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.

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.

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.

Olympic refugee team: Rami Anis’ journey from Aleppo to the Rio 2016 Games.

Rami is one of ten members of the first Refugee Olympic Team. He is joined on the team by Damascus native and swimmer Yusra Mardini.

Cultural Heritage

German Commission for UNESCO / Till Budde.

Syrian and international experts met in Berlin in early June to assess damage to cultural heritage sites in Syria, develop methodologies and define priority emergency safeguarding measures for the country’s heritage.

The Conflict

Undetonated Explosive Hose. Photo: Mustafa Hussein.

Activists reported that the government dropped 100-meter-long mine-clearing explosive hoses June 11 over al-Breij.

Activists said this was the first time the government had dropped the weapons on Aleppo. They have been used in other areas, most notably the Jobar district of Damascus in 2014.

The UN issued a strong condemnation after three hospitals in rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo were attacked in the space of three hours. At least 20 people, including many children, were killed in al-Shaar.

Agony in Aleppo – inside Syria’s Al-Quds hospital

The post Aleppo Weekly- May 31-June 12 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

The relentless pummelling of Sheikh Maqsoud has devastated the lives of civilians in the area. A wide array of armed groups from the Fatah Halab coalition has launched what appear to be repeated indiscriminate attacks that may amount to war crimes,” Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International.

Syrian Voices

Channel 4 broadcast Children of the Frontline: The Escape, a documentary following the war through the eyes of four siblings from Aleppo. Filmmaker Marcel Mettelsiefen spoke to CNN’s Christian Amanpour about the film and the family’s amazing story.

Istanbul Sweat Shop. CBSNews.

CBS News filmed Syrian refugee children working in Istanbul sweatshops.

Tariq al-Bab. 30 April 2016. Photo: Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters

“You work in such a dangerous place for a long enough time, then your chances of dying increase. It’s even harder when you have a family, when people depend on you.” Aleppian neurosurgeon Dr. Rami Kalazi.

Documenting the Conflict

The Aleppo Project published the Aleppo Conflict Timeline.

Human rights activists in Syria launched the Syrian Archive “dedicated to preserving open source documentation relating to human rights violations and other crimes committed by all sides during the conflict.”

Cultural Heritage

Palmyra. REUTERS/SANA

UNESCO steps in to protect what’s left of Syria’s Palmyra.

The post The Aleppo Weekly, May 10-16 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

Ordinary Syrian people are going to extraordinary lengths, risking everything to protect their heritage, despite the horror that has engulfed their country. For them, it is not a question of people or stones. The story of the people is embedded in those stones, a crafted story stretching back millennia. Saving that story is saving Syria. Dr. Emma Cunliffe. Research Associate, Oxford University.

Syrian Voices

While in prison, Shahabi went from 273 pounds to just 97. Photo: Ibrahim Shahabi.

“For the first six months, the torture was every hour. It came in so many ways, without mercy or compassion. However, after tuberculosis, diarrhea, and other infectious diseases came into the barracks, the guards refrained from entering out of fear that they too would be infected. They would throw us our measly rations from the bottom of the cell door, and if someone died, they would throw us the key from the cell window so  that we could leave to bury the person in the yard.” Ibrahim Shahabi, a well-known bodybuilding champion from Aleppo.

The BBC profiles Aleppo’s underground doctors.

Aleppo Demonstration. 13 April 2016. Photo: AEJ.

Medical staff demonstrate after an airstrike killed Dr.Hassan, a respected cardiologist in Hama. His car appeared to have been deliberately targeted.

Water Purifying Tablet. Photo: Louay Otba.

Before the war, Aleppian entrepreneur Louay Otba invented and started producing a chlorine-free water disinfecting tablet. He will use his $5,000 prize from the Jusoor Entrepreneurship Competition to start the patent examination process.

“The Zoom Group.” Photo: Ahmad Saflo

Syrian Trainees Tell Stories in Their Own Words

“My writing of their stories did not matter. What mattered was that they tell their own stories, how and when they want to. What I had to do was try to give them back their voice. I could only provide them with the tools and skills needed, and then listen.” Hala Droubi, Karam Project Leadership Program.

In what the opposition labeled a “farce,” the “National Unity” list won 200 of 250 seats in parliamentary elections.  A prominent Aleppo lawyer toured election centers in western Aleppo. He reported that in many locations he was provided completed lists to vote with instead of a blank ballot. The UN does not recognize the elections.

Reconstruction

Idlib countryside. May 2015. Photo: Reuters/Khalil Ashawi.

Al Monitor explores Syria’s withering agricultural sector.

Reasons for Departure. Disaster and Emergency
Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) Survey Results.

“Peace and reconstruction are two sides of the same coin and a reconstruction strategy for Syria—the most war-ravaged country in the region—could help foster a sustainable peace.”  World Bank. Syria : reconstruction for peace.

“Peacebuilding is not an end point; it is a process that needs to be started very early on and supported at every stage.” Rebuilding Societies: Strategies for Resilience and Recovery in Times of Conflict

The State of the Conflict

Search for survivors after airstrike in rebel-held Aleppo. Photo: Reuters/A.Ismail.

Despite ceasefire fighting erupts in Aleppo.

The post The Aleppo Weekly, April 12-17 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

In My Beloved Aleppo, Sawsan Ibrahim collects 648 photos of the Old City, downtown and residential districts in central and western Aleppo. 

IDPs live in a former university housing building. March 2016. Lorenzo Meloni/Magnum Photos

Time’s photo essay Inside War Ravaged Syria features recent photos by Lorenzo Meloni/Magnum Photos.

Xinhua/Barcroft Media

Palmyra after Isis: a visual guide

The Conflict

Institute for the Study of War

“Aleppo Province stands to become the focal point of a new round of violence in the Syrian Civil War even as the Geneva III Talks to end the conflict are scheduled to resume on April 13. Continued violations of an ongoing ‘cessation of hostilities’ by both pro-regime and opposition factions have fueled the largest outbreak of violence in northern Syria since the agreement went into effect on February 27, threatening to drive a wider breakdown of the tenuous ceasefire.”  Institute for the Study of War.

Children play Bustan al-Qasr. 6 April 6 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail.

“I hope the truce will continue, and I believe all the Syrian people share my wish. We have had enough with all the killing and displacement. However, I am not optimistic about the truce holding.” Mohammed Hakk, 24. Aleppo sees cautious calm amid cease-fire.

An Nusra fighters. Aleppo. May 2015. AFP.

In Aleppo City, there were clashes, airstrikes and ground battles around Castello Road, Sheikh Maqsood and industrial areas north of the city. Middle East Eye reported that Nusra is tightening its grip in Aleppo with a “growing presence, weekly parades, and grudging tolerance from other rebels.”

Over the past several days, conflict escalated in Aleppo Province. In the northern countryside, rebels liberated towns along the Turkish border from ISIS as far east as ar-Ra’i. Isis later retook ar-Ra’i. Fighting continues between opposition, including an-Nusra Front, and the government south of Aleppo.

Children in IDP camp near Azaz. Halab News Network.

Halab News Network reported that a new survey shows 165,000 IDPs in twelve camps along the Turkish border near Azaz. One hundred thirty thousand people live in formal camps that receive regular aid. Another 35,000 live in informal camps set up by fleeing residents. Infectious skin diseases are rampant because the camps have poor sewage systems and waste water drains into local streams. Efforts are being made to install sewage systems.

Life in the City

Photo: Atareb Genetic Blood Disease Center.

Syria Direct reported that the pediatric blood bank cut services because it can no longer afford its $2,500 per month expenses.

Anti-government protests in Aleppo on Friday, April 8.

Aleppo Pepper Flakes. Photo: Becky Harlan.

National Geographic’s ‘The Plate’ explored How Syria’s Famous Aleppo Pepper Might Be Saved.

Syrian Voices

Dr. Marwa al-Sabouni. April 2016. Photo: Ghassan Janisz.

The Guardian interviewed Dr. Marwa al-Sabouni about her upcoming memoir The Battle for Home. Dr. al-Sabouni, who holds a PhD in Islamic architecture and a Master’s degree in architectural design has lived in Homs throughout the conflict with her husband and two children. Her memoir examines the conflict through the lens of architecture, showing how the built environment mirrors the community that inhabits it. When asked about the government retaking Palmyra from ISIS, she said,

“I was concerned for the people there, caught in the crossfire, no doctors to help them. We’ve been hearing terrible things…Do you want me to be honest? I don’t know how I feel about it. I visited Palmyra when I was at school, and even then I saw the electrical wiring around the columns, the new carving of names on ancient stones, the disorganised urbanism, tourism and restoration. It was so neglected. It had no protection, out there in the desert. You could jump on it, climb on it. Take a look at a picture of the so-called museum: the fake ceiling, the metal cage of a door. Part of me thinks it was better that it was destroyed…I understand why the west is emotional about it. But when you are living here, you have a different angle.”

Thousands of former students and academics now live as refugees. Reuters

The BBC reported about Syria’s loss of students needed to rebuild its future.

“There was no electricity, and it was often difficult to find water. But we did our best.” Syrian academic on conditions at Aleppo University.”

Maha Ghrer

“My estrangement began when I traveled to Gaziantep in Turkey, when I left everything I knew for the unknown. Fugitive from all my memories and my sufferings, carrying my luggage as if I already knew that I will not come back anytime soon…But soon enough I got used to this new place, especially as the city became a harbor for many Syrians. It was also very close to Syria and made me feel that I can go back or visit at any time…I decided to move to Europe, like many other Syrians had done, and it was then that my second and toughest estrangement began. I did not know what was waiting for me there and no one amongst those who preceded me told me what it means to be a refugee: that my pride would be scratched every step of the way.” Maha Ghrer

Syria Mobile Film Festival

The second Syrian Mobile Film Festival took place at the Bosra Amphitheatre in Dar’a Province

Syrians in Turkey

Turkish authorities re-opened the Bab as-Salameh border crossing for Syrians with Turkish residence permits, tickets or visas to travel outside Turkey, or embassy appointments.

A Syrian woman shops at a market in a low-income neighborhood of Ankara. September2015. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas.

Syria Pulse reported that Syrian refugees have contributed greatly to Turkey’s economy, but economists are not sure how long the boost will last.

On April 10, there was an assassination attempt in downtown Gaziantep on Zaher Sharqat, a religious preacher and TV anchor at Halab News TV. On April 12, Mr. Sharqat died from his wounds. Many believe ISIS is behind the attempt, a chilling reminder of the assassination by two ISIS member last December of journalist and filmmaker Naji Jerf. Haber Turk TV broadcast the attempt.

The Turkish General Directorate of Migration Management published updated numbers of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey by province. Urfa ranked first with 401,068, followed by Istanbul with 394,556. In total, there are 2,749,140 Syrians registered under temporary protection in Turkey. These figures do not include unregistered Syrians or those with residency permits.

The post The Aleppo Weekly, April 5-11 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.

The Washington Post’s Loveday Morris reported on the ‘stunning devastation’ inside Aleppo’s souqs.

The Conflict

Aleppo From Above. BBC. Mohamed Madi.

Drone footage shows Aleppo’s destruction from above.

Al Ees. Halab Today TV.

Rebels, including Jabhat an-Nusra, captured al-Ees and other towns from regime forces in the southern countryside.

Rebels in the northern countryside liberated al-Kamaliyeh, Tal Battal and Karakik from ISIS.

Aleppo province-Kurdish forces. BBC.

The BBC reported from inside Aleppo province about Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State.

Life in the City

General Committee for Youth in Syria

The opposition General Committee for Youth in Syria held a sports and martial arts event with 50 male and female participants in Seif ad-Dauleh district.

The Breadway theatrical group performed the “Arab Party at the Time of Freedom” in eastern Aleppo. The play depicts situations where certain personalities and groups try to hijack the social movement. Both men and women participated, in a city still considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

Refugees from Aleppo

UNCHR/N.Bose

Shehab, from Aleppo, is one of 70 Syrians in Turkey studying on German government-funded Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund scholarships. He is a second year health sciences student at Hacettepe University in Ankara.

Kerim plays in temporary German housing. Dyab/AlJazeera.

The refugee crisis through the eyes of refugees–Photographer Kevin McElvaney provided refugees with disposable cameras as part of the #refugeecameras project to document their journeys from Turkey to Europe. Aleppian Dyab photographed his son Kerim at their new temporary room in Germany.

8 yr. old Aleppian Shaharzad Hassan “Refugee Family.” Idomeni, 11 March 2016. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda.

In ‘harsh truths behind child refugees fleeing war – alone,’ a Greek police officer said that more unaccompanied minors are traveling from Turkey to Greece because parents can only afford to send one family member. Parents hope that the child will send for the rest of the family.

Mustafa Goes for a Walk is the the third of UNICEF’s ‘Unfairy Tales.’ The series of animated films chronicle the journeys of three Syrian refugee children.

Palmyra

The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums is working with French architectural firm ICONEM to create 3D models of Syrian cultural heritage, including the Bel Temple.

The post The Aleppo Weekly- March 29-April 4 appeared first on The Aleppo Project.