This week marks two years since thousands of civilians and rebel fighters were displaced from Syria’s Eastern Ghouta. A writer based there at the time profiles one fighter, and how he chose between leaving his hometown and staying under Assad’s ruthless rule.
At the beginning of 2016, the Al-Jumhuriya Collective launched the Al-Jumhuriya Fellowship for Young Writers, in collaboration with the Asfari Foundation. The objective of the program is to work with young Syrian men and women - both inside Syria and in neighboring countries - who, due to the circumstances imposed by war, were not given a chance to specialize in the fields of journalism and social sciences, yet who have ambitions to develop their writing skills and strengthen their knowledge of social journalism and the modern history of Syria, as well as their critical thinking.
The articles below are the fruits of these young writers' experiences with the Al-Jumhuriya Fellowship.