158 Voice for Rebellion and Relief regime violence and chemical weapons to the United States, such as Kassem Eid, a peaceful activist known by his nom de guerre, Qusai Zakarya.11 The talk of his that I attended at the University of Southern California with SAC members and student activists on April 25, 2014, moved me to tears. Eid almost died from the sarin gas attack in the Damascus suburbs in August 2013. In addition to describing his experience of being gassed, which stopped his heart, Eid’s talk detailed the relentless siege underway in Moadamiya at the time. He also spoke about his experiences at the United Nations and his meetings with US Ambassador Samantha Power, which gained national media attention. These efforts, supported by diaspora activists, provided important counter-evidence to Syrian and Russian regime propaganda that the rebels had been the ones to perpetuate chemical warfare.12 Diaspora activists like Ibrahim al-Assil of the Syrian Nonviolence Movement reported that brokerage put Syrians in touch with potential international donors as well. When some groups became more mature, they were asking more to get in touch with international NGOs. Not only those who work in humanitarian aid but also those small groups in Syria who were trying to spread awareness inside Syria and to help some development of projects. At that time, they realized they needed to get in touch with international NGOs, to know how to register their NGOs, to get funds for their organizations, for their managerial expenses, to get trained so they can grow more in a professional way. So mostly these were the tasks of all members in the US and the UK, to expand our network with the media and to get in touch with international NGOs to help (them) grow and develop strategic planning for the future. In contrast, Yemenis reported a few, albeit rare, instances of brokering with the media. Fathi, a London-based journalist with the BBC, served as a broker by sharing a database of activist contacts in Yemen with other journalists. Atiaf, who was in Yemen at the time, said that her New York–based colleague 11 12 “voice” on the program through interpretation (Gaylon 2013; National Public Radio 2013). Fares was gunned down in his hometown of Kafranbel in 2018, a most tragic end to his courageous commitment to civic activism. I had the privilege of attending Eid’s speaking tour, which was also facilitated by SAC, at the University of Southern California in April 2014. Kassem gave testimony at the United Nations about being the victim of the Assad regime’s sarin gas attack on August 21, 2013. During this visit on April 14, 2014 he met US ambassador Samantha Power. His testimony was vital in refuting Syrian, Iranian, and Russian regime propaganda that the rebels had perpetrated the attack. He later lambasted Power for “lying to my face” about wanting to help Syrians, given her later defense of President Obama’s reticence to intervene. He writes, Caesar also gave Ms. Power a handwritten note to deliver to President Obama, but he never received any response. I also requested a meeting with President Obama as a survivor of the war crimes in Syria on multiple occasions, through the White House, the State Department, and Ambassador Power, but all of my requests were also denied. Neither Ambassador Power nor President Obama wanted to acknowledge the truth. (Badran 2018) https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009272148 Published online by Cambridge University Press