'History of Syria' facebook page unites Syrian youth

'History of Syria' Facebook page seems to have helped all the Syrian youth who have decided to transcend their political and other affiliations and differences and unite their love for homeland, join hands to work on introducing the world to Syria's genuine and deep-rooted history. Working hard together, the page's organizers and members, who are mainly university students, have succeeded in collecting a large number of documents, videos, photos and information about Syria's history across various eras in all the political, social, intellectual, cultural and economic fields. All the documents were posted on 'History of Syria' Facebook page, as well as on other social networking sites and local and Arab electronic websites. "The idea of the page is based on a common denominator, that's Syria's genuine history, under which all homeland's sons are united despite their different political affiliations and social and intellectual backgrounds," participant in the page Narina al-Khalil, a student at Aleppo university, told SANA reporter. "We were surprised at the big turnout of young people and students and their interaction with and contribution to the page since its inception," she added, noting that the page was launched in March in 2012. 'History of Syria' page started with introducing the history of the Syrian presidents who successively came to power since 1943, giving insight into their personal biography and achievements during the period of their rule, translated into English and accompanied with photos. The page, whose members exceeded 25,000, also includes photos, videos and articles on the most prominent archeological sites and monuments and other historical and tourist attractions in Syria, in addition to pictures depicting ancient handicrafts and traditions. Al-Khalil clarified that the process of collecting information and documents is being carried out through browsing various electronic websites and relying mostly on books, particularly al-Assad Library, and on the History Departments at the Syrian universities to ensure getting reliable information. Al-Khalil pointed out to communicating with a group of Palestinian youth and agreeing on establishing a page for documenting the history of Palestine to preserve it against the Israeli attempts at obliterating and deforming this history. The possibility of establishing pages concerned with the history of all the Arab countries is being studied, she added, noting that such pages aim at introducing the young generation to the common Arab history and civilization.