A-Infos (en) Germany, Die Platform: In Memory of Omar Aziz - 12 Years After His Death (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Omar Aziz, born in 1949 in Damascus, was an intellectual, economist, and 
anarchist who had a significant influence on the Syrian revolution since 
2011. After years in exile, he returned to his homeland shortly after 
the protests began to actively support the revolutionary movement. 
Together with local residents, he gathered humanitarian aid and 
distributed it in Damascus suburbs affected by regime attacks. ---- With 
hist work, Aziz promoted local self-governance, horizontal organization, 
solidarity, and mutual aid as means of liberation from state tyranny. 
Together with other revolutionaries, he founded the first local 
committee in Barzeh, Damascus. The model of these local committees 
spread nationwide and became one of the most promising examples of 
non-hierarchical self-organization during the Arab Spring.

However, Omar Aziz also recognized the shortcomings of the Syrian 
revolution. He criticized the lack of connection between revolutionary 
activities and people's everyday lives. Aziz emphasized that it was not 
enough to participate in demonstrations while continuing to live within 
the hierarchical structures imposed by the state. He described this as 
the coexistence of "the time of authority," which dictates daily life, 
and "the time of revolution," which is shaped by the revolutionaries.

For the revolution to achieve lasting success, he argued that 
revolutionary activities must permeate all aspects of life and bring 
about radical changes in social organization and interpersonal 
relationships. Aziz saw positive examples in the numerous initiatives 
across the country, such as the voluntary provision of medical and legal 
support, the transformation of homes into field hospitals, and the 
distribution of food packages. He viewed these actions as expressions of 
the Syrian people's spirit of resistance against the regime's brutality. 
His goal was to expand these practices through the establishment of 
local councils.

Today, on February 16, 2025, twelve years after his death, we remember 
Omar Aziz and his vision of revolutionary self-organization. His legacy 
lives on in the ongoing struggles for a world built on justice and 
solidarity.

For a world beyond oppression and authority. In solidarity with our 
sister organization, Têkosîna Anarsîst.

"If the revolution fails, my life and that of my whole generation would 
be devoid of meaning... all that we have dreamt of and believed in would 
have been mere illusion."

- Omar Aziz

https://www.dieplattform.org/2025/02/16/in-gedenken-an-omar-aziz-12-jahre-nach-seinem-tod/#more-3428


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