by Aloosh Devrim
-Syria-

Araa, a 37-year-old mother, dashes through the house, hysterically inspecting one room after the other. She is shivering in panic. She tries to collect as much as she can from the shattered household items.

Here and there she stops, interrupted by a flashback triggered by the memories scattered all around her home. In the devastated TV lounge, Araa had celebrated her master’s degree with her family. In the left corner of her living room, she had cried all night when her husband was posted to another city. Now she stands in the children’s play area of her large living room. She sees glimpses of the last six years of her life with her husband and children.

by Aloosh Devrim
-Syria-

Sunk deep in thoughts, Rania sits alone in her dark room oblivious to the thumping of feet on the roof where neighbor’s children are playing. The screams of Yousaf, her three-month-old, and the ringing telephone simultaneously interrupt her thoughts. She carries the baby on one arm and takes the call with the other hand.

This is a phone call she has been waiting for all day long. As she boards this emotional roller-coaster, her husband Muthana gently takes Yousaf in his arms.

by Aloosh Devrim
-Syria-

Farewells are generally emotional but not as great as we experienced this evening. It had not been a social visit with family friends. The family of four, including two handsome boys, had escaped the military witch-hunt of protestors in the Syrian city of Mouddamiyyeh, one of the besieged towns on the outskirts of Damascus.

by Aloosh Devrim
-Syria-

When I saw the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt I felt happy. I knew that soon the domino effect would spread change throughout the Arab world.

Before the popular upheaval, like many in the West, I never expected a pro-democracy movement here in Syria. I used to subscribe to the older generation’s view that Facebook and Twitter cannot change the world. But I am witnessing reality to the contrary.