Tortured, Missing and Martyred – the Fate of Three Sons
I have always heard of al-Khansaa, the seventh-century female poet who lost her two brothers to war. She is famous for the heartrending elegies...
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...
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...
The Bitterness of Exile
Our life of exile in Qurqunya, a village in the north of Idlib province, began in August 2012. I left with my family –...
Aiming For Paradise
One of the hardest things that can happen to a person is to lose a loved one, especially when that loved one is their...
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...
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...
Unwanted Attentions at a Syrian Checkpoint
I travel with my schoolteacher colleagues from our part of Idlib to the school where we work. The passengers who take the minibus include...
Summoned to Vote for an Unwanted Leader
It was the eve of the 2014 presidential election in Syria, and sleep eluded me. As I tossed and turned in bed, I recalled...
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...
Grieving Mother Refuses to Give Up Hope
Um Ahmad still hopes that the Syrian revolution will be triumphant, that the regime will be overthrown and a new, free country will be...
Female Detainees Swap One Prison for Another
For a while, Fairuz wished that she’d never left prison. The looks she got from her family, full of blame and doubt, felt more...
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?...
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...
Help Needed After Syria’s Harsh Winter
Humanitarian organisations are delivering urgent aid programmes to help needy Syrians affected by a particularly harsh winter. Aid convoys aimed at helping tens of...
Living on the Edge
I have lived with my family in Idlib, which is under regime control, since March 2012. Although we’re against the regime, we have chosen...
