By Razan Zeitouneh I met Manhal Barish only few times before the revolution, in the Justice Palace in Damascus, where his father had been detained for more than a year. After each meeting, we gathered in an old coffee shop behind the Justice Palace, where we sat around worn tables - lawyers, activists and friends - drinking bitter tea, and […]

By Razan Zeitouneh Many people don’t believe that, in the midst of the barbarism with which the regime is treating Syrians, there can still be room for emotions other than anger and pain. Yet there are those who continue to face guns with roses. At first glance, this seems to be goodwill and kindness taken to the extreme.

Smashing the idols of the regime By Razan Zeitouneh My friend Adel recounted his memories with precision, joy, fear and anxiety at the same time. I have forgotten most of the details, blurred by the constant flow of martyrs, detainees and the endless daily pain. But Adel, from beautiful Dael, did not forget any detail, no matter how small.

Ethnic minority increasingly entering into protest movement The Syrian popular revolution, right from its beginning, encompassed all segments of Syrian society. The country’s Kurdish community, the second largest and a key national component, was part of the protests that started in Dara’a on March 15, 2011 and spread to other Syrian cities, reaching Kurdish-dominated northeastern towns, such as Al-Qamishli, Amouda, […]

Injured protestors seek treatment in clandestine clinics out of sigh of authorities. Mohammad did not expect to survive the shooting by Syrian security forces at the protest he took part in – surprised that anyone survived the after blood seemed to fill every corner of this Damascus suburb. Mohammad, barely 20 years old, looked so pale, lying on a soft […]

Dara’a activist recalls horror and exhilaration of rising up against regime By Razan Zeitouneh* I always enjoy asking young people who participated in the earliest demonstrations about how they overcame their fear and faced the monster of aggressive repression, which until then was considered a real miracle. And even more so when it comes to the case of a young […]

Lawyers and activists say that draft law will only shore up power of the Baath party Syrian president Bashar al-Assad promised a number of reforms as protests calling for constitutional amendments, civil rights, democratic elections, and a multi-party system gained momentum in the country. Key among such reforms was the passing of a draft law allowing a multi-party-based political system. […]