PROFILE
NAME: Marwa Al-Sabouni
TYPE OF OUTLAW: The Visionary Outlaw
INTRO
“There were different stages, and with each one there were new things to deal with. First were the demonstrations. You heard the voices, and the clashes, and that was disturbing. Then there were the battles; you heard shots in the street, and you didn’t know what was happening – it was the first time you’d ever heard gunfire. After that there was the bombing, the planes and the tanks at the end of the street. You’d hear the buildings collapsing, and it was very frightening. There were lots of snipers here; they controlled our area from all sides. Too many people died, like birds. You’d be walking in the street, and someone would fall next to you. It was… very hard.” - Marwa al-Sabouni
When war broke out in Marwa Al-Sabouni's home city of Homs, located in the central west part of Syria, instead of fleeing like many others she refused to leave. Marwa is an architect, mother of two & all round amazing human being, who was born & grew up in Homs. After 6 years of war, Homs is now a half destroyed city but luckily for Marwa & her family they remained safe & their home is somehow still standing. For 2 years they were essentially prisoners in their own home whilst the chaos of demonstrations, battles & bombings waged on around them. In Marwa's own words they "didn’t see the moon for 2 years, but apart from broken windows there was no other damage." Can you imagine not being able to see the moon for 2 years? The moon is probably something we all take for granted. The last time I took the time to look up at the sky at night & appreciate what that big luminous rock looks like was when i was trying to be romantic on a date in 2012. I'd be impressed if you could recall the last time you appreciated the moon. Nevertheless Marwa & her husband owned an architecture practice in the old town main square which has suffered the same fate as half of the city & been reduced to rubble. On a brighter note, since the ceasefire late in 2015 Homs has been largely quiet, but on a much darker note the economy has been left completely broken. People who had flourishing careers & multiple qualifications have been left to take on various odd jobs just to get by. Accountants are working at the market, & mechanical engineers as taxi drivers. Merchants who had stalls in the city now trade out of sheds on the streets. This blog has been extremely doomy & gloomy so far but bear with with me, I'm just setting the scene.
Marwa now teaches part time whilst her husband juggles 4 jobs & they have also opened a small bookshop, but this is just the beginning. Marwa has a vision. She wants to restore co-operation, social cohesion, and a sense of identity to her war devastated city through architecture. Visions are important, countless successful people have spoken about having them; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Lady Gaga. We should all have a vision because our vision defines our passion & purpose & in the end, creates the life we choose to live. Don't you want to choose what life you live? Don't get me wrong doing the work to have the life you want to live won't be easy but not having that life will be even harder. Marwa has a vision of how the city should look, feel & behave when it’s rebuilt & with that comes purpose & the dedication to manifest that vision into reality.
MARWA’S VISION
“The fabric of our cities is reflected in the fabric of our souls.” - Marwa Al-Sabouni
Marwa believes the architecture & planning of the city previously, played a role in fueling violence & civil conflict by distorting community relationships & fragmenting societies & I agree. She argues that: “The old city of Homs used to be known as ‘the mother of the poor’. You didn’t need money to live there. It was a place of trees, & jasmine & fruit. But then the new city, with its corruption and its modern blocks, developed over it, brought with it a lack of hope & despair.” The new city focused on the separation of classes, religions & race rather than intertwining them as the old city did. Architecture should have human connection at its heart, promoting constant interaction among all the different classes & ethnic groups. It’s important to socialise with people who don’t look, think & act like you. It encourages you to learn how to be empathetic, understand & accept perspectives that differ to yours even if you don’t agree with it. As a result, you create unified, thriving, sustainable communities rather than a divided, soulless & disenfranchised one that turns into a war zone or votes for things like Brexit & Donald Trump.
Marwa has drawn up plans to rebuild the destroyed Baba Amr district, located in Homs, in a way that would bring different classes and ethnic groups back together. She has a vision which goes against both the favoured european-centered model, stereotyped Islamic architecture & consequently has so far been overlooked by the Syrian government. All Marwa wants to do is create a beautiful city that stimulates a sense of belonging, neighbourliness & safety with a proposal that ultises a core set of ideas that have always been around. The problem is when your ideas & vision go against what is currently trending you will face an uphill battle getting people to jump on board. Despite these obstacles, her vision is so well defined in her head that she is persevering & her ideas are slowly gaining attention worldwide.
WHY WE SHOULD FIND OUR LAWLESS VISION
“Visions are for people that can see them.” - Saint Jhn
A vision is a picture or idea you have in your mind of yourself, the world, or anything that you want to make happen. If you do not have a vision of who you want to be, how you want to succeed or what you want out of life, you begin to lack drive and your life becomes just an order of meaningless events. We all have a purpose so by default should all have a vision. What do you want to accomplish? What do you enjoy doing? What do you feel passionate about?
Start looking for your vision now, the more lawless the better. You’ll know it's lawless when it naturally goes against the grain & consequently will be met with opposition. If you know something to be true in your heart but it goes against the consensus it just means you have insight. The more opposition you face the better & more ground-breaking your vision is. You’re ahead of your time. Look at Uber for example, when they first introduced their idea to the world no one thought it would work. No one believed people would trust random strangers to drive them from one place to another (even though taxi drivers essentially do the same thing). Look at the world now in 2019, people trust Ubers to take their kids to school unsupervised.
Of course, your vision doesn’t have to revolutionise the way we use transportation but it does need to be something that is true to something you’re deeply passionate about. My vision is to create a lawless society of conscious free thinkers who want to innovate & push the world forward in whatever way they can. This vision is fuelling my drive & has provided me with so much focus in a world that is hell bent on distracting you with mind numbing content. It is guiding me & has made me hungry to grow & improve daily. It’s not enough to just have a vision though, you must execute it & this is exactly what I'm doing now just like Marwa. I don’t expect anyone else to see my vision as I've only just started painting the picture; but little by little, with each brush stroke, the whole world will one day see our finished paintings.
WHAT KIND OF OUTLAW ARE YOU?
Marwa’s daring resilience in presenting future possibilities for Syria even as there is still unrest & fighting, reminds us that war does not erase humanity, culture, pride or hope. Not only is she a free thinker who is disrupting the status quo but she is also a visionary & she deservedly received the Prince Claus award, which honours “outstanding achievement of visionaries at the front-line of culture and development”. Marwa is a Visionary Outlaw.
What kind of outlaw are you?
Marwa al-sabouni’s vision for the redevelopment of the baba amr district in Homs