The Alibrahim family with International Development Research Centre Representative Roula El-Rifai (back, second from right) and Elizabeth Davaze (back right) of the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund, before the screening of Little Gandhi at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, December 10.

Hub Staff

Ghiyath Matar, a peaceful Syrian activist who had become a hero of a movement against Syria’s long-standing Assad Regime, died in capativity at the age of 26. He was tortured, mutilated and murdered during the Arab Spring, a revolution against the long standing Assad rule.

Matar, who lived in the city of Daraya, started non-violent protests where he would give flowers and water to Assad troops; and quell the rage of his fellow protesters.

His passion for change, and drive to do so through humanitarian tactics, sparked a movement throughout Syria which made him an icon to the disenfranchised and a target of the Assad government.

While some compared him to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., following his murder the Assad Regime did what they could to destroy his memory, ransacking his family’s home, destroying photos and footage in hopes that no one would follow his movement. His death resulted in a violent uprising in Syria which led to the government murdering thousands by bullets, bombings and chemical warfare.

Syrian Film Director Sam Kadi, who moved to the United States 17 years ago, wanted the world to know about Matar and his peaceful movement; and did so with the help of fellow Syrian activisits who risked their lives to tell his story. It took six months to smuggle the footage back to the United States. Thumb drives would be taped to an activist’s body, leaving Syria, passing through Lebanon and finding their way across the oceans.

Kadi released the documentary Little Gandhi to critical acclaim, winning the Excellence in Arab Filmmaking award at the European Film Festival in April, 2016. Little Gandhi has since been shown around the world, to United States Congress, and recently at a December 10 screening at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre in Southampton.

Hosted by the Saugeen Shores Refugee Fund with the support of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Little Gandhi was screened in Saugeen Shores, in part, as a tribute to the community’s role in sponsoring Syrian refugees. Kadi was available by Skype following the film for a question and answer period.

Kadi said he made the film because Matar deserved to be on the big screen. “They didn't want us to remember Ghiyath Matar and that made me very, very, determined to make a film about him.” Kadi stated that he knew he would never be allowed back into Syria and said repeatedly that he is against the Assad Regime.

Attending the screening was 14-member Syrian family the Alibrahims. Following the screening Aisha Alibrahim, age 19, said she remembers the name of Ghiyath Matar. She said her family escaped their home in Aleppo during the Arab Spring in 2011. After leaving Syria, the family lived in Lebanon before coming to Canada in January of 2016.

During the question and answer period, IDRC Representative Roula El-Rifai facilitated questions from the Alibrahim family, translating the Arabic language for those in attendance.

Kadi told the Alibrahims that he was happy they were safe and able to come to Canada; and hoped that one day they could return to Syria. He went on to say that Syria is a treasure “that needs to be protected by humanity.”

Following the screening of Little Gandhi, an award-winning documentary about Syrian activitist Ghiyath Matar, there was a question and answer period with the film's director Sam Kadi.