I can only imagine what the multiplication of stories and cultural representation can mean for the queer Arab community, who has long struggled to reconcile its two identities in a way that feels safe, but there is no doubt that Ahmad left an immutable legacy to this fight – and he’s not done yet.
The Syrian coast has seen a younger generation of the Assad clan rise to power. Controlling smuggling routes and extortion rackets, Bashar’s cousins grew rich and powerful, at times challenging the regime itself.
“Girls, who amongst you came last?” the Palestine Branch sergeant asked loudly. “Me,” I replied. “Then you will sleep at the door,” she said. “This place is reserved for anyone whom comes last.”
With its call for “internationalization,” the Maronite patriarchate has played a card as old as Lebanon itself, to save both itself and the country, while placing Hezbollah in a position of direct rivalry with the largest Christian sect in the region.
Survivors of Syrian prisons and families of those still detained or missing launched the Truth and Justice charter. Their message is simple: stop the torture and reveal the fate of the tens of thousands people missing. Aim is to ensure the detainees and missing are not lost in the negotiations over a resolution to the war. Only then the Syrian conflict can ever be truly ended.
The Syrian revolution against the regime has turned into a war against a foreign occupation, which pretends to defend Syrians by extending “a helping hand”. In reality, however, the hand is only extended to loot the Syrians’ money and increase their poverty.