- By Ninos Sawa
LEAVING BEHIND
It’s a sad feeling when you leave your home. I have left my home only physically. My heart and mind are still in Syria.
I miss my college, friends, and the house I grew up in. I hope it hasn’t been destroyed or bombed. I don’t have any information about it now.
THE REFUGEE EXPERIENCE
Refugees need to...
What makes you proud to be Syrian?
I am proud that Syria still exists on the political map of the world.
Syria is a secular country. Can you explain what this means to a non-Syrian?
For me, secularism means living together in the same land, speaking the same language while having different beliefs and religions. Our beliefs are a private matter, and...
Beit Jabri is one of many remarkable family homes in the lanes of old Damascus that have opened their doors to the public: they may have become boutique hotels or more humble abodes for international students or backpackers. Others, like Beit Jabri, have become cafe-restaurants that offer the delights of the Damascene cuisine.
Sitting at one of the tables in...
Dar Al Salam School, a private school in central Damascus, has a co-educational primary school section and a girls high school. Its principal and the majority of its staff are women.
I heard from a friend whose niece attended the school that it has a very good reputation.
I visited the school on 23 September 2019 to meet Nisreen, or 'Teacher...
What makes you proud to be Syrian?
For me, being Syrian is an honor in itself. Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history and Syrians have a taste for traditional arts and craft. We have contributed much to Arabic Literature and have a proud tradition of oral and written poetry. There is much else that makes me proud, such...
Lena is an Armenian Syrian singer, composer and musician. Described as a Syrian ambassador spreading the jasmine voice of Damascus, she has performed in Germany, England, Sweden, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Russia, as well as her home country of Syria.
She sings mainly in Arabic and Armenian, but also in Syriac, English, French and Italian.
Lena graduated from Damascus University in...
In this second part of the interview with Damascus University professor Maamoun Abdulkarim, Professor Maamoun speaks about Syria's 'mosaic', exemplified by his own family. The interview was conducted in a Damascus cafe on 22 September 2019.
When he was director general of antiquities and museums during the worst years of the war in Syria, Professor Maamoun believes his innate understanding...
Our new series features Syrian cafés and restaurants in Melbourne and the Syrian Australians who have established them.
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Safi Ayoush, the Syrian Australian owner of Raqwa Café and Beer Garden. Safi was born in Australia, but he spent his formative years in Syria, hence his close connection to Syria.
Safi hopes to attract members of the Syrian...
Not to be Ignored
Below is a transcript of an interview conducted at the end of 2010, when there was no thought of conflict in Syria, and the issues of the day for educated young women related to their ‘liberation’. The questions chosen were a response to the times since Ms Ayaan Hirsi Ali had recently visited Australia, where she...
In Damascus last September on a journalist's visa, I had the opportunity to interview some truly impressive women in different fields of work.
This impromtu chat in a school yard was the most spontaneous and delightful of interviews. The students were thrilled to meet a 'real' journalist and, as it happened, I was thrilled to show off the little bit...
