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The Man Behind The #IAmStillAlive Hashtag Was Just Killed In Syria

This is Ahmad Hamdan. The 26-year-old activist and filmmaker lived in Eastern Ghouta, Syria.

Earlier this month, Hamdan used the hashtag #IAmStillAliveon Facebook, hoping to draw attention to the situation in his home.

facebook.com

"We're still alive, living here between death, siege or bombardment. I invite the whole world to stand by us. We launch our campaign today #IAmStillAlive," he wrote on Facebook. "Invite the world to stand with us."

Rebel-held Eastern Ghouta has been under government bombardment for the past five years. Thousands of civilians are still trapped in the area, just east of the capital Damascus, caught between the pro-government and rebel forces.

After reading Hamdan's post, Syrians inside the besieged area quickly jumped on the hashtag, using it to post their images from the ground.

The hashtag was used regularly as a way to highlight the plight of children living in Eastern Ghouta.

In the first two months of 2018, more than 1,000 children were killed in Syria, according tothe United Nations.

The Arabic hashtag, #انا_عايش, was also widely shared.

And it attracted international attention.

On March 14, Hamdan was killed by an airstrike on Hamouria, activists close to him confirmed to BuzzFeed News.

The messages above were sent to a close friend of Hamdan's only days before his death.

"I dug my grave yesterday," he joked. "So that I don't have to bother myself with displacement."

Qusay Nour, an activist in Eastern Ghouta, told BuzzFeed News that Hamdan had a great sense of humor and had recently been working on a black comedy series filmed in Eastern Ghouta. Nour said Hamdan is leaving behind his wife of two years, and their daughter, Naseem, who is just 8 months old.

“He is a courageous man. He offered scenes that reflected the reality of al-Ghouta in a simple way," Nour said. "He is my friend."

News of Hamdan's death made ripples across social media.

Hamdan is one of an estimated 1,400 people killed in the region in the past few weeks, according to local health authorities.

Over 800 deaths in the area are thought to have occurred after the UN adopted a ceasefire agreement.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, stated last week they estimated that 4,829 people had been injured in the sustained bombardment over the past few weeks.

The news of his death even inspired some to start using a new hashtag, #NoLongerAlive.

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