Ala'a Basatneh, born in Damascus, Syria, is a Syrian-American political activist best known for her involvement in the Syrian Revolution. She is the focus of the 2013 documentary called #ChicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator.[2] In 2016, she attended President Obama's last State of the Union address, as a guest of Illinois Democratic Representative Mike Quigley.[3]
Alaa Basatneh | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 24, 1992[1] Damascus, Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian-American |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | Political activism |
Biography
editAccording to the documentary she was the protagonist of, #ChicagoGirl, Basatneh was born in Damascus, Syria and emigrated to the United States with her family when she was six months old.[4] She lived in Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Miami, Florida.[5][non-primary source needed]
Basatneh graduated[3] from Wright College[6] and Northeastern Illinois University with a political science degree.[4] She is a writer at Fusion, focusing mostly on politics and the Arab world.[7]
Political activism
editBasatneh became an online political activist in 2011, after news reports regarding the arrest of 15 young students in Daraa.[4] She organized her first protest in Chicago, demanding the end of the martial law in Syria. Later, using Facebook, she coordinated rallies in Syria, helping anti-regime activists on the ground, as well as distributing the digital footage to various media outlets.[8] She also personally visited Syria to deliver medical supplies.[4]
She has met with Hillary Clinton at the United Nations, during Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, to discuss international intervention in Syria and possible implementation of a no-fly zone.[4]
Due to her influence and activism, she received a death threat from Syria,[4] which was a reason she was contacted by film director Joe Piscatella, who wanted to make a movie about the dark side of social media in revolutions.[2] That project later became a 2013 documentary #ChicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator, which was screened at Seattle International Film Festival in 2014.[2]
In 2014, she attended an all-day protest summit RiseUp Summit.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Zaangażowana w rewolucję w Syrii Ala'a Basatneh odwiedziła Polskę". Gazeta Wyborcza. PAP. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c Reznick, Alisa (May 20, 2014). "#Chicagogirl brings Syrian activism to SIFF". Seattle Globalist. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ a b Hackel, Joyce. "Ala'a Basatneh gets icy stares on Chicago streets, but hopes for more civility at the State of the Union". Public Radio International. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Mustufa, Asraa (June 29, 2015). "Resisting the Syrian regime from Chicago". Chicago Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Basatneh, Ala'a. "Profile page". Twitter. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Yu, Tracy. "#ChicagoGirl on remotely running the Syrian revolution". North by Northwestern. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ "Author profile". Fusion.net. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Franklin, Marcia. "Family of Woman Film Festival: #chicagoGirl". Boise Weekly. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Montgomery, David. "At RiseUp summit, Code Pink protesters give a real-time lesson in activism". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2017.