Sunday, July 21: Livestream Facebook Dialogue Between Venezuelan, Syrian and Iranian Socialists
The Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists is hosting a panel to discuss these questions:
- The attitude of the majority of the left toward the Syrian Uprising of 2011 and the mass protests opposing the governments in Iran and Venezuela has been to side with the governments as “anti-imperialist.” What is the economic/political/social nature of each of each of these states?
- Who are the progressive and revolutionary forces in Iran, Venezuela and still struggling inside Syria and among Syrian refugees? How can they be helped?
- Why have revolutionary socialists inside Venezuela, Iran and Syria not been able to offer an emancipatory alternative to all regional and global capitalist and imperialist powers, nationalism, racism, sexism, heterosexism?
- Can international revolutionary solidarity building on the Sudanese and Algerian uprisings emerge to challenge the counter-revolutionary drive of U.S. imperialism/Allies, and authoritarian rulers in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and all their imperialist backers?
Speakers:
Simon Rodriguez
Venezuelan political activist, alternative journalist and musician. Founder and coordinator of Laclase.info during the years 2008-2015 and currently part of the editorial committee of Venezuelanvoices.org. Co-author of the book Why did chavismo fail? Author of hundreds of articles translated into seven languages. Member of the Socialism and Freedom Party, Venezuelan section of the International Workers’ Unity-Fourth International, and former congressional candidate in 2015. He has worked with the Unitary Federation of Oil Workers of Venezuela.
Eva Maria
Venezuelan socialist-feminist, teaches Latin American literature to Latinx high school students. She also writes and speaks about the challenges of left-wing governments in Latin America to provide a truly democratic and emancipatory socialist alternative in the region.
Yasser Munif
Assistant professor in the Institute of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies. His forthcoming book is about Syria, the politics of death, and grassroots struggles.
Joseph Daher
Academic and socialist activist. Author of Syria after the Uprisings, the Political Economy of State Resilience (Pluto Press and Haymarket, 2019) and Hezbollah: The Political Economy of the Party of God (Pluto, 2016). He is the founder of the blog Syria Freedom Forever.
Frieda Afary
Philosophy M.A. and a librarian, translator, producer of Iranian Progressives in Translation (www.iranianprogressives.org) and member of the Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists. She has published articles in English and Persian on the Middle East, Marx’s Capital, Marxist Feminism, and Marxist critiques of state capitalism. She has also taught community classes on the 150th Anniversary of Marx’s Capital and on Socialist Feminism.
Sina Zekavat
Anti-war activist and member of the Alliance of MENA Socialists, has written articles on the student movement in Iran and solidarity with Syrian revolutionaries.
Moderator:
Sara Dehkordi
Teaches Political and Social Sciences in Berlin on the subjects of critical peace and conflict, decolonial theories and critique, colonial genocide, repressed archives and collective memory building. Her book, On the City’s Shoulders – Forced Evictions and Criminalisation Practices in Present-Day South Africa, will be released in late summer this year. She is also a member of Manjanigh, a group of Iranian socialists living in exile (manjanigh.com).
Written questions from the Facebook audience will be taken during the last 30 minutes.
For the livestream on Sunday July 21 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Geneva time, go to https://www.facebook.com/Alliance-of-MENA-Socialists-2196931800604746/
Or share this link to the Alliance website with your friends:
Originally posted at the Alliance of Middle Eastern and North African Socialists website.