A story of survival & revolution
I took to the streets, was chasing death and life, teasing both, poking them like a friend. I did not want to die, but I did not care if it happened.
Since the beginning of the uprising in 2011, the Syrian government has killed and arrested hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Millions more have been forcefully displaced inside Syria, and 6.5millions became refugees outside of it. My story is only one amongst millions of others. The story of detention, of losing home, friends, and education opportunities, the story of refuge, and the story of a life of constant tragedy, of continuous adversity, of death, displacement, and destruction.
Because other means of expression are no longer able to absorb the enormous amount of accumulated feelings and traumas because history has begun to distort and because I am tired, my mind and my body ache from the heavy burden of carrying these memories. I wanted to give them a new home, to live on the internet in a new way, and to be my message and my personal history of everything I lived and suffered during the revolutio
because history has begun to distort and because I am tired, my mind and my body ache from the heavy burden of carrying these memories. I wanted to give them a new home, to live on the internet in a new way
I call myself Zendetta, a name inspired by DeirEzzor, my homeland, and by V for Vendetta, the 1982 dystopian political action novel and its namesake freedom fighter, V, whose mask I wore when filming protests. I am a human rights activist, a policy advocate, a dreamer with hopes of freedom, democracy, and decentralization of power, and most importantly, a free-spirited artist. My camera was my brush, Syria is my canvas, and the revolution has become my art. When the Syrian revolution began over 10 years ago, I was one of hundreds of thousands of peaceful activists that took to the streets demanding that our government treat us with dignity and respect. My government responded with brute force to quell the peaceful protests. They used, and continue to use, every means at their disposal to destroy our minds, souls, and bodies. But, their brutality only gave us more reason to continue fighting.
Syria must be free from dictatorship and all political detainees must be released. My hope is that this website can serve to educate and inspire others to share in this vision. Through my activism and art, I aspire to encourage others to tell their story and help create a collective for activists, artists, and innovators to push the digital boundaries of humanitarian advocacy.
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Yale University
Jan 2022 - Present
Blockchain and Decentralised Finance Focus
Bard College Berlin
Aug 2017 - May 2020
Alfurat University
Sep 2009 - Jul 2013 (DNF due to detention)
Ze.Fi
Sep 2019 - Present
Blockchain and Decentralized Finance
DT Institute
Jan 2019 - Oct 2020
Grants Development and Management
DT Global
Sep 2017 – Jan 2019
Dexis Consulting, Voices of Syria Program, Adam Smith International
May 2015 - Sep 2018
Worked in research, analysis, monitoring and evaluation with several companies
A true story from Syria, lived and told by Karam Alhamad.
Story, Imagery & Narration
Music Composition
Creative Director
Narrative UX Design, Illustration, Animation
UI & Website Design
UX, UI & Website Design
Site Development, Motion, Sound
Closes on 28/05/2022
To support 100 Syrian applicants for universities worldwide, by paying for their university applications, foreign language tests or consultancy and assistance in the application cover letters and CVs.