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Daraya’s inspiring library

In early 2012, Daraya, south-west of Damascus, began to be besieged by Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad as his regime responded to Arab Spring protests. Over the next few years, 40 young activists, student and rebels embarked on a remarkable project, rescuing all the books they could find in the bombed-out ruins of their town and placing them in a library open to all residents.
Via a Facebook page in 2015, this story attracted the attention of Delphine Minoui, the Franco-Iranian who serves as the Middle East correspondent for Le Figaro newspaper. It fired Minoui’s imagination – despite being refused a Syrian visa that is always required for visiting foreign journalists. “The library is their hidden fortress against the bombs,” as she writes. “Books are their weapons of mass instruction.”
Minoui then contacted the book collectors of Daraya by WhatsApp and Skype calls, all online, without ever visiting the Syrian town and only eventually met her characters, including the library’s founder, 19 year-old Ahmad Muaddamani, in Istanbul, 932 miles away. She was impressively determined to tell their story: “Bashar al-Assad wanted to put Daraya in parentheses, to make it a footnote. I intend to make it a headline.” And she succeeded: the outcome (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Collectors-Daraya-Underground-Library/dp/1529012317) is an extremely moving and memorable account – about the power of books against a background that takes the reader back to Syria’s tragic chapter in modern Middle Eastern history.
The author adopts an inspiringly positive tone which she takes from Muaddamani and his colleagues, who are clearly resilient people. But it is hard to believe they are still optimistic about Syria’s future with Bashar “re-elected” last week. It is also difficult to hope for any significant domestic change, given the support he still has from Russia and Iran and the increasing acceptance by Arab countries that he is staying in power – highlighted recently by the first visit of Syria’s foreign minister to Saudi Arabia. This sad story is, of course, complicated by global pandemic distractions.
Minoui mentions Ghaith Matar, a 26-year-old tailor who inspired young Syrians with his style of non-violent protest. When the Syrian army entered Daraya in the summer of 2011, Matar came up with the idea of giving a Damascene rose and a bottle of water to the soldiers. Many towns and cities across Syria followed his model. But their roses were met with bullets. In early September, Matar was killed. His body was disfigured and his throat was cut out by his attackers. When I visited Damascus in January 2012 an activist gave me a candle commemorating Matar, with a black ribbon attached.
Challenging the regime narrative that all Assad’s opponents were Islamist extremists, Minoui quotes Ustez, one of the leading Daraya library organisers: “The siege paradoxically protected us from any attempt at radicalization. It allowed us to keep the spirit of Daraya alive. For four years it was just us. It wasn’t easy all the time, but we always settled our differences through dialogue. There was no external invasion. No attempts at manipulation. No foreign intrusion. A singular experience.”
Thousands of books stored underground offered a wide range of reading choices: the international bestseller, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, was very popular: a Spanish shepherd’s journey from Andalusia to the Egyptian pyramids echoes what Minoui describes as the “perilous odyssey” of the young revolutionaries of Daraya.
The love poems of Nizar Qabbani were very sought-after. Another favourite was the Book of Lessons by Ibn Khaldun, as were the works of Shakespeare, Marcel Proust and J.M.Coetzee – collectively “a melody of words against the dirge of bombs”. In December 2015, a barrel bomb hit the library, ripping off two of its five storeys and turning the entrance into a mountain of debris.
Minoui, a fine journalist who relies on the words of her sources, recounts a fascinating online encounter with a fighter named Omar, whom she asks whether he considers himself a jihadist and records his reply: ”If I chose to fight against the regime, it was to defend my land…my right to freedom. Fighting wasn’t a choice. It was a necessity. When you friends fall before your eyes for having brandished a piece of cardboard calling for change, what’s left, except the desire to protect other protestors?”
Omar was killed in July 2016, which turned out to be a turning point. Ahmad and his remaining friends were evacuated to rebel-held Idlib in August. The town resisted both the regime and the extremists of Daesh – but to no avail. “In Daraya, the regime did its best to erase every positive and intellectual trace of the revolution,” reflects Ahmad. “To Assad, a cultivated and educated man is a dangerous man, because he represents a threat to the established order. But I’ve grown from this tragedy. I never felt so free, carrying memories that nobody can take away from me.”
Minoui also quotes Mazen Darwish, the Syrian human rights activist, as saying: “There is no jail that can imprison the free word, nor is there a siege tight enough to prevent the spread of information”. Let’s hope that Ahmad and Mazen are both right.
by: IAN BLACK
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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