“Perhaps the best recommendation is to stay naïve…”. “I see the relevance of the political work, but for us as peace organisation it is crucial to emphasize values, in particular that we never stop promoting non-violence.” “When politicians stop talking, people to people contacts are even more important.” — Listen to audio clips from the […]
In the early hours of Saturday morning, 22 September Hay’at Tahrir as-Sham arrested Yaser Saleem, a lawyer from Kafranbel. That small city became famous in the early years of the conflict in Syria as the citizens took to the streets with banners in English, often even with a cartoon appealing to a western public. Yaser […]
Friday 21 September People in Idlib can breathe again. It´s been a week since the last bombardments and people are getting on with their lives. Today, September 21, there were demonstrations once again. Today’s slogan: “No constitution and no reconstruction until the regime is gone.” “Hi Ahmed, how’s your day?” “Very good” “In a minute we […]
Tuesday 18 September Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyib Erdogan agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib separating opposition and government-controlled areas, in order to avert a humanitarian disaster. Ahmed form Saraqeb feels relieved, but he also has a small problem. “Good morning Ahmed, how are you?” “Good morning […]
Monday 17 September Here in the Netherlands, we’re in the middle of Peace Week. In Syria, the war rages on. Especially in Idlib, one of the last opposition-held territories, people are living on the edge of fear and hope. Fear for still more bombing and violence, but hope that things will get better. We’re in […]
Thursday, 13 September 2018 The people in Idlib are not only suffering from the Russian and Syrian bombing, but also from lawlessness. Ahmad describes what happened. “Sorry that I couldn’t talk yesterday. Mustafa was murdered. We heard shots in the street. That happens often enough, but this time it was really close. When we went […]
Tuesday, 11 September 2018 In the Netherlands, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok suspends support for Syrian projects because of controversy surrounding the possible support for extremist groups.In Saraqeb, Ahmed is painting the youth center. “Hi Ahmed, how’s life?” “Good. Thank you. When people ask how we are then we say “Good, Ilhamdu l-llah (thank […]
Sunday, 9 September 2018 This morning at 11 o’clock I spoke with Ahmed in Saraqeb again, #idlib. Negotiations between the superpowers have failed. “Hi Ahmed, how are you?” “Alright. We’ve been painting the inside of the youth center. We’re on the last bit, painting the staff room. When we complete that it will finally be […]
Friday, September 7, 2018 Tension is rising in Idlib. In Tehran the Turks, Iranians and Russians are deliberating about what comes next. It could be that the long-awaited attack on Idlib is about to begin. “Hi Ahmed, how are you?” “Thank you for asking. About our situation, what can I say? You know where we […]
4 September 2018, Tuesday “Hi Ahmed: how are you?” “Hello my friend, it’s going well, but we know that something terrible is going to happen. We are worried because we cannot go anywhere. We feel that we have no control whatsoever. We hear that the Russians, the Turks, the Americans and the Iranians are now […]