Source: SYRIA DEEPLY

Syria Deeply is an independent digital media project led by journalists and technologists, exploring a new model of storytelling around a global crisis that relies on both user-generated content and the highest standards of the professional press.

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Resettlement Or Return? Limbo For Syrian Refugees In Lebanon

A Syrian mother and her son in a Lebanese refugee camp.
A Syrian mother and her son in a Lebanese refugee camp. John Owens/SOPA via ZUMA

BEIRUT — Lebanon appears to be mobilizing for the mass return of Syrian refugees, disregarding warnings that conditions in their home country are not conducive to voluntary returns in safety and dignity. Last week, ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, Lebanese President Michel Aoun asked the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to help secure the return of refugees. After the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) stated that it was not involved in last month’s return of around 500 Syrians from Lebanon due to conditions in Syria, the UNHCR’s representative to Lebanon, Mireille Girard, was summoned by the foreign ministry […]

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Letter From Damascus: How Geopolitics Unfolds In My Backyard

Smoke rising from Damascus as a result of airstrikes
Smoke rising from Damascus as a result of airstrikes Ammar Safarjalani/ZUMA

Alaa, a civil society worker in the Syrian capital weighs in on the impact and the perception of civilians on the ground toward foreign intervention in her country.

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How Western Strikes Against Syrian Regime Look To Syrian People

In the ruins of Douma on Monday.
In the ruins of Douma on Monday. Ammar Safarjalani/ZUMA

Better than nothing? Too little, too late? Settling their own scores? The people on the ground in Syria have no false illusions as to what’s at play with Western attacks in response to reports of the use of chemical weapons.

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Idlib Diary: Mental Health Care In Times Of War

Syria’s civilians are victims of the conflict between the major powers in the country.
Syria’s civilians are victims of the conflict between the major powers in the country. Idlib Health Directorate Facebook Page

Abdullah, a psychosocial health worker in Idlib, discusses helping families cope with depression and other mental health issues that are rampant across the city.

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‘Waiting for Death’ In Eastern Ghouta’s Underground Bunkers

Syrian children that live in underground to escape the threat of airstrikes and mortar attacks.
Syrian children that live in underground to escape the threat of airstrikes and mortar attacks. Anas Alkharbotli/ZUMA

As the Syrian government continues its offensive in the Damascus suburbs, civilians cower in underground shelters hoping for an end to their living hell.

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Documenting War Crimes In Syria Can Serve More Than Justice

Walking in Douma, Syria
Walking in Douma, Syria Muhmmad Al-Najjar/ZUMA

-OpEd- In the Syrian conflict, loss means means different things to different people. For many, it means the loss of loved ones. For those displaced or forced to flee the country, it also means the loss of their homes, properties, jobs and communities. For most, it means the loss of predictability, welfare and security. And yet, Syrians remain active and resilient —even after seven years of horrific violence. Despite being deprived of their basic human rights, many are fighting to protect their dignity, their voices and their memories. Amid these devastating conditions, Syrian activists have relentlessly documented the suffering and […]

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Syria: One Thing Europe Can Do To Stop The Slaughter In Ghouta

A Syrian woman and her daughter walk past a destroyed house in the rebel-held Eastern Al-Ghouta province.
A Syrian woman and her daughter walk past a destroyed house in the rebel-held Eastern Al-Ghouta province. Samer Bouidani

Refusing to fund reconstruction efforts until attacks stop could be a solution to combat violence against civilians in war torn Syrian cities such as Ghouta and Alleppo.

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Forced To Flee, Forced To Return: Syrian Refugees Trapped Again

Syrian refugee children in Lebanon
Syrian refugee children in Lebanon John Owens/SOPA via ZUMA

-Analysis- BEIRUT — More than 12 million Syrians have been displaced since 2011 — that is more than half of Syria’s pre-war population. And most want nothing more than to return home. Yet the situation in the country remains too unsafe at the moment. Whole cities have been destroyed, and many areas are cluttered with land mines and unexploded explosives, posing further challenges to the safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of refugees to Syria. Yet despite these risks, a small number of refugees do return to Syria each month. While this may seem like a positive development, research by the […]

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‘Weaponizing Aid’ — Desperation Politics In Eastern Ghouta

A Syrian boy runs past rubble in eastern Al Ghouta province, outside Damascus
A Syrian boy runs past rubble in eastern Al Ghouta province, outside Damascus Samer Bouidani/DPA via ZUMA

BEIRUT – Russia’s proposal for a partial truce in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus is not a “humanitarian pause,” but a “humanitarian posture,” says Dr. Annie Sparrow, a critical-care pediatrician and public health professional. In Syria Deeply’s latest Deeply Talks, Sparrow and Mohamed Katoub, advocacy manager for the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), spoke with our editors about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged Damascus suburbs. (Listen to the full audio here) Last week, Moscow called for daily, five-hour cessations of hostilities to allow for aid deliveries and medical evacuations. However, it usually takes a convoy between eight […]

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‘Our Time Had Come’ – A First-Person Account Of A Syrian Airstrike

Kfr Nobol Hospital, ravaged by an airstrike
Kfr Nobol Hospital, ravaged by an airstrike Hand in Hand for Syria

As another airstrike rained down in Syria, Fadi Al Dairi knew that those inside Kfr Nobol Hospital, operated by the British NGO ‘Hand in Hand,’ would soon be targeted.

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A Syrian Doctor’s Bid To Build A Bomb-Proof Hospital For Women And Girls

Syrian man helping build the Avicenna Women & Children's Hospital
Syrian man helping build the Avicenna Women & Children's Hospital Avicenna Hospital's Facebook page

War has dismantled Syria’s healthcare system, preventing women and children from receiving life-saving treatment for preventable illnesses. Exiled doctor Khaled Almilaji is determined to do something about it.

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Syrian Women At Risk Of Losing New Economic Power To Tradition

Syrian refugees weaving baskets in Lebanon
Syrian refugees weaving baskets in Lebanon John Cummings

The war in Syria has transformed the place women hold in the workforce, providing opportunities previously reserved for men.

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Far Too Soon To Claim ‘Mission Accomplished’ On ISIS In Syria

In war-torn Zabadani, near Damascus, on Jan. 6
In war-torn Zabadani, near Damascus, on Jan. 6 Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua/ZUMA

Last month, on the same day that President Vladimir Putin declared victory over the so-called Islamic State, the militant group launched a surprise offensive against government forces in Deir ez-Zor province, killing up to 31 pro-government fighters in a three-day span. “In just over two years, Russia’s armed forces and the Syrian army have defeated the most battle-hardened group of international terrorists,” Putin told Russian forces on Dec. 11 during a visit to Russia’s Hmeimim air base in Syria. Just hours later, ISIS began to attack government positions north of the town of Boukamal, a former key stronghold for the […]

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Where Is My Cousin? As ISIS Retreats, Syrians Await News On Prisoners

Anti-ISIS fighters in Raqqa in August.
Anti-ISIS fighters in Raqqa in August. Jake Simkin/SOPA via ZUMA

The so-called Islamic State has been driven from most of its territory in Syria, but the fate of the thousands of civilians captured by extremists remains largely unknown, writes Chatham House fellow Haid Haid, whose cousin was kidnapped by ISIS.

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives Syria Crisis

Why Syrian Refugees Are Giving Up On Europe

Refugees at the Macedonia/Greece border
Refugees at the Macedonia/Greece border Danilo Balducci/ZUMA

The route from Turkey to Greece was once crowded with Syrian asylum seekers fleeing to Europe. But some are now moving in the opposite direction because of a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment

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Syria’s Next Battle: Deradicalization In Ruins Left By ISIS

Raqqa in July
Raqqa in July Morukc Umnaber/DPA via ZUMA

The Islamic State (ISIS) is facing defeat on the battlefield. Can it be eliminated from hearts and minds of young Syrians?

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Women In Syria Are Traded For Weapons, Food And Rent

At a camp near Raqqa for internally displaced Syrians
At a camp near Raqqa for internally displaced Syrians Morukc Umnaber/DPA via ZUMA

The sale and trade of women in Syria is not a wanton and senseless consequence of war. It is a consequence of a war economy in which nearly all warring parties and even civilians use women to secure profit, weapons, access or leverage in negotiations.

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Syrian War, With The Displaced Of Homs Trickling Back Home

A boy rides a bicycle amid rubble in Homs

HOMS – Akram al-Khoule and his 7-year-old son hold hands as they stare at the once familiar primary school building, now demolished, looted of its contents and stripped of its identifying markers. “This is where my children studied,” al-Khoule says in a melancholy voice. Al-Khoule returned to the Homs district of al-Khalidiye this year, after being displaced to the coastal Syrian city of Tartous for six years. He is one of 600,000 Syrian refugees and internally displaced people who are estimated to have returned to their hometowns this year – many of whom now face a barrage of problems trying […]

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

The Disappeared Of Syria, Missing From Peace Talks Too

With photographs of 'disappeared' loved ones in front of Geneva peace talks
With photographs of "disappeared" loved ones in front of Geneva peace talks Families for Freedom

Tens of thousands of people remain in detention or have ‘disappeared’ in Syria, devastating countless families. Activists say the issue has largely been avoided in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the Syrian conflict.

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Jihadist Brides, Tales Of The Ex-Wives Of ISIS

In the Ain al-Issa refugee camp near Raqqa on July 17
In the Ain al-Issa refugee camp near Raqqa on July 17 Morukc Umnaber/DPA/ZUMA

They were the brides of ISIS. These days, they are detained in a camp for the internally displaced north of Raqqa city. They speak about life in the caliphate, and their hopes for the future.

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In Syria, Rape Used As Weapon On All Sides Of Civil War

Two young women in Raqqa
Two young women in Raqqa Morukc Umnaber/DPA/ZUMA

Sexual violence is being used by almost all the warring factions in the Syrian conflict. When victims are forced to suffer in silence, documenting instances of rape is nearly impossible.

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After Shadowing Assad, Syrian Photographer Focused On War

Assad was all smiles in Paris in 2008
Assad was all smiles in Paris in 2008 Ammar Abd Rabbo

Ammar Abd Rabbo covered two Assad presidencies from the inside, but his view changed when the Syrian civil war started.

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Why They Return: Syrian Refugee Tales Of Going Back Home

A Syrian boy running through a refugee camp in Ain Issa, Northern Syria
A Syrian boy running through a refugee camp in Ain Issa, Northern Syria Marukc Umnaber/ZUMA

Some 31,000 Syrians have returned to their war-torn country from abroad this year and many are struggling to survive in a country they call home.

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives Syria Crisis

In Lebanon, Syrian Refugees Run Out Of Space To Bury Their Dead

Abu Abdo’s cemetery for Syrians in Daraya, Lebanon
Abu Abdo’s cemetery for Syrians in Daraya, Lebanon Chloe Domat

In Lebanon, the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, a cemetery for Syrian refugees is running out of burial plots.

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One More Thing To Rescue In Syria: Books

Volunteers of pore through some of the books that have been rescued from the rubble of war-torn Syria.
Volunteers of pore through some of the books that have been rescued from the rubble of war-torn Syria. SMART Screenshot

Teachers and volunteers in a rural Daraa town are braving bullets and airstrikes to rescue books from beneath the wreckage and stock a new public library.

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Crowdfunding As A Financial Gateway For Refugees

Mohammad Azaqeer of Syria, now lives in Lebanon working as an aluminum presser
Mohammad Azaqeer of Syria, now lives in Lebanon working as an aluminum presser Preethi Nallu/Kiva

ALEY — Mohammad left his home on the outskirts of Damascus in 2013, gripped with a mix of guilt and anxiety. Though he was fleeing violence that is still ongoing in his hometown of Jobar, the 39-year-old father of four worried about how he would provide for his family. He had lived his whole life in the historic neighborhood that hems the walls of old Damascus, where he owned a thriving business — a workshop that pressed aluminum. But when the conflict broke out in 2011, he watched his enterprise shutter and his community unravel. Two years into the war, […]

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A Syrian Father’s Mission To Clear ISIS Mines Is Cut Short

Abu al Fadl and one of the circa 3,500 mines he cleared
Abu al Fadl and one of the circa 3,500 mines he cleared Syrian Mine Action Center

Abu al Fadl devoted the final months of his life to clearing al-Bab of improvised explosives left behind by ISIS in everything from washing machines to cooking pots. The 60-year-old disabled several thousand mines before one took his life.

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Women In ISIS: Prison Study Reveals Face Of Female Jihadists

'He clutches a magic wand as if it's his only hope.'
"He clutches a magic wand as if it's his only hope." Tim Regan/Worldcrunch

BEIRUT – Few women have ever gained access to Block B of Beirut’s notorious Roumieh prison. This is where Lebanon holds radicalized criminals. It is also a place where suicide bombings have allegedly been planned, and has been called an “operations room” for the so-called Islamic State by Lebanon’s interior minister. So when Maya and Nancy Yamout first began interviewing convicted jihadists in the prison, the Lebanese sisters aroused both confusion and suspicion among guards and prisoners alike. The Yamouts’ interest began with a university project, but it took the support of the former minister of justice to get them […]

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Arming Syrian Kurds, A Nasty Thorn In U.S.-Turkey Relations

Kurdish fighter during anti-ISIS operation
Kurdish fighter during anti-ISIS operation Kurdishstruggle/Planet Pix/ZUMA

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, mutual objectives may be overshadowed by the Kurdish question.

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We Syrians Must Rebuild People, Not Countries

Damascus' old quarter
Damascus' old quarter Ammar/Xinhua/ZUMA

Orient Research Centre associate Zeina Yagan discusses one of the many dilemmas that has emerged for Syrians during the conflict: How does one bridge the deep, sometimes emotionally charged, divides in the Syrian community?

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In Syrian Hospital, No More Antidote For Chemical Victims

Treating one of the victims of the April 4 attack
Treating one of the victims of the April 4 attack Edlib/ZUMA

Syria Deeply talked Dr. Abdel Hay Tennari, who treated at least 22 critical victims from the April 4 toxic gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun.

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Sectarian Cleansing In Syria: More Than Meets The Eye

Syrian refugees on the border between Syria and Jordan
Syrian refugees on the border between Syria and Jordan Mohammad Abu Ghosh/ZUMA

As the war in Syria enters its seventh year, the widespread displacement of Syria’s majority Sunni population is fueling fears of sectarian cleansing. Syrian researcher Aymenn al-Tamimi explains why that may not be the full picture.

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In Syria, The Extra Weak Link Of Women’s Health

Nurse and baby at a hospital in Yabrud, Syria
Nurse and baby at a hospital in Yabrud, Syria Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/ZUMA

As the bombs continue to drop on parts of Syria, doctors struggle to give basic medical care to women, which then has ramifications for children.

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Three Brothers On Three Sides Of The War In Syria

Near Kobani, Syria
Near Kobani, Syria Kurdishstruggle

DAMASCUS – Now in its sixth year, the war in Syria has torn through the country’s cities, sects and social fabric. For families like Um Mahmoud’s, Syria’s frontlines have even invaded their homes. The mother has seen her three sons join opposing sides of the war and has been unable to stop them from turning on each other. Her story is just one example of how the war has torn families apart for countless reasons. Some families have been divided by ideological differences and political affiliations. Other families have fled the country and been scattered across borders. Um Mahmoud blames […]

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Worse Than Prison, The Life Of Syria’s Female Ex-Inmates

Leo about to drop
Leo about to drop Worldcrunch/Prisma

Women held in Syria’s government prisons report psychological abuse, sexual assault and torture. But for many, the suffering they experience after their release is even worse.

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My Kids, Koran And Badminton Racket, Baggage Of A Syrian Refugee

Mustafa Awad, from Idlib, is a national badminton champion.
Mustafa Awad, from Idlib, is a national badminton champion. Iason Athanasiadis

This is part of a Syria Deeply series “Bags and Belongings,” in which we ask refugees what they packed in their bags and what they left behind. Here we meet Mustafa Awad, a Syrian badminton coach from the northwestern city of Idlib who recently arrived in Athens with his wife and three children. Read the first installment here. ATHENS — We come from Idlib, a city that was once so beautiful it was nicknamed the Green, but is now known as Red Idlib from the amount of blood spilled over it. We love peace and quiet, but the war forced […]

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After Aleppo Inferno, Idlib To Become ‘Purgatory’

Syrian refugees in a camp in the Idlib province
Syrian refugees in a camp in the Idlib province Juma Muhammad/ImagesLive/ZUMA

For moderate, unarmed rebels, as well as anyone wanted by the government, the rapid and brutal offensive to retake east Aleppo is a sign of what’s to come elsewhere in Syria.

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Syrian Brothers Split By War Report From Both Sides Of Border

Syrian refugees across the border in Gaziantep, Turkey
Syrian refugees across the border in Gaziantep, Turkey Uygar Onder Simsek / Moku/DPA via ZUMA

GAZIANTEP — “The nightmares only started when I left Aleppo,” says 30-year-old Mahmoud, a Syrian activist and journalist now living as a refugee in Turkey. “Before — even after my best friend was killed next to me when we were filming a battle against the regime — I felt sad but I never had nightmares,” he said, speaking in late September in a southern Turkish border town. Mahmoud lost a finger that day in 2013, and his friend’s skull was shattered. Over years of reporting in Syria, Mahmoud faced much danger and personal loss. But it wasn’t until six months […]

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In Damascus, War And Shame Conquer Love

Damascus, before the war arrived ...
Damascus, before the war arrived ... Qin Haishi/Xinhua/ZUMA

-Essay- DAMASCUS — Last month, I was in a bar with a friend, and I met a nice guy who, a long time ago, I knew only by name. We exchanged numbers, and after a couple of random meetings I could sense his interest in me, and his willingness to take things further. I’d love to have a partner and a happy relationship, regardless of where it might go. He is an educated writer, artist, a feminist – in short, a perfect fit for me! Except for one detail: He used to be strongly loyal to Bashar al-Assad and his […]

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Trump, Just The President Assad Has Been Waiting For

A pro-Assad protester in Warsaw last month
A pro-Assad protester in Warsaw last month Anna Ferensowicz/Pacific Press via ZUMA

-Analysis- BEIRUT — On the morning of Nov. 9, as the U.S. presidential votes were being counted, residents of rebel-held eastern Aleppo, which has been under total siege since July, were trying to find some consolation in dark humor. “I think Trump will win in the elections because he is the real face of American politics,” Najmaldin Khaled, an English teacher and editor at the Shahba Press Agency, said in a group conversation on WhatsApp, which residents of Eastern Aleppo use to communicate with the outside world. “Trying to look at the bright side of it, no more claims about […]

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