Syria
Eid in Idlib
Photojournalist Fared al Mahlool took these photos of Idlib over the eve and morning of Eid. They show that the battered province is a safe haven mainly for men, women, and children, who take the same joy in new clothes, good food, carnival-rides, and candy as we all do. Their smiles are a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
Syria: The Bashar Years
In this wide-ranging podcast, the writer and political analyst Rime Allaf recalls the death of Hafez al-Assad in Syria and traces the years of his son’s rule, from the Lebanon occupation to the Syrian revolution.
What They Don’t Teach You In Medical School
Syrians are caught between the overt violence of barrel bombs and covert killing through hunger and enforced privation. Syria has exposed the fragility of international norms. Words have not alleviated its people’s suffering. Only action can give meaning to the words.
Shooting the War in Syria
Although the aftermath of the war in Syria continues, artworks that repurpose photographs of the war may contribute to a renewed narrative. Art makes the viewer reflect on time and all the opportunities lost. Eventually, perhaps, the art helps us make sense of the war.
The Wandering Alawite
Syria's Alawite minority have always been painfully aware of the fragility of sectarian coexistence. Many of us preferred one dictator, Bashar al-Assad, to a Syria broken into multiple sectarian dictatorships. So, despite reservations, despite its repression, we still stuck by the regime.
New Evidence Links a Far-Right French NGO to War Crimes in Syria
A French registered NGO with ties to France’s military and the political far right appears to have funneled money directly to a pro-Assad Syrian militia accused of committing war crimes, Newlines has learned in an 18-month, multicountry investigation that meets the legal threshold for initiating a legal complaint in France.
Syria’s Wretched Foreign Legion
Thousands of Syrians have fought as mercenaries in Libya, Azerbaijan, and possibly elsewhere, on both Russia and Turkey’s behalf. Dozens have been killed, and hundreds have come back after their contractual deployments, but none return to the life they left behind.