An opinion piece 

The Arab Spring protests reached Syria in March 2011, the pro-democracy uprising, initially demanding reforms, soon turned into a civil war and violence escalated as a result of the government forces utilizing brutality to suppress the civil movement. More than seven years of conflict lead to the deaths of over 400,000 Syrians; millions were forcibly displaced, and the country is devastated economically. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than four million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and an estimated  6.1 million people have been  displaced within Syria, bringing the total  number of expelled Syrians to a staggering 11.5 million (UNHCR 2017).

Now that the Syrian conflict is “coming to an end” according to many countries, the following question arises: can all Syrians return home? Some Western countries have started sending Syrian refugees back to Syria or forcing their hand to return by rejecting their families’ asylum applications. Return might sound like a possible scenario now that the country is no longer the site of a proxy war, reality is much more complex. Unfortunately, the concept of return is often discussed and decided upon without consulting Syrian refugees themselves. Policies encouraging Syrians to return home could have catastrophic impacts on the lives of many innocent people. 

Before deciding whether Syrian refugees should return home, the international community must answer the following questions: Who would guarantee the safety of the millions of displaced Syrians as international human rights laws aren’t respected in their home country? The fear of detention, torture and death prevents many Syrians from even considering the idea of homecoming. Will the regime tolerate their “‘betrayal”’? Will they be able to live with fear and oppression after experiencing the freedom and security offered in other countries? Will they be able to join the compulsory loyalist marches cheering al-Assad and showing support for him and his regime after all the crimes he has committed against them? Will they want to go live in Syria where their basic life needs aren’t met? Such questions and many more can’t be ignored when discussing the concept of return. 

What these countries aren’t taking into consideration is the fact that the al-Assad regime has secured his ruling of the country and simply will not tolerate having these refugees back. Nonetheless, the regime was indulging an illusion by inviting Syrians to come back and participate in rebuilding the country. It is what world leaders want to hear but this couldn’t be true and history has shown that this regime can’t be trusted. 

The sad reality is that Syria is no longer a home for all Syrians; it has become a country for ‘certain’ Syrians, Russians, Iranians and Hezbollah fighters and supporters. What most people neglect to recognize is that the Russian/Iranian interference in Syria is a kind of an invasion. These countries are not just “helping” the Syrian regime to restore order and peace, they are there to stay and subdue any attempt to overthrow al-Assad and his regime. In fact, the regime’s dominance over Syria could be considered a case of internal occupation, since the al-Assad administration invited his allies in arms into the country to suppress and control the Syrian population and its prominent opposition figures.

RECONSTRUCTION – BUT FOR WHOM?  

Regrettably, Syria is well known for its corrupt system; the country is based on favoritism and an inequality of wealth distribution. The regime’s family and their relatives and friends share the country’s fortune and resources, with no laws to restrain their power and influence; their control over Syria’s capital and investments has no limits. 

Seven years of war have had its tragic toll on Syria’s economy, but the loss of military investment could be turned into profit, by using the destruction of the country to promote reconstruction projects. Militarized reconstruction is a new term that is used nowadays when discussing the Syrian case, and, more specifically, the reconstruction of the city of Aleppo. The regime is desperately trying to show the world the gains it has achieved in the city and how great the economic opportunity is. The reconstruction is merely for propaganda to promote a false story of a fake victory. 

Since Aleppo and many other cities fell to the Syrian regime, many governmental campaigns to promote reconstruction projects have begun. Daily updates from Aleppo are emerging, and the government is serious when it comes to the topic of rebuilding, but we should ask the critical question: reconstructing for whom and how? Who is going to invest and at what cost? The rebuilding process is biased and selective. One could argue that the UN involvement should limit the Russian and Iranian domination over the reconstruction projects, but this isn’t entirely true. Their influence is present regardless of UN involvement, and this involvement just serves to give false legitimacy and credibility to the regime. The displaced population isn’t allowed back in the city and east Aleppo is completely abandoned, but rebuilding the ‘significant’ half of Aleppo is what the UN and its partners want. It’s not a matter of perspectives here, it’s more about how repulsively prejudiced this whole thing is. 

With many projects undertaken by Asma al-Assad’s charity foundation and its UN partners (Beals 2017), funds are being generated in order to burnish the regime’s murderous face and promote its secular, civilized, necktie brutality. 

UNDP and UNESCO are working closely with the Syrian regime and its administrative. Their role in the reconstruction procedures is still unclear, but the argument they are using provoked some controversy, especially that they claim not to be working with the regime, but with the ‘people’. Which people are they talking about, and why does it sound like they don’t already know that the government controls all of the country’s institutions? 

The Syrians who fled the country escaping the regime’s brutality aren’t considered “people”, and the claims that the reconstruction is for reconciliation doesn’t make much sense: the ones who need to be reconciled aren’t even there to begin with and won’t even be considered. 

It is true that rebuilding the country requires local expertise and would generate plenty of job opportunities, but not all Syrians are offered the chance to participate: unless you support the regime and its corruption, you’re not welcome.

WHAT HAS TO BE SAID AND DONE  

History has told many stories, but are we to learn something? It could be said with certainty that the past keeps repeating itself in the most horrific of manners: dictators come and go, cities fall and rise again. Why is the Syrian story so special? Well, it isn’t, the only significant thing is all these unused international legal documents: if we are to read those dealing with human rights, cities’ rights, and so on, one would be astonished. However, the question remains: when will these legal documents be implemented in the Syrian case? When will the international community stop waving these away in order to protect a killer’s government? 

Aleppo has entered a new era, and history is definitely written by winners. The objective story doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Yet this is not the case with everyone. We still care, and by ‘we’, I mean the Syrians who believed in a better future. The Russians are there to stay, so are the Iranians, the Turks and the Americans. How could our story be written by them? Will the following generations read the epic story of the many Syrians who died believing in a dream, a dream that cost us more than souls, it cost us our cities, our memories and everything we held dear? The answer is no, they will hear a story of victory, a story of a modern dictator who saved Syria from terrorists. This is the most popular story nowadays anyway. 

If we were to discuss options and propose solutions for the obstacles facing the Syrians when deciding to return to their country, I could think of one solution: the regime has to be overthrown and justice should be served. Those who committed crimes and have stains of blood on their hands should be punished so that Syrians can restore faith in the global justice system. 

Anything else would be fictitious and unfair for many Syrians, and unless there’s a way to guarantee the safety of those who want to return, many won’t even consider doing so. 

It’s safe to say that al-Assad doesn’t want any of his opponents back, but he’d go as far as suggesting that many of the Syrian refugees are terrorists and pose a threat to the Western world (Nelson 2017), supposing he thinks it’s better when the hosting countries send them back and let them languish in his prisons to die instead. 

The logic is simple: if you want to get Syrians back to their country, stop supporting al-Assad and take your troops out of their country. You can’t keep empowering al-Assad and his regime and expect people to return voluntarily, knowing that nothing awaits them except suppression, imprisonment and death. 

The Syrian revolution was the country’s chance for a reformation. Now that the revolution has failed to achieve its goals and objectives, the future of Syria doesn’t look so bright, especially given that regime change would require not only the downfall of al-Assad as a person but that the whole regime’s intelligence agencies, security and military system be altered. The chain of corruption has been forming in the country for almost half a century, and it isn’t easy (if not impossible) to break. The security grip is only tightening, and the brutality of the regime has no limits.

References 

Beals, E. 2017: UN allowing Assad government to take lead in rebuilding Aleppo. Fox News [Online] 16 November. Available at: <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/16/un-allowing-assad-government-to-take-lead-in-rebuilding-aleppo.html> [Accessed 05 February 2018] 

Nelson, N. 2017: Syria’s Assad: Some refugees are terrorists. POLITICO [Online] 02 October. Available at: <https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/bashar-assad-syria-refugees-terrorists-yahoo-interview-234890> [Accessed 01 February 2018] 

UNHCR, 2017: Syria Emergency. [Online] 07. December. Available at: <http://www.unhcr.org/syria-emergency.html> [Accessed 09 February 2018] 

The post Should Syria’s Displaced Return? appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

“Do certain images of injured kids stay in my mind more than others? If you asked me that two years ago, then I could probably give an answer. But today, after witnessing the huge number of massacres that I have, it’s very hard to think of one specific instance. It’s become a daily occurrence. Now images stay in my mind for a short while before they slip away, to take their place alongside all the others. My own personal graveyard.” AFP Photographer Abd Doumany

Life in the City

“Young children love animals in general. They were really happy in the cat shelter… playing with the cats.” Photo: Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel

A crowd-sourced animal sanctuary in east Aleppo teaches compassion: ‘To love the small, weak cats is to love everything’

In Aleppo, many mosques have opened their doors to families fleeing the latest fighting but they are full now. These families stay in an open area near Raees Mosque in western Aleppo city, since there is no room left inside after the latest wave of attacks.
Photo: UNICEF/UN027711/Al-Issa

Keeping water flowing in Aleppo

Recently damaged hospital. Photo: HOSAM AL-JABLAWI

Aleppo’s Deteriorating Medical Sector

medicsunderfire.org

Open letter to Secretary John Kerry and President Obama,

The repeated targeting of healthcare workers and hospitals by the Russian and Syrian governments are war crimes. We call on you to give Syria’s heroic healthcare workers and the communities they serve a zone free from bombing to ensure their protection. The international community has agreed the bombs need to stop. The resolutions are in place. They simply need to be enforced. Over 9,525 have signed this letter. To add your signature, go to: Medicsunderfire.org.

The Economist reported that Syria’s president, a former doctor, is turning hospitals into death traps.

Syrians queue up to buy bread in a rebel held neighborhood on July 12, 2016.
PHOTO AFP/ KARAM AL-MASRI

Aleppian journalist Zaina Erhaim shares a personal account of life in the city in Chasing bananas, dodging bombs: Life and death in besieged Aleppo.

Burning tires in Aleppo to create smoke cover from airstrikes. August 2016. Photo: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

Watching My Beloved Aleppo Rip Itself Apart. Lina Sergie Attar is a founder and the chief executive of the Karam Foundation, which provides humanitarian aid to Syrians.

The White Helmets were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. To support their nomination, click here. The AlJazeera documentary above was filmed before their nomination.

Reconstruction

A boy uses prosthetic arm provided by ROW. Image via Refugee Open Ware.

Wanda compiled a list of 10 initiatives using tech to prevent a lost generation of Syrians, creating educational and employment opportunities for refugees uprooted from their country struggling reboot their lives.

The post Aleppo Weekly – August 11-September 1 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Aleppian Ahmad al-Sawas, Syria’s national gymnastics champion when fighting broke out, did not compete at the Rio Olympics. Read his story here.

Aleppians at the Olympics

Olympic Swimmer Baean Jouma. Damsascus. July 2016. Photo: Reuters/Omar Sanadiki.

Swimmer Baean Jouma is scheduled to compete as a member of the Syrian national team in the women’s 50m freestyle on Friday. Read her story here.

Ghofrane al-Mohammad is scheduled to compete as a member of the Syrian national team in the 400m hurdles on Tuesday. She competed in the same event in 2012, but was disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance.

Olympic Swimmer Rami Anis set a personal best in the 100m freestyle. Photo: EPA/Esteban Biba.

Swimmer Ramis Anis swam a personal best of 54.25sec in the 100m freestyle as a member of the Refugee Olympic team. “In 2020,” he said, “I hope I will be able to swim under my own flag.” Read his story here.

Aleppo Under Siege

Boys displaced from ongoing conflict shelter under makeshift tents on the Muhalak highway. Photo: UNICEF/UN027713/Al-Issa

Unicef urged all parties to allow technicians to repair the electricity and water systems. The city has been without water for several days.

We published July’s update of Armenak Tokmajyan’s Conflict Timeline.

Photo: AP

The Economist’s weekly obituary profiled Qusai Abtini, sit-com star of Aleppo. The fourteen year old was killed in mid-July while attempting to leave the city.

The post The Aleppo Weekly – July 29-August 10 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

We now know the pattern of besiegement in Syria and so we know what is to come in Aleppo. Government forces surround an area of a city and cut off all food and supplies. The population weakens and thins, the elderly dying first and then next the children, often from water-borne diseases. The United Nations stands by, failing again in its humanitarian obligations through its obsequiousness to a government whose crimes long ago stripped it of any legitimacy. The West and Russia can drop bombs but not food. Support cannot go to those who might be able to break the siege because of their ideology; instead it just sloshes into a corrupt morass outside the country. Statements are issued and ignored. 2139. 2165. 2191. 2254. 2258. These are the numbers of the United Nations Security Council resolutions that are brushed off by Assad.

Somewhere between half a million and a million people are living under siege in Syria, about 150,000 of those now in Aleppo. What happens now that government forces have cut off roads to Turkey is that the only foodstuffs that get in have to be smuggled through the front lines. As people eat their way through dwindling stocks, infectious diseases are likely to claim the lives of those who are weakened easiest. The body draws down fat reserves and then consumes muscles. Autophagy, or self-eating, can last weeks. By the time people have resorted to eating grasses and tree bark, their bodies are swollen with edema, their stomachs almost unable to take in food, their skin becomes flakey and dry and their hair turns a dull copper. Every person who dies is a victim of one of the most brutal war crimes known to man.

Every actor outside Syria and all the armed men in the country long ago lost sight of why they are fighting. The militia that closed the noose around Aleppo is made up of Palestinian refugees in Syria, motivated probably by money as much as anything. Sieges can be lucrative. There is much money to be made at a checkpoint. Afghan recruits fight for Iranian-funded gangs alongside Shia Lebanese against Saudis and Tunisians recruited by Iraqi thugs. The opposition has fractured into a dark array. Assad can never recover the state he misruled. Russia’s global influence will be sapped in an incoherent and expensive conflict. Iran’s people have no interest in a war that benefits only its deep hidden state. Turkey is in chaos. Saudi Arabia is bullying, shrill and incompetent. The United States has stood by and watched half a million people die while repeating the tired platitude “Never Again.” Europe mostly sleeps, enduring a fever dream of terrorism, upturned boats and drowned children.

In Syria, the thin veil of civilization has been shredded and the efforts of the past 70 years to minimize the harm that comes to civilians in war have been tossed aside. Siege warfare – something that should have ended with the horrors of Leningrad – now kills thousands. Schools, hospitals and rescue workers are deliberately targeted to ensure that the survival of civilians becomes impossible.

There are possible responses. A no-fly zone over northern Syria. Air drops of food to besieged zones. The United Nations should cease all supplies to government-controlled areas if it cannot also access towns under siege, indeed it is time for the UN to leave Syria entirely if it cannot carry out a mandate to help all those in need. Greater efforts could be made to get what is needed into these areas, including fuel and supplies for urban food production by lifting some of the burdensome regulations on aid. We must not give up on a humanitarian imperative to do what we can for those caught in war.

The post Aleppo Under Siege appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Aleppo archaeologist Rami Alafandi and Asiah Abdul Rahim published The Lost Treasure of the Polychrome Wooden (‘ajami) Interior of Ghazalyeh House, Aleppo, Syria.

Cultural Heritage

Coffer panels, (D and E same panel) (Baydoun, 2011)

Their meticulous documentation will help restore the late 17th century house’s panels which were restored from 2009-2011 and then stolen in 2013.

Al Jazeera profiles Syrians working to protect their heritage.

The large Iwān at Janbolad palace. Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

Archaeologist Tiffany Ftaimi shows why Aleppo’s finest palace- the 16th century Dar Janbolad with its stunning Iwān mean so much to her and the Arab world.

The State of the Conflict

Father Choukri Touma, Syriac Orthodox Church surveys destruction in his community after rebel shelling. Photo: @Edwardedark

Some opposition groups increased indiscriminate shelling on government-held areas of Western Aleppo, killing at least 38 civilians.

I will not leave. Photo: Rami Jarrah.

Civilians are stockpiling food in anticipation of a potential siege as government forces and allies come ever closer to taking control of Castello Road, the last open road into rebel-held Aleppo.

Castello Road. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

For the latest on-the-ground developments, see Syria.liveuamap.com

From left -pediatrician John Kahler, critical care specialist Zaher Sahloul and orthopedic surgeon Samer Attar. Al Quds Pediatric Hospital ruins. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

The LA Times profiled three Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) doctors who recently traveled to Aleppo.

I have no words to describe the fear and horror there. It was hell. … I saw so many people die. — Syrian American Dr. Samer Attar, orthopedic surgeon from Chicago.

Girls walking home. Late June 2016. Photo: Dr. Zaher Sahloul/LA Times

We published June’s update of Armenak Tokmajyan’s Conflict Timeline.

Activists recently started using this image and hashtag #كلنا_حلب #WeAreAleppo.

The post The Aleppo Weekly – July 6-12 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

“Big businesses are closing and the problems we are facing only young people can solve…The need for startups and entrepreneurship culture is really essential for Syria.” Leen Darwish. Read about her coding app Remmaz here.

More Youth Voices

Faia Younan. Photo: EPA.

“I sing songs that are not primarily about the war itself, but somehow deal with its existence…For example, I have recently sung a song about a mother humming her child to sleep not knowing if the next day was going to be a good day or not, if her child was going to survive or not…So she sings: ‘Sleep my little bird, tomorrow everything will be better’. It is a bittersweet song, but it doesn’t deal with the war explicitly.” Aleppo Native Faia Younan.

Hajar’s story. Hajar lost her mother and three sisters, Noura, Mouna and Aysha in an April airstrike

International and Diaspora Voices

Amnesty International  issued a new report –Torture was my punishment-Abducation, Torture and Summary Killings under Armed Group Rule in Aleppo and Idleb, Syria.

“I witnessed the summary killing of two captured shabiha fighters by the al-Shamia Front in front of al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo city on two separate dates in 2015. The al-Shamia Front announced the execution publicly and then shot them with a rifle. They left the bodies for a few hours on the street for people to see.” Aleppo city resident

Tamador and her sons arrive in Toronto. Photo: Liz Beddall/Metro

One refugee family’s long journey from Aleppo to Markham.

Levent Topçu works to improve lives for Syrian refugees.

Dr. Sahloul. Photo: SAMS.

Dr. Zaher Sahloul traveled with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) from Chicago for his fifth medical mission to Aleppo. He stayed “at a hospital that was bombed several times and the people … built it underground for protection.” Listen to him explain how the city has changed over the past 18 months here.

OXFAM America highlighted the important role Syria’s diaspora places in humanitarian relief efforts and planning for the future.

Palmyra. Photo: UNESCO.

Two UN agencies have joined forces to protect heritage sites using satellite imagery. UNOSAT released a new report with satellite imagery illustrating damage to cultural heritage sites, including Palmyra and Old Aleppo.

Aleppo, 2016. Photo: Rami Jarrah.

The IMF released a Working Paper on Syria’s war economy. Its key messages are: (1) Syria’s GDP is less than half of pre-war levels and could take two decades or more to recover; and that (2) rebuilding Syria’s human and social capital will be a larger challenge than rebuilding its physical infrastructure.

The post The Aleppo Weekly- June 28-July 5 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Qashani ceramic tile

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

Winter Iwān (2013)

Source: HalabNews.net.

Winter Iwān (2011)

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

Eastern side of palace (2011)

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

Room interior (2011)

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

Iwān and fountain (2011)

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

Palace sketch (1950)

Jean Claude David

Large Iwān (2011)

Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi

When I lived in Syria, I hadn’t even heard about the Janbolad (Junblatt) Palace until 2011, my third year as an archaeology student. I was very surprised that a palace like this existed in my city. I did not expect its beauty, because just a few people even knew the palace’s name and location.

The large Iwān at Janbolad palace. Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

The first time I went to visit Dar Janbolad it was closed and there were no signs. I climbed up the northern external wall. The magnificent Iwān appeared and I immediately fell in love with it.

I knocked on the door of the adjacent house, which originally was part of the palace. It was renovated and a family lived there. A man opened the door and told me that although the Dar wasn’t always open to the public, its watchman, Abu Rami, came frequently to check on it. He gave me Abu Rami’s phone number. I called him and he promised to come the next day to open the house. The neighbour and his wife invited me in to see their well-cared for home.

The next day Abu Rami came. He was mellow. I introduced myself as an archaeology student, and he allowed me into the house. He had a few belongings there, a set of chairs and a Primus stove to make his coffee.

The Iwān and fountain (2011). Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

I passed through the small door into a narrow corridor and reached the courtyard. I had turned left to see the Iwān. The surprise and awe I felt at that first glance! Its height grips you with its grandeur. I felt like an ant next to it. Where did this little door lead me?!

I’ve loved blue since my early childhood, and the qashani tiles covering Janbolad’s Iwān enchanted me with their colour and motifs. I talked a bit with Abu Rami and asked him about his feelings when he comes to this beautiful house as if he were its owner. He told me that he liked to come water the plants and enjoyed the serenity of the place as he drank his coffee before heading back home. He told me there was talk of selling the palace, which, according to him, would fetch about 1 billion Syrian Lira, or 20 million dollars. “It would break my heart not to be able to visit it anymore.”

As Abu Rami guided me through every room and nook, I imagined being able to buy this palace, living in it and sitting by its fountain.

The last photo in this piece is of a qashani tile I had cleaned and photographed to show the beauty of the shade of blue that filled the palace.

Sketch of the whole palace in 1950. Jean Claude David.

Dar Janbolad, or Janbolad House/Palace, is located near Bāb an-Nasr, one of Old Aleppo’s historical gates. Built in the 16^th century, the palace’s area was approximately 5000m².

It was owned by the Al-Isbaʽ family before Janbolad Bey, an emir close to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, acquired it. The name Jānbolād means the spirit of steel. The house was later owned by Sheikh Hasan Afandi Al-Kawākbi, a Mufti of Aleppo.

During the French Occupation, the palace was used as a gathering place for the National Bloc, because the owner, Father Hasan Bey, was a member. Fifteen per cent of the palace was donated to the Awqāf and was used as al-Ghāfiqiya school. After that, the palace fell out of use.

The eastern side of the palace (2011). Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

The architectural elements of the palace evolved as it transitioned from the Mamluk period to the Ottoman period.

When I first entered the palace’s small door, it was a very simple entrance, similar to other Arabic courtyard houses in Aleppo. The corridor leads to a big courtyard and a huge, 30-metre-high, blue Iwān. The Iwān is considered the biggest not only in Aleppo, but in Syria as well. Only one palace Iwān located in Isfahan is said to match its size. The walls are covered with fine qashani ceramic-tiled mosaics. The room on the western side of the Iwān was the room of the Syrian progressive thinker ʽAbd ar-Rahmān Al-Kawākibi.

Before the war (2011): The Small Winter Iwān on the northern side and the fountain. Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

The Winter Iwān during the war (2013). Source: HalabNews.net.

In the centre of the courtyard is Aleppo’s largest water fountain, measuring 10.5m*16.30m*65cm. Opposite the Iwān on the northern side lies a small Winter Iwān. Its outer façade was built with black and yellow stones, in an alternating style called “Ablaq.” The Iwān has been partly damaged during the current war in Syria.

Some parts of the palace were separated from it and used for different purposes, such as a khan – or caravanserai – a soap factory and houses. Some of the elements date back to the end of the Mamluk period and not to the Ottoman period.

The urban fabric of the neighbourhood changed significantly and was re-organized during the important social and economic changes in the Ottoman era.

The interior of a room on the eastern side (2011). Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

The condition of the palace was unfortunate in 2011, but it could be restored and used for different purposes. Its most important purpose would be as an archaeological and touristic monument, because it is a very unique palace in the Arab world and it is our duty to save our heritage.

Fine qashani ceramic-tiled mosaic from the palace (2011). Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi.

When I return to Syria one day, visiting Dar Janbolad will be among my first stops, because of how much I cherish it and the beautiful memories it evokes.

Tiffany Ftaimi is a Syrian-Hungarian archaeologist. She graduated with highest distinction from the University of Aleppo’s Archaeology Department. She has worked with prominent experts on Syrian and European sites and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Near Eastern Archaeology at Heidelberg University in Germany.

This article draws, in part, on the following books: Jean Claude David, translated by Mahmoud Heritani (2010) Awābed Sweqet ʽAli; Lamia Jasser and others (2010) Taqaṣṣi Ḫuṭā ad-Dawle Al-ʽUṯmāniya fi Ḥalab; Abd Allah Hajjar (2010) Maʽālem Ḥalab Al-aṯariya.

Both English and Arabic versions of the article are by the author.

The post Dar Janbolad – Aleppo’s Finest Palace appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

A market in the Shaar district shortly before iftar. Click here to watch the video.

Voices from the City

Syria Deeply profiled a makeshift school in Aleppo.

“We’ve been here doing this for two years, 12 teachers with no payment at all. Two years of volunteer work for the kids to save them from illiteracy.” Abu Ibrahim, Teacher, Old City

Al Zahra Hospital. Photo: Ismael Abdulrahman/Al Jazeera.

Al-Zahra Hospital is eastern Aleppo’s last remaining obstetric clinic. An airstrike hit the area’s main pediatric facility in late April, killing many, including a prominent pediatrician. Dr. Zahed Qaterji told Asharq Al-Awsat that doctors at Al Quds faced “unprecedented challenges.” 

To transfer patients to the hospital, “We place the lives of the patient, the person accompanying him, the driver and his assistant in danger, because the four persons are forced to cross the Castello road which is now similar to a suicidal attempt.” Dr. Qaterji, Al Quds Hospital

Instructions from The Syria Civil Defense or the White Helmets about what to do in case of an attack.

The Conflict

Over the past several weeks, assailants have attempted to assassinate military leaders and independent journalists. Al-Monitor asks, Who is killing Syrian opposition figures in Aleppo, Idlib?

Photo: Mustafa Sultan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Imagese

Multiple sources reported that Russia recently used incendiary munitions in civilian areas.

Civilians fleeing al-Bab area. Photo: ANHA.

The Islamic State reportedly abducted about 900 Kurdish civilians near al-Bab over the past few weeks.

Refugee Voices

Huzaifa, a 15-year-old refugee from Aleppo in Germany. Photo: The Guardian.

Emotional trauma leaves deep wounds for Syria’s child refugees.

Muhannad Qaiconie in Macedonia where helped families carry their children (MEE/Muhannad Qaiconie)

“All of these people who have helped me – and I know I’m not the only person with this experience – are allowing me and fellow Syrians the possibility to go on and not to lose hope. This world is continuing because of them, because of people who are working in silence, helping, and sending love. People like them are making this awful world so much better. Now I believe in helping people more than anything. To all of you, thank you so much. Muhannad Qaiconie, Refugee from Aleppo in Germany.

Photo: Teun Voeten / Panos

SciDev Net’s View on Migration: Protect refugees with mobile banking.

Reconstruction

Graphic: World Bank, May 2016.

Yezid Sayigh, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut called for new approaches to economic reconstruction in Reconstructing Syria: The need to break the mould.

The American Security Project published a White Paper on Syrian Stabilization and Reconstruction. The paper draws on lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia to recommend ways to stabilize and rebuild Syria after the conflict.

The post Aleppo Weekly- June 22- 27 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Studies of the Syrian civil war have largely focused on topics such as refugees and casualties and have left the crucial topic of employment greatly under-researched. Understanding changes in the composition of the job market will greatly enhance reconstruction efforts in post-war Aleppo as it allows a better understanding of the availability and quality of the labour force.

In late 2014 and early 2015, The Aleppo Project surveyed 1001 Aleppians about many issues.

This paper focuses on the two questionnaire items related to current professions of the respondents and their previous professions. The major findings of this paper include:

• The composition of the job market has pointedly changed due to the conflict
• Unemployment more than doubled due to the conflict. This applies to Aleppians within the city and abroad
• Differences in the rate of unemployment among Aleppians are largely explained by gender, age, education, and the neighbourhood from which the respondents come.

I believe that policymakers in post-war Aleppo will be faced with very high unemployment rates as the returnees with the fewest economic opportunities abroad come to Aleppo first to seek jobs. Ignoring the unemployed might ignite new unrest and could make the process of reintegration and reconciliation harder.

Policymakers should develop special initiatives to deal with the special situation of employment that will emerge as soon as the war ends. These initiatives should include labour-intensive reconstruction projects in order to absorb the expected excesses in unskilled labour supply.

To download the report, click here.

Karam Shaar is a PhD student of Economics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.  

Email: karam.shaar@vuw.ac.nz

The post Impact of the Civil War on Aleppo’s Job Market appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Voices from Aleppo

Islam Mardini published a series of recent photographs shot from regime-controlled areas near the frontline.

“Heavenly Space of Humanity.” Photo: Islam Mardini.

Mr. Mardini, an Aleppo native, won a “Spirit of Humanity” award in 2015 for his photography.

“Aleppo is known for two main things: the food and the music,” Ghuydar Bashmaf

Photo: Ridwan Adhami for Islamic Relief USA.

Ghuydar Bashmaf is a well-known, U.S.-based nasheed singer who recently performed a public recitation of the Qur’an at Muhammad Ali’s funeral. Islamic Relief USA featured his memories of food and music during Ramadan in Aleppo on Day 14 of its 30 faces of Ramadan series.

Food

“Every family would send a child before maghrib time to the neighborhood shop to get fresh falafel, hummus, and atayef. The most important thing is the atayef,” he said, remembering this special Ramadan pancake stuffed with ricotta cheese or walnuts and fried. “The rich people fill them with pistachios,” he added. Another popular Halabi dessert is mshabek, a fried dough formed into interesting circular shapes and soaked in sweet syrup.

Music

“The music is special in Ramadan,” he said. “They dedicate a certain portion of every night to singing the qaseedahs, long structured poems praising God.”

Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios Ibrahim of Aleppo. He has been missing since April 2013. Photo: Aid to the Church in Need.

During Ramadan, the Syriac Orthodox church is offering meals to poor families in Sulaimaniyah.

It is “a simple gesture aimed at expressing solidarity between people of different religious backgrounds with the hope that it will, in time, help to restore the peaceful coexistence that existed among Syria’s various religious and ethnic communities before the war.” The Archdiocese of Aleppo.

Aleppo’s Heritage

Image: 3Dmeans.com

Panoramic image-based modeling for the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo.

The Conflict

Click here for the latest Aleppo Conflict Timeline updates, maps and charts.

The children’s hospital in eastern Aleppo reopened after being hit by an airstrike earlier this month.

Al-Qatiriji, Aleppo. Image: HRW/ (c) 2016 Digital Globe/Next View

Human Rights Watch called on the United States and Russia to investigate recent attacks in Aleppo.

“As fighting escalates again in Aleppo, the US and Russia should keep their commitment to investigate, to maintain their credibility.” Nadim Houry, Deputy Middle East Director

Photo: ANHA

In mid-June, civilians in ISIS-controlled Manbij fled what appears to be an imminent PYD-affiliated Syrian Democratic Force attack on the town. Activists said that decreasing stocks of food and diesel combined with an International Coalition airstrike on a wheat storage facility raised fears that bakeries would cease to operate.

Syrian refugee: ‘Five of my family were shot’ at Turkish border. BBC

Activists report that Turkish border guards have killed several Syrian civilians attempting to cross the border to safety.

The post Aleppo Weekly- June 13-21 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.