"American Matthew VanDyke, 34, describes himself as a revolutionary activist and combat veteran of the Libyan Revolution. He's also a documentary film-maker and media commentator who joined the rebels in Libya in March 2011 before moving to Syria a year later. In Syria he began to "help the revolution, filming, advising rebels, and some other projects that I haven't talked about publicly", he says.
"I was motivated by a combination of personal reasons - I had good Libyan friends there whom I had known for years who needed help - and ideological reasons. I travelled the region for years by motorcycle and saw the effects of authoritarianism on the region and its people," he says, adding he is Christian and has never converted, although some rebels suggested he do so. "
"I was motivated by a combination of personal reasons - I had good Libyan friends there whom I had known for years who needed help - and ideological reasons. I travelled the region for years by motorcycle and saw the effects of authoritarianism on the region and its people," he says, adding he is Christian and has never converted, although some rebels suggested he do so. "
