Syria
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.
Despair Means Ruin in Post-Earthquake Aleppo
It would not be easy to draw a simple line differentiating between the physical, material and psychological destruction wrought by the earthquake and the war that has lasted for 12 years, after a few hours touring the city’s neighborhoods, especially its eastern districts. The two events intertwine in an intractable way. “Not one disaster but two,” was a common refrain I heard from residents of Aleppo when describing what had happened to their city.
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.
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.
From Syria’s Earthquakes, Assad Emerges the Only Winner
The lesson of the earthquake is just how alone Syrians are, on both sides of the political divide. In Aleppo, residents sleep in their cars in the freezing cold, while in Idlib, international powers abandoned even the pretense of caring enough to send aid or help those trapped under the rubble.
A Notorious Syria Conspiracy Theory Is Definitively Debunked
Amid persistent claims that a 2018 gas attack on Syria's Douma was faked by rebels, a new report from the global chemical weapons watchdog shows not only that the Assad regime was responsible but that none of the alternative claims is viable.
The Slow UN Earthquake Response in Northwest Syria is Costing Lives
The urgent need for heavy machinery is passing fast. As the days go on, it will turn from a rescue mission to a retrieval mission, because most people, tragically, will have suffocated or succumbed to injury or freezing cold.