This project aims to work on archiving the Syrian LGBTQ+ memory, mapping and preserving its history, focusing on the thrive of the community prior to the 2011 uprising/war. Through testimonials-based research, the LGBTQ narrative will be drawn using a thematic analysis of the testimonies. The final product will be an online platform showcasing an interactive creative timeline that passes through the key landmarks and elements that make up the narrative of the Syrian LGBTQ community; with each element translated into an artistic outcome, by a different artist.

LGBTQ+ Syrians: An Overlooked Minority Group

Homosexuality in Syria is considered a crime under Article 520 of the penal code of 1949, and provides for at three-years imprisonment. Stigmatised by the society and religion gender and sexual minorities in Syria are actively marginalised. Condemned by the state and society the queers in Syria have always lived in the shadows. No reliable figures concerning the number of LGBTQ+ Syrians exist. This data gap is more difficult to overcome because social, religious, and historical factors can militate against self-identification and disclosure of LGBTQ+ identity. In the absence of reliable data and without a strong history of organised pro-LGBTQ+ political mobilisation in Syria, the assumption that LGBTQ+ individuals are a marginal subgroup has become a default position for many Syrians.

LGBTQ+ Experiences Before 2011

Defying violence, marginalisation, and discrimination the community witnessed a thriving starting as early as 2006 when the internet and queer social networking websites such as “Manjam” and “Gaydar” became popular. The neighborhood of Shaalan in the center of Damascus was considered the meeting hub for the community, alongside several parks, cafes, bars, and hmams scattered around the city. By 2010, underground gay parties were occurring each weekend, attracting goers from other cities and countries. However, the scene has changed dramatically since the uprising/war began in early 2011.

The ongoing conflict has affected the visibility, collective identity, and political agenda pursued by communities of LGBTQ+ Syrians. While LGBTQ+ issues were not a mainstay concern motivating the Syrian popular uprising in 2011, there was nonetheless cautious optimism that a pro-democracy movement predicated on the expansion of individual and collective rights could improve conditions for LGBTQ+ Syrians. Following the onset of the uprising in March 2011, some activists explicitly called for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ rights in the broad palette of popular demands. In some sense, this was an inevitable result of the heavy involvement of LGBTQ+ individuals in Syria’s revolutionary political and social movements. However, others in the LGBTQ+ movement downplayed the pro-LGBTQ+ discourse as being unrealistic in the face of a political and armed struggle against Syria’s authoritarian military establishment. To some extent, this view was validated as the Syrian uprising became increasingly militarised pushing big numbers of the LGBTQ+ community to leave the country.