Writing from Aleppo to exile and back again
It is with deep gratitude that I stand before you today to receive this honorary doctorate. And so, before anything else, I want to begin by dedicating this honor.I dedicate it to every Syrian student who was expelled for their political beliefs. To those who were denied their academic records by the Assad regime.To those... Continue Reading →
March 2024 marked the end of my tenth year of exile from Aleppo, my hometown. On March 17, 2013, I was detained for several hours, and by the morning of March 18, I had left Syria, aware that any attempt to return could lead to my assassination or prolonged imprisonment at the very least. I had... Continue Reading →
Radicalizing Her: Why Women Choose Violence—Nimmi Gowrinathan (Melville House, 2021) Syria: Den tapte revolusjonen– Bendik Sørvig (Melkeveien Forlag, 2019) We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria– Wendy Pearlman (HarperCollins, 2017) Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War – Robin Yassin-Kassab & Leila Al-Shami (Pluto Press, 2016)
February 10, 2023 “The Search for Survivors of Earthquakes”, a Facebook Group. A photo of a young, handsome man believed to be in his twenties and a post reading: "His name is Nael Masri. He has been trapped under rubble for four days. If you have any information about his whereabouts, please call this number:... Continue Reading →
A Syrian artist in the countryside of Idlib painted a mural of solidarity with the Ukrainian people on the remaining wall of a house destroyed by Russian warplanes [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera] “Should we post on social media about the possibility of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine?” A survivor and volunteer of “Do... Continue Reading →
“I moved to the US to write a book about…” and the topic of my book changes depending on so many factors, my mood, the identity of the person who asked and the language that I will use to respond, Arabic or English. I would answer “about Syria’’, if I have enough energy to discuss... Continue Reading →
I wasn’t sure if I could write about Ukraine as a Syrian who survived barrel bomb attacks on my hometown Aleppo. I don’t know how to write about the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a woman whose city could be destroyed, besieged, and whose people could be exiled as a result of the Russian intervention... Continue Reading →
When was my first attempt to claim a voice, and whose voice tried to silence mine? Did the silencing begin in my school in Aleppo? When I was forced to memorize and believe in anything our “eternal leader” said? Some forms of silencing left marks on my voice; some made me louder. * “I see... Continue Reading →
We know the water between the fear and the dream We wish we didn’t though We know the parenthood that forces you to choose between bad and worse, We wish we didn’t We know the heartless borders We were forced to know the smugglers We never trusted them, but we didn't have the luxury to... Continue Reading →
Throughout my childhood, and until I came of age, there was no diversity among my group of friends: not a single Muslim in a city whose Muslim population runs into the millions, no Kurds, no Armenian Christians. So I grew up in the box, with few opportunities to meet anyone outside its confines. This was... Continue Reading →
Marcelle Shehwaro 