The Boy Who Died Feeding His Cat
In February 2014, while I was doing humanitarian relief work in Harasta, I decided to open a charity kitchen to serve food to those...
In War Zone, Hope Fades as Phone Line Dies
It was March 2015, and the word on the street in Idlib was that Jaish al-Fatah was about to launch a major offensive against...
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 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...
Bitter Birthday Memories
July 15 is my birthday, so the first thing I did when I woke up that day in 2012 was log on to my...
My Mother, The Accidental Activist
My mother is in her late forties, and she can’t read or write. She has been attending literacy classes for the past ten years,...
Surviving on Animal Fodder
Towards the beginning of the anti-government demonstrations in Syria, I had started gaining weight, and my mother and friends urged me to visit a...
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...
Shattered Windows, Selfish Souls
In late 2013, Damascus’s Eastern Ghouta area was under threat of total siege by Syrian government forces. My fiancé had deserted from the army...
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...
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...
A Promise
The day I enrolled at university was a dream come true. It was the beginning of a new phase of my life, and the...
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...
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...
