Interviews
Syrian Artist Fires Back About Public Nudity
By Rami Eljundi
Oct 20, 2005, 19:31

Syrian artist, Hala Faisal, caused controversy when she was arrested for public nudity in New York City. The 47-year-old activist was protesting the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine. In an exclusive interview with World Internet News, she answers her critics and explains her actions.

You got totally naked in Washington Square Park on Aug. 09, what was this whole thing about?

I was protesting the war and occupation of Iraq and Palestine. People in the west do not seem to pay attention to what is going and I wanted to catch their attention. In this act of performance, it is symbolic. I wanted to disarm myself from wearing any military or civil uniform. War is bad and occupation is painful. This is a metaphor. This is a way to protest the unjust occupation and at the same time I do so with no violence without harming anyone, but by forcing people toward paying attention to something they do not seem to care about nor understand.

What would you say to those who believe that you could have used other means to express your anger --not by getting totally naked in public?

To those who have been silent and their conscience dead about all this oppression in Palestine and Iraq and just woke up when an Arab lady got naked, I ask them bluntly; Is this what caught your attention? Is this what woke your conscience up?

Palestine and Iraq have been under this situation for a long time, why now?

Well, sometimes things take time to accumulate. I have had feelings on this mess in my Arab land for a long time. When you continuously hear the news, when you keep seeing the same scenes on TV and when you keep reading about the same pain in the press, patience has a limit and things get to a point [where] anger accumulates and it has to be expressed. In addition, when I came to this country, I felt the kind of fear I was living under in my country to express my anger. This has been in me due the circumstance around of condemning the situation. I grew up in a political and nationalist family, so I can not be silent nor neutral forever in regard to events around me. At a point, feelings get to their peak. Living in an open society like New York City helped me to do so. Plus, I am an artist.

Ok! So you are saying that you were raised in a political and nationalist family? Some people may say "fine" there could be other ways our political opinions, but not by getting naked?

Yes! I am from a political and nationalist family. I am proud of being a Syrian and Arab, but I am not a political person. I am purely an artist. I can be an activist and this is my way. Excuse me! No body decides my way, I decide. I am an artist who paints. Some of my work has naked women. My act of getting naked is a continuation of my art work. I have to make the combination to say what I believe in connection with my art. Everybody has his way. Everybody has to express what he believes in. This is my way.

But people would still say that according to religion, culture or tradition that this way of getting naked in public is non-moral and a deprivation of values?

Excuse me! Those who talk about morals and values are the first ones who truly have nothing to do with morals or values. They go to the dark corners to watch porno movies or go to clubs or bars just to pick up girls to fuck. Then they come and talk about values and morals. Come on!

Of course we can not generalize, can we?

Well, many of those who are making a big deal about this have never heard of me and it is only now they are pouring all their anger? Let them go and find something better for their nations. Let them go and liberate Palestine. Let them get angry at the occupiers of Palestine for more than 50 years rather than wasting time getting angry at a woman who got naked expressing her anger for just 15 minutes in Washington Square Park in New York City. Let them go and express their anger at their totalitarian regimes that are ruling them. I did not act as a stripper. I wanted people to see this in context.

What did the police tell you when you got arrested?

The first thing they asked was if I had sex in public or harmed anyone? I did not and said that I just protested by getting naked.

Did this act affect any plans for you to go back to your native country Syria?

I have been visiting Syria on a regular basis. I had plans to make a visit recently, but I backed off for the mean time after what I did.

Who wrote the Arabic text on your body?

A friend.

Was he or she? Arab or non-Arab?

Laughing She was an American friend.

What was your reaction after what you did? How did you deal with reactions by people?

Allah understands why I did what I did, so I believe he is not against what I did. People have to look at the message, the noble message. People should know that God originally created us nude, then the society use certain values, ethics and ways of thinking that reflect their culture. We should not be ashamed of our pure bodies when we use them for pure valid reasons. What is happening exceeds craziness. It makes anyone lose his mind. To react at that same level, I consider what I have done to be very simple. My body is so valuable to me so to express my anger against the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine. I have nothing valuable that I can use to express, but my body. I am an artist and this is my proposal. I used my body as an artist piece of work to express my ideas. Something I believe in and I believe that I have to express what I believe in. Otherwise my existence is not there. People are there and each one should do something about all this mess to our people; the Arab people and for the West to know so. I am not doing this for fame. I am a normal poor lady. You would be surprised if I told you my financial situation.

Don’t you think that many Palestinians and Iraqis see that they disagree with what you did in your way of expression of your sympathy?

I do not tell them how and what is their way when or if they express their anger about the war and occupation and they should not ask me. I am 47. I have my mind and I have not lost it yet. I believe that I know what I am doing.

Do you consider this act a significant starting point for you to get into activism?

I consider myself an activist every day for Syria, Palestine, Iraq and all Arab causes. A while ago, I saw a lady selling Middle Eastern jewelry here in New York. I was curious. I got closer to her and asked where she was from. Her answer was from Israel. I asked her where is Israel and acted as if I had never heard of it. She started to explain to me about its location—a country that has Egypt from its southwest, Lebanon and Syria from the north and Jordan from the east. According to my knowledge of geography, I told her that it is my understanding that this is an occupied land called Palestine. And I am from there. She did not like my answer and she walked away. However, I do not have to belong to any party. Such involvement could restrict art.

Your art work is attractive regardless of its content. Most of your art work that is available to the public on your website has naked women. Why not apply your on work that reflects more of the Arab culture and causes?

I have done work for such thing. It just happened that most of the my art work on my website is of naked women. For some personal reasons, the rest of my art work was not posted. I may think of shutting down my website because of this.

Palestine and Iraq . . . you complained about totalitarianism, oppression and injustice, why nothing about Syria?

Let me be clear about something. I have a small size body and there was not enough space on my body to include more writings on it. In addition, I was protesting an occupation in Palestine and a war in Iraq. Thank God there is no war or occupation in Syria for now. God willing there will be no occupation and no war in Syria.

You are aware of the current mounting pressure that Syria has been under especially following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. What do you think of what Syria is going through nowadays?

There is no surprise of what is happening in Syria in connection to events in the region. For the Syrian people, they have been under dictatorship and oppressive regime for nearly 30 years. No matter how patient the people can be and whatever the official sources said about the recent “suicide” of the interior minister, at the end the truth will come out. There is an Arabic saying, “a crow is an honest bird that gets punished because he speaks the truth..”

Where do you see the Syrian people between their regime and the case of the United Nations’ investigation on the Hariri’s assassination?

Syrians are full of life. They love life and they believe in their Arab causes. However, they do not have any authority or freedom to express their freedom and integrity. When you walk in the streets in Syria, you sadly find a lot of unemployed and poor people. You feel the regime’s oppression in their fear.

What are your expectations on the possibility of politicizing the UN investigation in the Hariri’s probe?

Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians are all the same people. We are one people. The colonization and the regimes have created those divisions. I am not saying that Hariri was a hero. No one is perfect, but I have to admit he did many good things to Lebanon and the people of Lebanon in trying to unite them to face the future. His death made Lebanese realize their challenges they face locally and regionally. Now they care for Lebanon? They care for Syria?

Would you like to see change in Syria like the Iraqi scenario?

Of course not! I do not want change to happen in Syria like the way it happened in Iraq. Any Syrian or Arab with dignity will not accept this. What is sad that our people are oppressing our people. Syrians are oppressing other Syrians. We do not ignore the truth about oppression, but bringing a change to us, which may involve giving up many of our beliefs about our causes, this is what I call humiliation and loss of honor. This loss of honor is what should make people get angry, not a lady getting naked for a certain message. This is not acceptable and can have negative consequences to the series of events in the Arab world.

What do you think may be the solution for the region’s problems?

When you look at the reality, the current situation is very bad. It is expected to get worse before people truly wake up. I am a dreamer. Every true reality starts with a dream and the dream starts from the people. If there were no bribes, no corruption, no betrayal to the whole nation’s interests, then things will get better. I remember something that my father has been telling me, “Every situation doesn’t lasts forever and every ruler is isolated.”

Each one of us has to be honest and loyal truly to what he believes in, not just pretend. In addition, the region’s problem is the existence of Israel. Its existence is artificial. Logically, nothing artificial lasts forever. This situation in Palestine has to end. At the end, it is in the hands of the Palestinians to make their choices, but we as Arabs should not leave Palestinians alone. I understand and sympathize with the anger of Palestinians. Arab regimes have betrayed them and want to force their people to do so in forcing them to accept peace treaties that have nothing to do with peace, but a total loss of our integrity as a nation.

To comment about this interview, please go to this site's public forum section. We welcome your comments.

To look at Hala Faisal's artwork, please go to: www.halafaisal.com

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