A Mother’s Sorrow and Pain
Khaldiya Diyab devotes Thursday mornings to visiting four of her sons. She steps out of her house dressed in black, holding a bunch of...
Detained and Abused for Delivering Aid
Carrying money through the Mleha checkpoint was almost impossible, but I had 1,000 US dollars in aid money that I needed to deliver to...
Humiliated for a Bag of Bread
Until Syrian government forces placed Ghouta under siege towards the end of 2013, it was still possible to travel there by bus from Damascus....
The Peril of Taking Taxis in Raqqa
It was an ordinary day in mid-February 2015. Hayat pulled on her niqab (face veil) and stood in front of her mirror, making sure...
Waiting for a Cup of Coffee
Ziad al-Sayid Issa was born in 1958. He was my father’s cousin. His path of suffering began in late 1979 when a group of...
Aleppo Schoolgirls Receive First Aid Training
Basic training in emergency care is particularly important in rebel-held areas of Aleppo as qualified medics are few and far between. Female pupils at...
Confusion Reigns in Kfar Nabel’s School System
Sara, 15, sets out every morning for the Sharia Institute for Scientific Excellence in Kafr Nabel. At this school, run by the Islamist group...
Battling on Two Fronts for the Right to Study
The condition I set for agreeing to marry my fiancé was not that he should have a university degree or own an apartment or...
The Power of a Costly Document
Prison is a humiliating place. It cuts a person’s life short. Every single night, I dreamed that my son would be released. Ahmad was...
A Key to No House
Samah Imam’s family stood riveted in front of the television, watching a news report about Kurdish forces retaking territory from Islamic State militants in...
“Don’t Cry, I’m Alive”
My name is Hiba and I’m 23 years old. My family and I were among the last to leave Douma before the Free Syrian...
Factions Argue Over Future of Syrian City
Syrian opposition forces and jihadi groups are squabbling over who will take responsibility for running the city of Idlib, captured from the regime two...
Crawling Through Trenches
When Eastern Ghouta was liberated, we were overjoyed, yet not a day went by without us worrying. The regime retaliated for the loss of...
A Sick Joke on April Fool’s Day
It was seven in the morning on April 1, 2015 – time to get up for work. I was still at my job in...
Islamic State Dismantles Medical Services in Syrian Region
Yara al-Haj, an inpatient at a clinic in Turkey, is waiting anxiously for the results of an MRI scan she underwent a few days...
A Decade of Insults
When I first started primary school, I was taken aback by the slogans I found written on the walls. This graffiti had nothing to...
