His Greed Led to His Death
My cousin Ayman used to smuggle guns and ammunition. After the revolution began, he used to buy arms from the regime’s supporters and sell...
Travelling to Turkey
After suffering through conflict, fear, homelessness and displacement, we finally decided to leave Syria and seek refuge in Turkey. I had always tried to...
Searching for my Husband
My husband was everything to me. He was the father of my children and my best friend. I was very attached to him, I...
A Prisoner of His Heart
After our village was shelled, my family and I were forced to flee, and we ended up in Alweibdeh village in the Idlib countryside....
Stealing My Daughter’s Earrings
After the war forced us to leave our home in Kalaat al-Madiq, we found refuge in a village in the southern countryside of Idlib....
Should I Marry my Husband’s Brother?
One evening, six months after the death of my husband Ahmed, I sat with my mother and sisters in my parents’ house and talked...
The Mannequin Challenge
Was it Syrians who invented the so-called mannequin challenge, even though we never got credit for it? The world was quick to embrace this...
Patient Until Death
I first met Wafa, a sweet woman approaching 40, when she and her family moved to our village. They had fled regime oppression in...
A Brush With Death
My husband got a job with the government electricity company on January 27, 2011. He received a fairly low salary, but we managed. Then...
Ghufran’s Story: From Teacher to Wanted Woman
I was delighted when I got my high school diploma in 1999. Whenever I sat with my classmates, I would talk about my dream...
My Poor Uncle
It was the morning of December 8, 2012. As I did every day, I prepared breakfast before tackling the other household chores with my...
A Child’s Revolution
On February 13, 2016, a Saturday, I returned to my hometown of Taybat al-Imam. For the previous four years, I had been living an...
When the Army Stole my Father’s Car
I remember the day the army arrived in our village of Maar Tahroma as if it was yesterday, although it was six long years...
My Disappointment
In mid-March 2017, new confrontations began between Assad’s forces and the free army a number of areas around Damascus. Those were difficult days for...
Aleppo, I Will Return
Fierce bombing had become an everyday part of life in my beloved city of Aleppo. But when the regime began their final push to...
Fadwa Wishes to Die
Fadwa, my 24-year-old cousin, is a paraplegic. During my last visit to see her – she can’t leave the house due to her condition...
