Syrian Voices

What makes you proud to be Syrian? I feel proud to be Syrian because I believe we have a special stable identity however much we shift from one place to another. Our identity is represented by the way we interact, engage, behave and move towards a vision. It does not relate to the material things we have. From a vision...

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...

Written by Chris Ray, this article was first published by Monthly Review Online, 10 January 2020 Sanctioning Syria By Chris Ray The United Nations was willing to pay for doors, windows and electrical wiring in Alaa Dahood’s apartment but not for repairs to her living room wall torn open by a mortar strike. That was deemed to be ‘reconstruction’—an aid category forbidden...

I was in Damascus for just over a week, and in a taxi with Athar and Rana on our way to the old city. First for a stroll in the Souq Al-Hamidiyah and then onto Beit Jabri for a juice and maybe lunch. It's September 2019. Life has its burdens for the locals, no doubt, but they can still smile....

What makes you proud to be Syrian? Sometimes I feel shame when I see the crimes that some Syrians are doing in the name of God, but when I remember how Syria used to be and how the Syrian people are facing this crisis and how they build hope and life from the ashes I feel so proud to be...

What makes you proud to be Syrian? I’m proud to be Syrian because Syria has been always an important country since the beginning of humanity. Syria is a secular country. Can you explain what this means to a non-Syrian? As a Christian, I can say that in Syria I lived the same life I’m living in Italy and I had the same freedom. In...

Once upon a time, There was a paradise. It was on earth. It was in Syria. It was a haven for great civilisations.  It was a haven for Mother Nature. It was a generous land with generous people.  It was an incubator of remarkable inventions. It was the land where life was lived richly. It was the theatre where love danced joyfully. It was the place where million-year-old souls...

This video message to Australian members of parliament (MPs) was recorded in Madam Janset Kazan's office, Damascus, 21 September 2019. Captions were added by Sarah Nachar, and Rana Alkhayrat and Rasha Milhem translated the interview with Madam Janset. In this country, we believe in all religions, so we took the concept of forgiveness and reconciliation from all the religions that...

https://youtu.be/BKj-X5PuFdU Interview with 16-year-old twins, Sarah and Maya Sarah and Maya Ghassali are 16-year-old twins who migrated from Syria during the civil war in 2012 Melbourne, Australia. They are passionate about helping refugees and in doing so have started their own podcast 'Refugees on air' where they interview refugees about their inspiring stories. Everyday they aim to make positive changes in...

Rasha Milhem In September 2019, on behalf of ‘Beloved Syria’, I interviewed Ms Rasha Milhem, a Syrian translator, news writer, and filmmaker. Rasha has worked for SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency), the Syrian equivalent of the ABC, since 2009. I found her to be eloquent, deep-thinking and passionate.   Having studied English Literature, Rasha is keenly interested in the arts and...