First Person
My Lost ID by the Fountain
During a recent trip back to Syria, I found myself in the precarious position of having to replace my national identity card, which had gone missing. Thus commenced my journey into the belly of Assad’s bureaucracy, which had become hungrier and more emboldened than I remembered.
America’s Impotence in Iraq
The sectarian human rights abuses and actions to undermine the democratic structures being put in place were known to us, yet we proved powerless to act. On this 20th anniversary, many are looking for lessons in America’s actions. But what remains inexplicable is that many knew at the time what the issues were.
Living — and Reliving — the US Invasion of Iraq
The days leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq still live vividly in the minds of Iraqis. The nuances go beyond the question of whether life worsened or improved. Coming of age during the invasion is the story of undoing decades of indoctrination under Saddam’s dictatorship, while looking for any silver linings in one of modern history’s most unpopular wars.
A Syrian Traveling in Greece for Pleasure, Not as an Exile: A Revelation
For years, people I met and socialized with talked to me about genocides, sectarian conflicts, military dictatorships and religious terrorism, surmising from the nature of my work that those are the sorts of things in which I would be interested. They were mistaken, and I was determined to use my newly acquired right to travel in the Schengen zone to bring back to life the version of me with whom I always was most familiar and comfortable.
Syria Before the Storm: A Dissident Recalls Life in the Pre-Assad Era
In this deeply autobiographical essay, a leading Syrian intellectual recounts his early years in rural parts of the country before the rise of the Assad regime, lamenting the political and cultural vitality since lost in a society shattered by tyranny and war.
What My Pregnancy in Moscow Taught Me of Putin’s Russia
While I adored being pregnant in Russia, where I basked in the warmth of female solidarity, it became difficult to appreciate in an environment where women's rights were being governed, and even curtailed, by the state.
Syrian Opposition Figure Bassma Kodmani Dies at 64
When the peaceful national uprising against the Assad regime began almost exactly 12 years ago, Kodmani set aside a distinguished academic career to become a leading figure in the expatriate opposition to the regime, and a respected one by American officials. We were blessed to have known her.