The Syrian Oral History Archive (SOHA) is an initiative launched by Dawlaty as an attempt to create a comprehensive Syrian narrative about what happened in Syria from the beginning of the peaceful movement in 2011 until today, collecting oral histories and building a unified archive that any Syrian from current and future generations can access. This initiative does not merely focus on identifying violations, but rather tells detailed stories of Syrian men and women, who lived through this period, whether they witnessed violations directly or not.
In addition, this archive contributes to the documentation of these experiences and ordinary life testimonies, that complement the official recorded history by documenting individual and local knowledge, which are widely absent due to exclusion or marginalisation of such voices. Hence, a decisive aim of the archive is to communicate these experiences, needs, and priorities to public opinion and decision-makers.
SOHA relies on the storytelling of narrators to produce an archive that speaks directly on behalf of Syrians, with the greatest possible amount of transparency and inclusivity. Dawlaty has sought to, and continues to work towards reaching all Syrians, wherever they may be, yet in safe environments that guarantee the safety of the narrator, as well as the transparency of the interviews.
Since the collected testimonies span over different periods and places, and as each narrator has experienced the conflict in different ways coming from different regions; and subjected to different forms of violation at both individual and collective levels, the testimonies address a wide range of themes; military transgression, detention, enforced disappearance, bombing, exploitation, corruption, siege, daily suffering, exile and displacement, in addition to changes in social relations, and deprivation of education.
The Current Collections included in the Archive
The current collection consists of approximately 400 testimonies, which have been collected from different regions in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Some of these testimonies are subject to restrictions and conditions set by the narrators themselves. The available testimonies were collected in the years 2016-2018, and the collection methodology focused on documenting the testimonies of marginalized groups and segments, taking into consideration that this was in the midst of the war years, highest attention was paid to the protection of victims and with attention to gender-sensitivities, especially that the archive collected a large number of women’s testimonies. Testimonies showcased in the current collection can be defined into two main categories:
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Testimonies of women constitute 56.6% of all the current available testimonies, with the first subcategory focusing on female relatives of detainees and the forcibly disappeared, including, among other topics, the impact these experiences have had on them. These stories and experiences were collected through individual interviews with the women narrators, who either survived the impacts of the conflict, or endured losses of family members, displacement, migration, narrowing of women’s participation in public life, and general marginalization of their roles.
To collect testimonies from women, a group of female interviewers were trained, and special attention was given to creating safe spaces for them, so that they safely could tell their stories and narrate their experiences during the war years.
- The second category is young Syrians, aged between 18-24, who in addition to telling their stories, were able through their participation to discuss their different views, identify common topics and values, and not at least to develop common visions of citizenship and belonging.
Phases of SOHA project
- In 2015, Dawlaty worked in different regions across Syria, and it was in light of the intensifying armed conflict that Dawlaty chose to give particular attention to the most vulnerable and marginalized groups across Syria. Dawlaty chose to work with two main groups of society, due to the scope of these groups’ issues. And the idea of working with oral history emerged from the aim to raise the voices of these groups, through recording and preserving unique life stories.
- In 2016, a team of interviewers/collectors represented across 14 different regions in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon was trained on Oral History methods and specifically on how to collect testimonies and how to conduct interviews with vulnerable women and young people.
- Hereafter the work of collecting testimonies underwent between the years 2016-2018, through this period a total of 400 testimonies were collected.
- In the following years, the collected testimonies were processed in accordance with the permission granted by each narrator (informed consent form) and based on other advice of the narrator. Also, some names and geographical locations were anonymized in order to preserve the privacy and security of individuals involved.
- Mechanisms for maintaining, storing and organizing archives have also been developed, and a specialized archive platform was developed, through which the oral history testimonies are published. Throughout this period, Dawlaty cooperated with Syrian partners, such as Women Now for Development, to collect testimonies. Dawlaty also engaged with various groups and individuals to produce artworks inspired by the testimonies.
- In order to promote spaces for creative work and immortalize the memory of Syrians, Dawlaty launched the Community Art Project, which is part of the oral history project.
