The Invisible Violence Forum in the Context of the Syrian Conflict
Case Studies Presented as Part of the Forum
Berlin – January 22-23, 2025
Berlin – 2025
As part of ongoing efforts to understand and analyze the different forms of invisible violence in the Syrian context, a number of Syrian organizations organized the forum “Invisible Violence in the Context of the Syrian Conflict,” which was held in Berlin on January 22–23, 2025. During the forum, four case studies were presented as a serious attempt to explore the various manifestations of structural and symbolic violence that often receive insufficient attention in conventional analyses of the Syrian conflict.
These studies were based on a deep understanding of invisible violence as referring to symbolic and structural forms of violence that are exercised through exclusion and deprivation within social, political, and economic systems, without manifesting as direct physical harm. In the Syrian context, this form of violence represents one of the manifestations of the absence of social justice in a conflict that has lasted for 14 years and has been accompanied by declining international attention to the Syrian cause.
These studies are the outcome of collaborative efforts among nine organizations working on Syrian affairs, which since 2022 have been engaged in a participatory and exploratory process focused on social justice in Syria and the Global South. Through their joint work, these organizations aim to develop a shared space for thinking about how to confront the absence of justice, to advance cross-sectoral approaches in the Syrian context, and to strengthen the intersection between Syrian narratives and broader narratives of injustice in the Arab region, its diasporas, and the Global South.
The participating organizations in this initiative adopt an operational definition of social justice based on “equal rights and entitlements for all that ensure fair capabilities, opportunities, and political, social, economic, and cultural outcomes, agreed upon through a broad public societal dialogue.” This definition implicitly refers to both procedural and distributive justice that avoid socially produced inequalities between and within population groups, and that seek to correct these inequalities or address both dimensions simultaneously.
The four studies provide an intersectional reading of specific cases across cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental fields, with the aim of analyzing the causes of invisible violence, its interaction with social culture, and its potential impacts on individuals and communities. The first study, “An Intersectional Reading of Poverty During the Conflict in Syria as Invisible Violence,” by researcher Wajdi Wahbi, examines poverty as a form of structural violence that goes beyond economic deprivation to include exclusionary policies and social normalization. The second study, “How Invisible Violence in Turkish Media Against Syrian Refugees Turned into Visible and Deadly Violence,” by journalist Sultan Al-Jalabi, analyzes the role of Turkish media in portraying Syrians as a violable group and the impact of this portrayal on the escalation of direct violence. The third study, “Seizure and Manipulation of Cultural Heritage: Old Damascus as a Case Study,” by researcher Rama Najmeh, demonstrates how symbolic violence has transformed Old Damascus into an elite tourist space disconnected from its original residents. The fourth study, “The Firefly Effect – Syrian Artists Between Disappearance, Invisibility, and Reappearance,” by researcher and writer Jumana Al-Yasiri, analyzes how cinema addresses the Syrian narrative and how Syrian artists are excluded from the realistic representation of their own cause.
The participating organizations believe that the neglect of Syria over recent years has been part of a broader narrative aimed at normalizing global acceptance of its violent and tragic reality. Rejecting normalization with this narrative is the first step toward confronting it and changing the way these organizations approach their work. From this perspective, these studies seek to stimulate dialogue on how to resist invisible violence and to connect structural imbalances in Syrian social justice with broader global narratives, including migration, racism, and the dehumanization of certain peoples.
This forum and the case studies are part of the participating organizations’ efforts to create decentralized and solidarity-based mechanisms among themselves in their work on social justice from a Syrian perspective. They aim to explore and build solidarity across intersecting fields of work, strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, and prevent each organization from working in isolation within its own sector.
Between 2022 and 2024, Ettijahat – Independent Culture played the role of facilitator for this group, with a key contribution from researcher Rana Yazji, and with support from the Hope Spaces Initiative managed by Action for Hope, with additional resources from IRIS.
Participating Organizations:
- Ettijahat – Independent Culture
- Al-Jumhuriya
- Syrian Center for Policy Research
- Syria Untold
- Dawlaty
- Syrian Female Journalists Network
- Women for Common Spaces
The Invisible Violence Forum in the Context of the Syrian Conflict
Case Studies Presented as Part of the Forum
Berlin – January 22-23, 2025
The Invisible Violence Forum in the Context of the Syrian Conflict
Case Studies Presented as Part of the Forum
Berlin – January 22-23, 2025
Berlin – 2025
As part of ongoing efforts to understand and analyze the different forms of invisible violence in the Syrian context, a number of Syrian organizations organized the forum “Invisible Violence in the Context of the Syrian Conflict,” which was held in Berlin on January 22–23, 2025. During the forum, four case studies were presented as a serious attempt to explore the various manifestations of structural and symbolic violence that often receive insufficient attention in conventional analyses of the Syrian conflict.
These studies were based on a deep understanding of invisible violence as referring to symbolic and structural forms of violence that are exercised through exclusion and deprivation within social, political, and economic systems, without manifesting as direct physical harm. In the Syrian context, this form of violence represents one of the manifestations of the absence of social justice in a conflict that has lasted for 14 years and has been accompanied by declining international attention to the Syrian cause.
These studies are the outcome of collaborative efforts among nine organizations working on Syrian affairs, which since 2022 have been engaged in a participatory and exploratory process focused on social justice in Syria and the Global South. Through their joint work, these organizations aim to develop a shared space for thinking about how to confront the absence of justice, to advance cross-sectoral approaches in the Syrian context, and to strengthen the intersection between Syrian narratives and broader narratives of injustice in the Arab region, its diasporas, and the Global South.
The participating organizations in this initiative adopt an operational definition of social justice based on “equal rights and entitlements for all that ensure fair capabilities, opportunities, and political, social, economic, and cultural outcomes, agreed upon through a broad public societal dialogue.” This definition implicitly refers to both procedural and distributive justice that avoid socially produced inequalities between and within population groups, and that seek to correct these inequalities or address both dimensions simultaneously.
The four studies provide an intersectional reading of specific cases across cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental fields, with the aim of analyzing the causes of invisible violence, its interaction with social culture, and its potential impacts on individuals and communities. The first study, “An Intersectional Reading of Poverty During the Conflict in Syria as Invisible Violence,” by researcher Wajdi Wahbi, examines poverty as a form of structural violence that goes beyond economic deprivation to include exclusionary policies and social normalization. The second study, “How Invisible Violence in Turkish Media Against Syrian Refugees Turned into Visible and Deadly Violence,” by journalist Sultan Al-Jalabi, analyzes the role of Turkish media in portraying Syrians as a violable group and the impact of this portrayal on the escalation of direct violence. The third study, “Seizure and Manipulation of Cultural Heritage: Old Damascus as a Case Study,” by researcher Rama Najmeh, demonstrates how symbolic violence has transformed Old Damascus into an elite tourist space disconnected from its original residents. The fourth study, “The Firefly Effect – Syrian Artists Between Disappearance, Invisibility, and Reappearance,” by researcher and writer Jumana Al-Yasiri, analyzes how cinema addresses the Syrian narrative and how Syrian artists are excluded from the realistic representation of their own cause.
The participating organizations believe that the neglect of Syria over recent years has been part of a broader narrative aimed at normalizing global acceptance of its violent and tragic reality. Rejecting normalization with this narrative is the first step toward confronting it and changing the way these organizations approach their work. From this perspective, these studies seek to stimulate dialogue on how to resist invisible violence and to connect structural imbalances in Syrian social justice with broader global narratives, including migration, racism, and the dehumanization of certain peoples.
This forum and the case studies are part of the participating organizations’ efforts to create decentralized and solidarity-based mechanisms among themselves in their work on social justice from a Syrian perspective. They aim to explore and build solidarity across intersecting fields of work, strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, and prevent each organization from working in isolation within its own sector.
Between 2022 and 2024, Ettijahat – Independent Culture played the role of facilitator for this group, with a key contribution from researcher Rana Yazji, and with support from the Hope Spaces Initiative managed by Action for Hope, with additional resources from IRIS.
Participating Organizations:
- Ettijahat – Independent Culture
- Al-Jumhuriya
- Syrian Center for Policy Research
- Syria Untold
- Dawlaty
- Syrian Female Journalists Network
- Women for Common Spaces
