My Brother’s Children
The loss of my brother Maen has given rise to many questions. “How did you feel when you found out you’d lost your brother?...
A Journey via Aleppo’s “Death-Crossing”
Bustan al-Qasr was the last area of Aleppo with a direct link between government and opposition-held neighbourhoods. City residents called it the “Crossing of...
Air Raids Just Routine in Besieged Syrian Town
Nothing seemed different about that particular morning in Douma. The cold night was over, and the sounds of artillery fire from government forces had...
Food Cooked With Love
It was September 2012, and protests in Syria’s Idlib province were on the increase. Many young men had taken to carrying weapons to protect...
Bread and Blood
My father’s last night with us was shrouded in cold and darkness. The electricity had been cut off, so we sat huddled together, our...
A Man With No Fear
When I close my eyes and think about the Syrian revolution, many memories rush through my mind. I recall the blood and sacrifice, the...
A Stolen Biscuit
It was almost break time at the girls’ school I worked at in Douma. As I walked down the corridor, I heard a girl...
Football Returns to Rebel-Held Syrian Province
The town of Hass is in Syria’s Idlib province, and has been liberated from Syrian government forces. One of its school playgrounds is now...
A Bad Purchase
During the early years of Syria’s revolution, those of us who supported it took part in whichever way we could, be that political or...
Detained and Tortured, But Still Strong
Friday, a weekend day in Syria, used to be a time for leisure. Those days are long gone, and Friday is now associated with...
Damascus, Divided by War
Four years have passed since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, and Damascus and its environs remain divided. Neither government nor opposition has achieved...
Resources Overstretched in Kfar Nabel Hospitals
Jumana, 30, is one of the lucky ones. She was heavily pregnant when her house was bombed and she was injured on April 20...
Surviving Execution
My family and I became displaced on the dawn of June 13, 2012. We were forced to abandon our home in Douma, along with...
My Brother the Martyr
On December 1, 2013 I decided to pay my uncle a visit. I was at his house playing with my six-month-old cousin when the...
Idlib Farms Turn to Wastelands
Mustafa al-Darwish owns half a square kilometre of land in Tal Minis, a village in the south of Idlib province. He used to plant...
My Son, My Protector
I will never forget how the day that changed my life unfolded. It was early evening on September 7, 2007 when the phone started...
