I’ve spent a lot of this winter in Tripoli, with my mother. One afternoon she comes back home from an outing with some friends, and says, “Sometimes, all you need is a walk down the street with people you like.” My mother is like that, poetic and wise, and I’m often transcribing—or stealing—her sentences. Over the past fourteen years she’s lived in Tripoli, my mother…

Ahmed al-Khubail, also known as Abu Khawla, commander of the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, is not a reputable figure in the Deir ez-Zor countryside. This area is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the International Coalition. Over the years, al-Khubail has been known for his arrogance, disrespect, and aggression towards social and tribal leaders in the region. He has been…

The chemical massacre in Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 was not only notable for its scale of devastation and the use of weapons of mass destruction, but also because it created a day that seemingly never ended. It started at sunrise, just a few hours after the massacre, and in many ways, it feels like it hasn’t ended even now, nine years later. We are,…

“We have thrown off our shackles.”

Thoughts on Justice, Revenge and Forgiveness

On the revived protests and the possibilities for political change in Syria

Humanitarian Crisis or Western Conspiracy

The Arab political Order failed Syria since 2011.

What can be said?

A Lot of Work is Still Ahead of US