iPhone App Helps Fight the Assad Regime
In an effort to combat government censorship of news events coming out of the country about the opposition, a group of developers created Souria Wa Bas which provides news from protests taking place in Syria. Because of extreme censorship in Syria this is news the user may not be able to get anywhere else.
The app team gives a shout-out to a handful of opposition groups, including the Local Coordination Committees that claim to have members across the country. The app features links for news, videos, a map of opposition hot spots, and … jokes. That may seem odd, but the opposition has shown that it can keep a sense of humor even in the face of withering violence: one of the most well-known opposition songs features humorous putdowns of Assad, his family, and regime cronies. The jokes in the app use similar biting humor to criticize the regime. One link shows Assad wearing a shepherd’s outfit and standing next to a donkey with the punch line “Bashar al Assad wandering in the mountains of Tehran in disguise.” The Tehran reference is a jab at Iran’s leaders, who have shown strong support for the regime.
You can download Sourla Wa Bas here from the Apple App Store.
