Of Horizons and Men
Osama Abou-Samra / Paris / France

We live and grow, as human beings, as spaces, our belongings, our needs, it is a universal constant process and a principle by which the world works with, we live and grow and our cities are no exception. It requires positive and engaging behavior by all of us, the people, which results in a healthy participation for its construction in all of its aspects (Praxis). In this light the idea of war which is a state of hostility, conflict and antagonism- will result in constant destruction of the many aspects that hold the city together.

Damascus has lost a lot, as it was going through a critical phase in its lifetime in the years preceding the war after it went through a set of promising years that started showing hope, steady small steps of growth, and steady small steps for me as well coming on to university studies and early life.

However, you learn that war is not negative input into the city’s horizons, war comes in an instant and mutilates years of hope from the city’s body and preventing any form of construction to the city’s culture, architecture and economy. War to construction, is not a counterpart in the sense that (-2) is counterpart to (+2). In my opinion war to praxis is what zero is to any possible number, the absence of one, and not a negative state of that number or entity. Cold is not the counterpart of warm; it is the absence of energy. Darkness is not the counterpart of light; it is the absence of it. Thus, we need the concept of war as a tool to understand what praxis is for it will always be the base any form of construction is born from. The people will wait; they remain on hold, observing their environment and learning how to reconstruct it, how to connect, through the ruins and the wreckage all around us now, we wait, till we start it all over again.

ككائنات حية نكبر من تراكم خلايانا ،حاجاتنا ،وجودنا وادراكنا و بالتالي تكبر مدننا و حواضننا التي تشكلت منا و أصبحنا منها فنكون جزءا من التنامي و التطبيق على ارض الواقع ،ثم تأتي الحرب لتعوث بكل ذلك فسادا بما تحمله من نزاع و اضطراب لكافة سبل الحياة ، مسببة تأرجح كل ما يربط المدينة ببعضها. إذ عانت دمشق من ذلك بعد سنوات واعدة تشكلت بها هيئات مستقبل بقراءة مفهوم الحرب مقابل العمران نرى انهما ليسا ضدان متعاكسان و انما احدهما عامل غير سبلي كليا والاخر غائب بحضور الاول و يفهم كليا بحلوله . إذ يُتبع الدمار بترميم شتات ما ذهب و اعادة تكريبه ليعود بهيئة المستقبل المنتظر