Breakdown of Conflict Transmission 117 The revolution also transformed previously apolitical organizations for empowerment and socialization into politicized groups for the Arab Spring. Dr. Saidi of the Libyan Association of Southern California remarked that “when the revolution started, every Libyan gathering became political.” While attending one of these events in Fountain Valley, California (which convened just a few days after the October 2011 killing of Gaddafi), I observed that the event was entirely revolution-themed: children gleefully swatted at piñatas draped with pictures of the Gaddafi family, and different men gave a series of speeches while wearing the revolution flag like a cape, heralding the triumphs of their compatriots. Participants wore clothing adorned with the revolution flag, ate revolution-flag-colored food, and sang revolution songs, both old and new. British Libyans witnessed this transformation as well. Zakia, founder of the Libyan Women’s Union in Manchester, explained that her organization transformed from a social empowerment group into an activist organization dedicated to intervening in three areas: “one for charity, one for media, one for protests.” As these examples show, diaspora organizations and community events came to be pro-revolution in orientation and mission, giving activists the structural foundation and legitimacy to launch collective actions for rebellion and relief. 4.2.2 The Syrian Revolution and the Diaspora’s Gradual Coming Together As in the Libyan revolution, the onset of protests in Syria re-energized existing activist networks that had previously opposed the regime. For groups like the Syrian Justice and Development Party in London, the onset of the protests in their home-country presented a welcome opportunity to support and incite resistance. Co-founder Malik al-Abdeh recalled that his group began to play amateur footage of protests in Syria repeatedly on Barada TV to prod Syrians into doing “more of this kind of stuff.” Exiles such as Dr. Radwan Ziadeh and Marah Bukai in Washington, DC, also came out immediately to support the uprising. They used their political connections to meet with US officials on Capitol Hill and speak out in the media. After Suheir al-Atassi was released from prison in Damascus, Marah recalled contacting her friend to affirm that “we’ll do what we can do here to support your aims and targets.” However, not all activists in exile were comfortable with the prospect of a Libya-style revolutionary war. Ammar Abdulhamid, an activist in exile and co-founder of the Tharwa Foundation, expressed grave concerns about the poor state of rebels’ preparedness. Recalling his thinking at the time, Ammar said, “If people are in the street, I’ll be with them, [and our] Tharwa network is part of it anyway.” Still, he recalled warning other exiles and regime opponents that “we’re not ready,” expressing concerns about the lack of vision and planning on how to overcome the challenges inherent in launching a successful revolution. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009272148 Published online by Cambridge University Press