Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DAMASCUS682
2009-09-15 13:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

"INTERNET PIONEERS" SEEK TO USE WEB TO EASE

Tags:  PREL KDEM PHUM SOCI SY 
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VZCZCXRO6040
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #0682/01 2581349
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 151349Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6850
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000682 

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR NOBLES, LONDON FOR LORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2019
TAGS: PREL KDEM PHUM SOCI SY
SUBJECT: "INTERNET PIONEERS" SEEK TO USE WEB TO EASE
SYRIA'S ISOLATION

Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter per 1.5 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000682

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR NOBLES, LONDON FOR LORD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2019
TAGS: PREL KDEM PHUM SOCI SY
SUBJECT: "INTERNET PIONEERS" SEEK TO USE WEB TO EASE
SYRIA'S ISOLATION

Classified By: CDA Charles Hunter per 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Three twenty-something Syrian entrepreneurs
recently started an Arabic-language website called
Masaader.com ("Sources") and a marketing and advertising
research firm associated with the British Internet-based
marketing firm YouGov in the hopes of developing
Syria-specific Internet content for the country's young
people. Criticizing SARG censorship of some Internet sites
like Facebook and YouTube, the young men said they have
learned to steer clear of politics on their websites and in
their surveys of Syrians. Through their focus on business
news, social trends, and marketing data, these Syrian
entrepreneurs said they hope their work will broaden the
boundaries of expression on the Internet in Syria and help
end the country's "isolation from the world." END SUMMARY.

"WE DON'T WANT TO FEEL ISOLATED"


2. (C) Bisher Challah, a 28-year-old Syrian entrepreneur,
recently started the Arabic-language website Masaader.com
("Sources") with his brother, 25-year-old Khaled Challah, in
order to "become pioneers on the Internet in Syria." Khaled
and 25-year-old Firas Rankousi took their ambitions further
by starting a second website for their marketing and
advertising research firm, Indicate, which is associated with
the British Internet-based marketing firm YouGov. Indicate's
English and Arabic-language website, imaar.com, conducts
surveys of Syrian social and consumer attitudes to sell to
companies hoping to do business in Syria. "This is all new
for Syria. We have a lot of energy and want to do a lot to
improve our country. The Internet is a way to do that," said
Rankousi, who serves as Indicate's Chief Operating Officer.


3. (C) The young men, who all attended university abroad,
said they were inspired to use the Internet to help end the
isolation they say Syrians face. While studying with foreign
students, they were struck by the Internet's relatively late
entry into Syrian homes and came to believe that it
correlated with their country's political isolation. "When
we went to school outside Syria, our foreign friends had been

using the Internet since they were kids, but it didn't come
here until 2001 or 2002," observed Khaled Challah, who
attended Lebanese American University in Beirut.


4. (C) His American University of Sharjah(UAE)-educated
brother, Bisher, noted young Syrians feel a sense of shame
when they see Syria on lists of state-sponsors of terrorism.
"It's embarrassing for me when I am filling out a visa
application, and Syria is listed next to Cuba and North
Korea," he said. The young men said the economic sanctions
imposed on Syria by the United States make it impossible for
Syrians to keep up with technological advancements in other
countries, adding to young Syrians' sense of isolation. They
pointed to the dilapidated state of Syrian Airlines as an
example, blaming U.S. sanctions for the airline's situation.
Bisher added he sometimes faces difficulty opening
international credit card accounts because he lives in Syria.
"All of this combines to make us feel isolated, and the
Internet is a way to go beyond that. We don't want to feel
isolated in Syria," he concluded.

MASAADER.COM FOCUSES ON YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS


5. (C) With a staff of over ten, the young men focus on
business and marketing news on Masaader.com, including
interviews with Syrian businesspeople, tailoring the site to
a younger generation of Syrian entrepreneurs. The website
includes sections for economic news, reports, interviews, and
services including airline schedules for Damascus
International Airport. Advertisements for alumni events in
Damascus for graduates of the American University of Beirut
and Lebanese American University flash on the screen. A
recent interview with businessman Ali Ibrahim Abdullah, a
member of the board of directors for the Syrian Islamic Bank,
was featured prominently on the site. The young businessmen
said they are averaging between 500-600 hits each week on
Masaader.com. "That's good enough for right now. People are
starting to know about us," Bisher said. While Indicate and
imaar.com are not directly affiliated with Masaader.com, the
latter features links to imaar.com on its site.


6. (C) A range of Syrian businesses and institutions
advertise on Masaader.com, including the Damascus Securities
Exchange and Syria Today magazine. Bisher, who said he
strives to find a balance between independent expression and
"promoting Syria's image," highlights press releases from
some SARG ministries, including tourism and transportation.
Despite hosting content from the SARG, the site's creators
stress their independence. "The site is not for the

DAMASCUS 00000682 002 OF 002


government or against the government. We are independent,
but we also want to strengthen Syria's image as a country,"
he said. "It's part of our culture in the Arab world to be
proud of our leader, and we want to be proud of al-Asad."

IMAAR.COM AND YOUGOV: STEERING CLEAR OF POLITICAL DEBATE ON
THE INTERNET


7. (C) While stressing that they are not anti-SARG in their
political opinions, the young men are critical of limits on
freedom of expression on the Internet. "We don't understand
why the government bans Facebook and YouTube," the
Canadian-educated Rankousi said. "I heard that it was
because some people were using Facebook to contact Israelis,
but none of us really knows," he added. Khaled said he and
Rankousi "stay away from politics" in the surveys they
conduct for Indicate and YouGov. "That's not allowed in
Syria," he said. (NOTE: On September 14, the National
Organization for Human Rights said a Syrian court had
sentenced a 31-year-old blogger, Karim Antoine Arbaji, to
three years in prison for "spreading false news that weakens
the nation's morals." Arbaji frequently writes about
corruption in Syria on the Internet. END NOTE).


8. (C) Instead, Indicate and its website imaar.com focus on
surveys of Syrian consumers' spending habits and social
attitudes. "Companies are interested in knowing what people
are thinking, so that they know how to market things to
them," Khaled Challah explained. The young men added that
while their work is not overtly political, their questions
encourage freedom of thought and expression. "When people
are asked what they like to do and what they like to buy,
that is a part of connecting people to the world," Khaled
added. The entrepreneurs noted their marketing work also
brings with it the potential of profit. "That's the free
market," one exclaimed. Coming from well-established,
wealthy Damascene families, the young men stressed they are
not seeking to undermine the Syrian political system with
their work on the Internet. "We want stability. Countries
grow with stability, and things are better when the people
have money," Bisher Challah said. "But what we do want is to
show that we in Syria are part of the world," he added.


9. (C) COMMENT. While Masaader.com and imaar.com are still
in their infancy, their emergence is part of the growth of
Syrian-based Internet sites since the web began to spread in
Syria earlier this decade. While the Internet came late to
Syria, many in the younger generation see its potential to
help them make a profit. In the process, they may also be
broadening the limits of Internet expression in Syria. Even
though the SARG continues to deprive Syrian young people of
Facebook and YouTube, these young businessmen still see the
Internet as a tool for ending Syria's isolation from the
world. END COMMENT.
HUNTER