Putting Smiles on Orphans’ Faces
A civil society group working in Idlib and the surrounding countryside is helping hundreds of local children who have lost family in the conflict....
Dust, Blood and Death in a Children’s Playground
I felt the tremor before I heard the blast. A government plane had just fired a missile at my street. By the time the...
IWPR Women’s Blog Contributor Killed in Rocket Attack
Qamar al-Said, a contributor to IWPR’s Damascus Bureau project, was killed on November 19 when a rocket fired by the Assad government’s army landed...
A Friendship Torn Apart
Wearing the dress my friend bought me, I pick up my phone and select her name, but do not dial her number. I log...
Fleeing From One Place to the Next
Every morning, I wake up, get dressed and go to school. I walk into a classroom of young children living in the shadow of...
No Space for Anger in Our Lives
When I stormed out of my house on August 3, 2014, I was angry with my husband. We had argued about the meal I...
Job Opportunities in War-Torn Syria
Mansur felt helpless. Like thousands of other Syrians, he had lost his job and was struggling to meet the growing needs of his wife...
Deprived of School, Work and Country
When the Syrian revolution began, I was still attending at Damascus University, and like all the other students there, I was forced to participate...
“Situation Under Control” in Syria
August 8, 2015 dawned on Latakia like any other day. Residents of the Syrian port city woke up and went about their regular business,...
Killed by the Bullet That Hit My Son
I only understood the true meaning of war when my son was killed. My life simply ended that day. All my dreams for him...
“Free Police” Patrol Rebel-Held Parts of Syria
When Youssef al-Tanari’s motorcycle warehouse was burgled in April 2015, he filed a report with the Free Police in Maarat al-Numan. Officers at the...
Futsal Pitch Inaugurated in Kfar Nabel
Futsal – also known as five-a-side football – has come to Kfar Nabel, an opposition-held town in the Idlib region. A special project funded...
A Life for a Bag of Sweets
Towards the end of March 2015, my family and I left our house in Douma and moved to a farmhouse in al-Sheyfuniya, a settlement...
A Hard Life Cut Short in Syria
Qamar sat in the farmhouse where she now lived, having a cup of coffee with her cousin. Calmly, sorrowfully, she talked of the heartache...
A Funeral, Not a Wedding
After my father was arrested, my brother Zuhair assumed the role of head of the family. He was only 18, but he tried his...
When No News is Bad News
Months had passed since I had last seen my brother Ismail, so when I answered my front door in early October 2012 and found...
