Syrian democracy campaigner honoured at Essex Graduation

Inspirational work to support educational initiatives, female and community empowerment, and human rights in Syria has led to democracy campaigner Marcelle Shehwaro receiving a honorary degree from the University of Essex.

Marcelle received the prestigious award at the University of Essex’s spring graduation ceremonies at the Colchester Campus. She was applauded by graduates from Essex Law School and its world-renowned Human Rights Centre as she received her honorary degree.

She completed her MA in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity at Essex as a Chevening Scholar and her studies have inspired her to try to make a difference in her home country.

Giving the oration in honour of Marcelle, Human Rights Centre director Carla Ferstman said: “She has refused to allow her voice to be silenced and looked for creative ways to speak up for democratic reform in Syria.

“With the overthrow of Assad after more than a decade of civil war she now hopes Syria can be rebuilt in a way that truly serves its people, with transitional justice at the heart of the process.”

Marcelle joined the Syrian revolution in 2011, taking to the streets to protest against the Assad regime’s brutal repression. Her activism became deeply personal after her mother was killed by the regime in 2012. An arrest warrant was issued against her, forcing her to flee to the UK, where she pursued an MA in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity at the University of Essex as a Chevening Scholar. Despite the risks, she later returned to Syria to continue her advocacy and work with local communities.

In 2014, she was arrested and subsequently forced to flee again—this time to Turkey, From there she continued to support the Syrian civil society organisation Kesh Malek which she had helped co-found with other peace campaigners. Kesh Malek ran unofficial schools for children in opposition-held areas of Syria and campaigns for community empowerment and human rights.

In 2015, her blog Dispatches From Syria won an Online Journalism Award for Online Commentary, with judges praising her “intensely personal writing” for finding “the grey areas in a war usually told from polar extremes.”

During her time at Essex, Marcelle focused her thesis on transitional justice and truth, a subject that would later prove crucial in her work. She applied this knowledge to co-found Do Not Suffocate the Truth, a campaign led in coordination with brave survivors of chemical attacks in Syria to combat denial and seek accountability.

Professor Ferstman said “Through her writing she gives us an insight into the emotional toll on her and others displaced by the conflict and now their renewed hopes for the future.

“Marcelle has demonstrated the Essex Spirit by dedicating her life to trying to overcome challenges no matter what the odds and has used creativity to demand the world pays attention. Despite everything she has had to face she remains driven by a passion to promote human rights and social justice, to make the world a better place.”