A video leaked widely circulated on Facebook has attracted and divided thousands of Syrians, who have "liked" and "disliked" the clip.
But the phrase, used by a Free Syrian Army officer as he speaks to an elderly Alwaite man in Latakia province in the clip, has stopped Syrians, making them pause, unifying them and awakening a national spirit.
"I am from Syria… from our country," said Mustafa Abdul Karem Shaddoud, reminding Syrians of the fact that however they categorize themselves, between all the martyrs and the dead, Syria will continue unifying them.
Almost immediately after the clip was circulated, a youth group launched a Facebook page named 'The Martyr of Syria, Mustafa Shaddoud'.
When the number of followers reached 8,000, the group launched a simple and quick campaign whereby every subscriber sent an email with a picture of themselves holding a sign reading: "I am from Syria… from our country."
The group will also film a documentary about the martyr Mustafa Shaddoud, accompanied by the works of the campaign participants.
Zaman al-Wasl spoke with the organizer of the campaign, who said that it started with improvised and spontaneous steps, but was successful because of the influential and moving statement.
The organizer said the campaign is operating without any funding, emphasizing that it is a national campaign that will not accept any political donations.
"As long as the money is political, the production will not be national," he said.
He said that the activities of the page are executed through individual efforts and this will continue as long as the campaign is just online.
When it moves to filming on the streets, the organizers will discuss what to do.
When the administrator was asked about the success of the campaign, he said that it could not be measured now, as it is still at a visionary stage.
"The strategy used to reach the goal might be through taking more realistic steps in some regions," he said.
"The success of the campaign depends on its transformation into reality. This needs cooperation with national and civil organizations."
He said the only obstacle to the success of "unifying Syrians" is the state of tension between some Syrian youths.
"Reactions are still emotional and instinctive in some cases, but this doesn’t deny the existence of national reactions among all parties. The national reactions have been the most common," the administrator added.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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