat, Jenny has been doing this with every #Freebassel graphic that surfaces online. It's an incredible ongoing action - and I'm curious what you think about it? 

I was also curious about how Ahmad felt, seeing his work blossom into something slightly different on the other side of the globe. Here's his reply:

"It is a nice gesture to see my work in the streets of Hong Kong and I thank Jenny for this. Looking at it as the artist who made the original work, I would have done the finishing differently myself. :)  But the beautiful thing is that it made me think: Why not re-produce this work with different colors?"

In thinking about this, I'm tempted to say something like "even from behind bars, you are fostering creativity, global collaboration, and open discourse in unique ways - you are indeed an amazing figure!" but saying that would be treating you like a symbol, which is best avoided (for reasons that should be obvious). 

Instead just take this as evidence that we are thinking about you, and working to make you more visible to the outside world. And the process is also helping us in beautiful and creative ways - which seems to be part of your magic. So why not believe that with enough volume, organization, and love, we can harness this magic so that you may be physically present, and free, in the outside world again, soon?

I know that I believe it.

"Be well because we are all waiting for you" - Letter from and mini-interview with Sherry Al-Hayek

Sherry Al-Hayek is a Syrian blogger and activist, currently living in the United States, who is involved in numerous collaborative art and web projects centered around the war in Syria that give voice for creative, peaceful action to bring democracy to the country. In 2012 she accepted the award for "Best Social Activism Campaign" at the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards on behalf of the Facebook page "Freerazan," a page dedicated to Syrian bloggers who have been detained for their work. In accepting the award, she stated: "This award is not for the page, but for the people on the ground. The real fighters." She is also involved in the project "Syrians know their way," a collaborative poster campaign project that aims to empower Syrians at home and abroad through pathfinding solidarity. 

How do you know Bassel?

I never met Bassel. I heard about him in the blogger sphere in Syria but we never met. When he was detained it concerned me because people like Bassel are essential for convincing the international community that there is a peaceful movement for change in Syria. Bassel and many others like him are not terrorists, and it's our job to communicate this to everyone in the world. It's those of us who are not in detention that have to carry messages across. This is why I am involved in Bassel's cause. 

I understand you are part of the Creative Commons community, could you say more about this?

I blog under the CC licenses and publish a lot of work (art work, videos, etc,) under CC with other group members in Syria. I attended the CC Arab meeting last year in Cairo, where we made this video calling for Bassel's release, and worked on few project with the rest of the Arab CC community members. 

Where do you live now, and do you expect that to change anytime soon?

I currently live in Chicago, where I have been living for the past 11 years. I am in the process of moving closer to Syria in the Middle East in order to get more involved with other Syrians and to be part of the transition that is taking place in there right now. 

Mini-Interview with Giorgos

Could you share a story/anecdote about a time that Bassel made you laugh? 

I distinctly remember how I was entertained but also shocked by Bassel's stories regarding how often the Syrian regime would arrest people and lead them for questioning on some silly premise, like if somebody would indicate that he or she has any relationship to anyone in Israel or would even dare travel to that country. I learned from Bassel that even before the civil war it was customary for the authorities to pick people up from their homes and question them without due process and without really getting anything out of it other than perhaps creating a climate of fear and state control. That is not exactly a joke, but it sort of sounds like it to anyone used to a more democratic and dignified style of governance. Sometimes there's a fine line between tragedy and comedy. I guess because absurdity is humorous until it becomes tyranny. 

Describe your first time meeting Bassel in person. 

I met him at a Creative Commons conference, and we quickly became friends because he is a very kind and giving person. Although he spent much time online, as do I, he isn't the kind of person to rely solely on the Internet to build relationships. He is very personable and fun to be with. 

What are some of the changes/advancements in Internet technologies since the time Bassel has been in prison that you think he'd be most interested in? What sort of "tech updates" would you want to give him?

Bassel knows a lot more than I do about Internet technologies. He is passionate about technology and how it can be used to improve the human condition. I wouldn't be surprised if he has found a way to keep up-to-date behind bars! I look forward to meeting him again one day and I'm sure I will learn more from him than he will from me. 

More generally, what has been the most exciting/useful "new thing" in Internet technology/concept for you since March 2012? 

Do I need to have one? I can't think of anything :) I'm more concerned with the social and policy aspects of Internet use. For example, here's an interesting initiative in Greece whereby a group of citizens try to reimagine a new, networked and more participative mode of governance for the country, rehashing some popular ideas regarding networked collaboration and citizen engagement using Internet technologies from the US, but situating them in the context of crisis-ridden Greece.

I guess I'm excited about videogames and music tech, none of which has much to do with the Internet at large. Also the open-sourcing of things and electronics  such as here.

And another example of a company that has open-sourced the designs of accessories for their product such that customers can have them built anywhere or, if they have the means, print at home - like this.

So what do you think about the idea of the Internet functioning like a contemporary Agora (central "gathering place" in city-states of Ancient Greece)? 

Yes, that is an apt description and avoids the Internet-centrism of some commentators, with the Internet being an agora situated in historical practice rather than a space of unique, liberating possibility as some would have it. 

And I think it's not hard to link this to #Freebassel since Bassel himself is sort of a child of the Internet, uniquely Arab and uniquely himself, but nevertheless sharing some of the genuine excitement and optimism regarding the social and political role of communications technology that many others also share, in the US and elsewhere. You can tell he's been to the 'agora' and has come back changed perhaps. 

What could we say of people like Bassel? Is his imprisonment and eventual inability to influence anything in his country indicating that some of the hopes and aspirations we attach to the Internet as a whole are misguided? Or is the network of people campaigning for his release a testament to the opposite? How do we need to understand/theorize public online spaces so as to do justice to the hopes and dreams of people like Bassel who felt empowered within such  spaces, but also remaining cognizant of the very real limitations that have led him and many others to face forces greater than themselves?

The agora is one such interesting and historically rooted metaphor which eschews the moralism and technological determinism of other approaches to understanding the role of networks/internets, but there are others...

[preface] Dear Bassel,

Here is the first segment of an interview with your friend Barry. I want to emphasize that it is only the first - as you’ll see, much of what is discussed is about work (his work and how it intersects with yours), rather than being about you as a person. But standby - as more of that will be coming later.

The interview starts regarding an extract from the panel discussion at the event that introduced me to you, via Barry, whose idea it was to invite you as also as a panelist. The event was the Spring 2011 Design + Technology Salon at the San Francisco Art Institute, which was loosely organized around the question of "political applications of projection mapping."

You can see the extract Barry refers to here. And here you can see an excerpt where you discuss the 3D photorealistic reconstruction of the ancient city of Palmyra project that you were working on at the time.

Part of this interview was conducted via email while y/our friend Jon was in town. I was able to meet Jon and Barry for drinks a couple times during that visit, and felt very lucky to do so, since it seems a rare occurrence for the two of them to be in the same place. It was, of course, also distracting because I kept trying to imagine what your role is like with these two, the trio that you form. I kept picturing this photo of the three of you and wondering how you interject into their banter, how your more heightened interest in politics and life experience coming from Syria would influence the conversation. 

I can only imagine that it’s the type of conversation that could have a large impact on the world, from the bottom up and the inside out. So it's fitting that this image shows the three of you around a table - it's a reminder of the importance of getting you out so that you can sit around a table with Barry and Jon (and so many others) again. [end preface]

Interview with Bassel's Friend Barry, Pt. 1

Let’s start by talking about this question from the audience that frames the intersection of projection mapping and “the everyday” in an interesting way. The question is basically: "in terms of what you did at the Guggenheim - it's interesting thinking about YouTube entering spheres of 'high art,' alongside ideas of how everyday viewing of YouTube could take on a new form. Thinking about things similar to what you've shown, things like what we've had in Korea for something like 2 years now, interactive pool tables or things like that, things where mapping technologies are used to make interactive objects that derive from and function as 'furniture' in some ways. so far only in public spaces, really. But do you see this as a possible movement for these technologies, into more domestic spaces? Like people's homes?”

Yes, of course this stuff will become more ubiquitous. But in a way they only make sense in public space in terms of social interactions. You wouldn't be very interested in having most interactive installations in your home for just you, but when there are people interacting with them together in public space they become more valuable.

At one point in your response, you start to "pass the ball" to Bassel for his insight from the web angle of things, but it is thwarted by technical difficulties. What kind of information were you looking for from him here? And to that end could you describe the differences between your areas of expertise? I wasn't looking for anything in particular besides his perspective on web issues. I also felt like I'd been talking too long and wanted him to say something.Also because I was commenting on questions that are his purview, not mine. It's not my expertise.

He uses technologies a lot closer to the ground, and to people's every day lives. I tend to work on art projects, which is a luxury. Bassel was working on things that were useful to people in a much more direct way.

Do you feel like what you do isn't useful? does it interest you to imagine your work becoming closer to other people's every day lives? Could you say more about the kinds of things Bassel was working on?

No, I feel like it is useful. It's just a luxury on the great scale of things. People getting bombed arguably don't give a fuck about art. I think my work does touch people's lives, its just not subsistence.

I think Bassel's goals were directly to improve the conditions of those living in Syria.

In thinking about experiences you have had in your work since this time, narrow down to the last 16 months (at time of writing) in which Bassel has been in prison- what are some projects you've worked on that you would like to talk to him about?

I think I would like to talk to him about multimedia projects that work on more open source and web stacks. I also think he would be excited about more recent developments in data visualization for large sets and their display on the web, it would perhaps help him to conceptualize some of the political situations he's been working to change.

Could you explain what a web stack is... it's like a layered package that you need for web development...

Technologies are built on top of one another. You need fire to make steel, you need steel to make blades, you need blades to make a plow, you need plows to make wheat.

That would be an "agriculture stack".

What sorts of political situations is he trying to change? Are you trying to change anything? (political or otherwise)

I think he's trying to improve conditions for those in his country (and Palestine).

I'm not trying to change anything political. I'm an artist working with immersive experience. It's all aesthetic.

Whether it’s being used for aesthetic or political purposes, do you see writing software as a form of building? 

Yes, I see software writing as building I suppose. It's actually a lot like building a physical structure in that you are both creating possibilities for people to inhabit new spaces as well as building limitations for them.

And similar to the act of building, from architects to contractors, they are collaborative efforts that require orchestrating many people's skill sets to arrive at a final outcome.

Do you think that the complexity of software is taken for granted by the public, that there is too much an expectation for magic from a user’s perspective that the amount of work that goes into it is unappreciated?. Do you find this is true with clients? Could you describe some of your techniques for dealing with this?

I don't think a user should know how complicated software is if you've done your job well. That's the whole point. However, it becomes an issue with custom work because often times the clients desires change mid project and it is hard to explain why it is difficult to do things that seem simple but hadn't been planned for from the beginning.

In preparation for our next conversation - seeing as I have a tendency to get distracted into metaphorical quandaries about software and culture.. What are some things we should talk about next time? 

What are relevant things to talk about? The Middle East, Creative Commons, Copyright issues, software development and freedom issues, "Hackerspaces", historical preservation projects, web development or just direct questions about my memory of him.

Good idea. Thanks for keeping me grounded. It's just a bit overwhelming, as it seems like Bassel had a profound impact on every life he touched.. 

Just remember that he is a person. That is the focus. 

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Image Credits, in order of appearance:

Photo by Joi Ito via Barry Threw Photo by illustir on Flickr - Jon, Barry, Bassel, and Christopher waiting on the Syrian border 25 October 2010 Photo by Michael Vernon Guerrero Mendiola