Enab Baladi – Hussam al-Mahmoud

“They will deport you, Haji, it’s clear from your walk that you’re Syrian,” is part of a recent voice recording that has inundated social media, eventually being turned into a satirical song with a non-original melody (not specific to the lyrics). This song addresses the issue of forced deportation of Syrian refugees simply because they are Syrian, and it has elicited reactions even from non-Syrians.

Satire is not a new phenomenon in the lives of people in general and Syrians in particular, although it has undergone some changes dictated by the circumstances and political and social conditions over more than a decade. If humor and jokes among Syrians were previously confined to a light social context that may or may not carry criticism of a social phenomenon, breaking the barrier of fear and moving towards greater freedom of expression, fueled by exile and escape from the grip of the ruling authority, has given this satire another dimension. It now targets political authority and its policies, as well as the issues and situations Syrians face in foreign countries.

Before the Syrian revolution in 2011, satire was entrenched in two contexts: one artistic, through carefully crafted “skits” (short scenes and sketches) that criticize an idea, situation, or phenomenon, like what was presented by the series “Spotlight” in the framework of what is known as “black comedy.” Here, viewers laugh at the suffering of the sketch’s characters, which is not far from their own suffering. The other context includes pages on social media that steered away from political matters or crossing the “red lines” set by the authority for criticism in all its forms, including satire.

Wider reach: Social media assists

Technologically, the emergence of social media played a significant role in enhancing the circulation of jokes and humor. Posts that adopt satire are exchanged among users through comments and direct messages, and occasionally, a recording, video clip, or photo surfaces that turns into a trend because it mirrors a current situation or event that different groups of Syrians are experiencing, regardless of where they reside.

While Syrians may not be pioneers in comedy, jokes, and satire, like Egyptians, who have extensively utilized sound, image, and pen in a satirical framework, they at least have a high and quick response to trends. Within days, a song derived from a trend like the forced deportation of Syrian refugees emerged, as well as other songs addressing less urgent or non-emergency issues with longevity, such as some songs by young Syrian Hussein Badran. One song talks about sending money to family and relatives in Syria, while another discusses the method and mechanism of smoking, advocating for the use of raw tobacco instead of ready-made cigarettes to save money to send to the family.

Laith, a young Syrian living in the Netherlands, believes that satirizing issues faced by Syrians is unhealthy because it means laughing at disaster and represents a submission to or acceptance of the problem. He explains that he did not previously engage with satire, viewing it as a reinforcement of despair. However, collective interaction has created a kind of commitment that drives participation in satire, resembling a revolt against what a person cannot accept, according to his circumstances.

Laith believes that satire is the best approach from what is available. There are no better tools for Syrians to resist than satire. As the proverb says, “With laughter and joy, the souls heal up,” and this is a way of resistance and defense against what is imposed so that people do not fall into sadness. There are no alternative solutions other than to laugh at the pains, which in turn generates a kind of emotional numbness, making the person stop caring seriously about the problem as long as the tools for change are not available in an imposed reality, as the lives of Syrians are restricted and besieged. It is a means of expression that allows a person to release tension without risking imprisonment, for example.

“Terrorizing audience” threatens satire

For his part, Ammar Eqtini, a former philosophy teacher in Syria, believes that in the early stages of the events in Syria, there was a promising spontaneous state. People’s spirits suggested the possibility of reaching two states, serious and satirical, before moving to a state of violence and “terrorizing” the audience, threatening any satire that might divert the situation from more violent directions.

Moreover, the audience adopting a stance contrasting with the other side seriously generated a kind of terror, and satire represents an advanced state of awareness, according to German philosopher Hegel. The conflicting sides in Syria have not moved satire to an artistic state.

Eqtini believes that expressing the conflict in a purely artistic manner has not been reached by Syrian poets, which is a precursor stage to satire, in his view. This explains the lack of a steady trend in dealing satirically with the Syrian dilemma.

According to Eqtini, satire may not reach the level of situational comedy, but it alleviates the pressure on the audience affected by the criticized situation. However, it was required to achieve an accurate and intelligent satirical artistic expression by real artists, not amateurs, to address intractable issues humorously, extending the problem’s reach and interaction beyond Syrians. The comedy that addressed the Syrian situation is confined to an individual framework, unlike the tragedy that expressed itself artistically on a wider scale concerning the Syrian event.

“Comedy is comedy as long as it collides with serious opinions and views that form firm and resolute impressions, conveying the subject with differences in viewpoints and levels, considering the opinions of various segments,” according to Eqtini.

Conflicting views

From a psychological perspective, Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud, in a research paper titled “The Ego and the Id” (published in 1923), about humor, argues that within every person there is a defense mechanism and strategies used by the subconscious to protect from the stress generated by rejected thoughts or feelings. He considers that the mind uses four types of psychological defenses: pathological, immature, neurotic, and mature. He regards humor as an expression of thoughts that are typically of a painful nature, which a person turns into behavior that brings joy.

According to the book “Human After Update” by Sherif Arafa, Freud believes that satire is born from cruelty and is an expression of brutality and violence. Researchers have found that those who use situational comedy in their daily lives are more balanced and at peace with themselves than those who use harsh, violent comedy (mocking others and self-deprecation).

As a person advances in psychological development stages, they can detach from their own perspective to see themselves from another intellectual angle, thus recognizing aspects of humor and being able to joke without feeling insulted.

German philosopher Hegel, in his book “Philosophy of Right,” considers satire the lowest rank in the ladder of self-morality. It is the moment when subjectivity is disciplined, manifesting through its absolute negation, as satire exists preceded by a belief perceived as pure and absolute self-certainty, harboring a deliberate point of anchoring.

Despite the conflicting philosophical and ethical viewpoints regarding satire, it persists as long as the circumstances that provoke it continue on both individual and collective levels. At some point, it turns into a common factor uniting the opposite sides of the issue, perhaps in a fleeting laugh.