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Rajan Basra

@rajanbasra.bsky.social

486 followers 91 following 11 posts

Researching how terrorists think and act. KCL War Studies PhD and postdoc / CSNS / XCEPT

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Every now and then I wondered what happened to him. Like when the Arab Spring finally came to Syria. When the government began killing protestors. And today, when Bashar has finally left Syria. Here's hoping for better days, where no one is afraid of their president. /END

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

7/ As he exited, the heavy in the leather jacket followed him out, stopped him, and questioned him. The minibus drove on. I kept my eyes on the electrician and he seemed nervous - it didn't look good. What happened? Was he reported? Questioned for speaking ill of Bashar to foreigners? I don't know

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

6/ Later, the electrician tells me he's getting off the bus. He invites me for some tea, to chat more. I was tempted, but my gut was saying it was a bad idea. Everyone in the bus knew he was talking about Bashar. Exiting with a foreigner would be suspicious. So I said "no thanks".

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

5/ One of the starers was a heavy in a leather jacket. Like a caricature of the secret police (mukhabarat). Straight away he asks me and my amigo, in English: "Where are you from?" "Spain eh... tell me... Real Madrid or Barshelona?" We have a laugh and move on. Phew.

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

4/ As soon as he said this, everyone in the minibus turns around and stares at him. Uh oh. As a backpacker in Syria, I knew not to engage in political chats with randoms in public. Bad for me, bad for them. The Arab Spring was in full flow, and it seemed a matter of time before it came to Syria.

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

3/ I remember thinking it was a ridiculous idea. "Hah! No, I'm not scared of David Cameron" He asks the same question of Zapatero. My amigo says no. Then he says: "In Syria, everyone is afraid of Bashar Al-Assad"

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

2/ "David Cameron - errr he's the prime minister, we don't have a president" He turns to my Spanish friend next to me. Same question. "Zapatero", says my amigo. Then he asks: "In Britania, are you scared of David Cameron?"

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

A short story from Syria, March 2011: I'm in the back row of a minibus, chatting with the guy next to me. He's an electrician, friendly, and speaking in very broken English. After a while, he asks: "In Britania, who is the president?"

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 26/10/2023

The report has caused quite a stir among the supporters of JStark. For them, JStark isn't a person. He's a symbol, an icon, a "martyr". And you can't look deeper than that. They don't want to see the person behind the mask: a complex, contradictory, lonely man, often full of anger and self-hate.

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 26/10/2023

Really proud to share new research with you, looking at "JStark", the most influential 3D-printed gun designer. Using open sources I uncovered his seemingly "anonymous" comments. They show his disturbing misogynist incel beliefs and support for far-right terrorism. Link: icsr.info/wp-content/u...

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Rajan Basra @rajanbasra.bsky.social · 27/09/2023

Can't wait to share this with the wide world. It's the most fun and interesting open-source research I've done... If you're in London, feel free to join me for the launch on October 18th

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