In 2013 when Oula Ramadan founded Badael, a rights-based organisation that works closely with local civil society and grassroots organisations in Syria to foster transformative justice, the civil war had entered a particularly violent and complex stage.
“At that time, many people felt there was no alternative to Bashar Al-Assad and to militarisation. Badael means ‘alternatives’ in Arabic, and it is the foundation for our philosophy, as we believe there are always alternatives,” says Oula.
Over the past 11 years, Badael has emerged as a key actor helping to strengthen civic awareness and community mobilisation in north Syria. It has worked with over 300 grassroots civic groups providing training on human rights topics, peace building, conflict transformation and advocacy, as well as coaching and general support to partners. It also provides small subgrants to assist grassroots groups led by women, with grants provided following coaching and training programmes where participants are invited to submit applications.
“We invest in people. We provide them with spaces for collective thinking and collective problem solving. We help to bring them together and to form networking alliances,” she says.
Badael also runs a research programme that aims to advance grassroots feminist knowledge in Syria and to promote better informed approaches to Syrian memory and citizenship. Over the years, the team has also recorded hundreds of hours of oral history from Syrian women refugees in Turkey, that Oula believes has a strategic value in Syria’s future and gives voice to marginalised stories.
“In 20 years’ time, the new generation of Syrians must be able to know about what happened. That is why we have documented the perspectives of these women, their experiences of detention, revolution, siege and of being refugees. Through our oral history work, we are preserving the narratives of their untold stories,” she says.
Badael now has team members working in Syria, Iraq, and Germany. EED provided Badael with a bridging grant in 2016, and this year, provided a second such grant when they faced an urgent funding gap.
This article reflects the views of the grantees featured and does not necessarily represent the official opinion of the EED.
