COL Report: Secret weapons of Syrian protesters revealed

Much has been made of the body count in Syria as antigovernment protesters have been slaughtered by the thousands. The government has its disposal, and has used liberally, armed soldiers and police, tanks, artillery, bombers, and the much feared secret police. But the people are not as helpless as one might imagine. In fact, they are employing secret weapons that the government cannot resist.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (Catholic Online) - Gandhi had it right when he suggested that peaceful protest would be the most effective way to bring about change. While the Arab Spring has seen violent uprisings, and armed conflict, most notably in Libya, which has left thousands of people dead on all sides, the people of Damascus are waging a peaceful campaign in the face of the secret police.

Surprisingly, the people appear to be winning the fight.

The people of Damascus have to be very careful. The city is tightly controlled by the government, with secret police deployed virtually everywhere. Demonstrations are frequently disrupted and suppressed as quickly as they start. Many people will not participate in public  acts of defiance which put them in physical jeopardy.

However, the population is embracing a new wave of tactics which are relatively safe, and entirely nonviolent.

Perhaps one of the most common tactics is the use of brightly colored flyers and leaflets pasted in public places. Garbage cans, street lights, on buildings, colored leaflets attracts the eye and show support for the protests spreading across the country. While the leaflets can be removed, they spread ideas, and in about a a revolution nothing is so powerful as an idea. Best of all, the leaflets can be cheaply mass-produced, they can be placed faster than they can be removed, and they can be posted anonymously.

But the tactics don't simply include leaflets. In one attention getting act of defiance, anti-government protesters tape-recorded music and messages that were critical of Assad's regime. They attached these recorders to tiny speakers, placed them in garbage bags, and deposited those bags in bins throughout the city. As soon as activists were safely away, the recordings started to play loudly for all to hear. By the time security forces were able to retrieve the devices, they had already done their damage -- a sort of an improvised ideological bomb.

And the protesters have become even more brazen. Recently, they secretly deposited dark red dye into public fountains throughout the city. One of the fountains sat directly in front of the headquarters of the government's intelligence services. The dye made the water run the color of blood and was intended to symbolize the blood shed by the estimated 5,000 anti-government protesters which security forces have killed.

In another act of defiance, protesters managed to set up a high-powered but entirely harmless laser on a hilltop opposite Assad's residence. The beam shone directly into his windows and caused his security guards to fire their weapons into the air, since they did not know if the residence was under attack from the air -- or what was happening at all.

It's acts such as these that enable the people of Syria to show their solidarity with protesters outside of the capital. The efforts are organized on social networking sites under dummy accounts so that the government cannot track down the organizers. For security reasons, most of the organizers don't even know one another -- or at least not their real names.

The best thing about these activities is that they are nonviolent, bloodless affairs. The people are able to bring attention and shame upon Assad's regime for its crimes against humanity while nobody is hurt. And all the while the government, well accustomed to the use of force, can do nothing to stop these creative protests.

While a very real conflict fought with weapons is going on in the countryside, another equally genuine conflict is being fought openly on the streets of Damascus. It is a battle of wits and ideals.
So far, the rebels are winning, and nobody has to die. This is proof once again that the way of righteousness and peace is the true path to victory in any hardship. The resistance of Damascus is a shining example for all to see.

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