Al-Jumhuriya Fellowship for Young Writers

At the beginning of 2016, Al Jumhuriya Collective, in collaboration with Asfari Foundation, launched a program titled ‘Al Jumhuriya Fellowship for Young Writers’. The objective of the program is to work with a group of young Syrian men and women -both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries- who, due to the circumstances imposed by war, were not given a chance to specialize in fields of journalism and social sciences, and who have ambitions to develop their writing skills and to strengthen their knowledge in social journalism and the modern history of Syria, as well as critical thinking.

Towards the end of the first phase of the program, which revolves around read, the group began working on three writing axis: observations, testimonies and stories from the revolution; in-depth investigations and social observations of the Syrian society; and analytical and critical essays about topics previously covered and attempting to deconstruct them.

This piece is the second addition to the series of works produced by our fellows to be published on a weekly basis. The first series of articles will cover the first axis: observations, testimonies and stories from the revolution.

Rafia Salameh

2 June 2018

Syria’s “inside” and “outside”: How they became “them”

The divide between Syrians inside the country and those outside has never been sharper. For the country’s sake, the two groups must make their relationship mutually advantageous, rather than antagonistic.

Leen Farah

25 May 2018

“May there be relief”: On food in Adra Women’s Prison

A former inmate at Syria’s Adra Women’s Prison recounts the struggles, deprivations, and occasional pleasures of food in the notorious jail.

Khalifa al-Khuder

4 October 2017

Being an east Syrian laborer in Lebanon

Khalifa al-Khuder reports on the aspirations, sufferings, and occasional joys of the largely voiceless Syrian worker community in Lebanon.

Zaina Ibrahim

28 September 2017

East Aleppo’s people, from headlines to oblivion

They were the world’s top story less than a year ago. Today Aleppo’s displaced are already forgotten.

Jana Salim

19 September 2017

The limits of social media: lessons learned from Syria

While social media was invaluable in the early days of Syria’s revolution, hopes that it alone could topple the regime proved ill-founded.

Abdulhamid Yousef

29 August 2017

The Interdependent Consciences of Syria

Abdulhamid Yousef writes about Syrian consciences which once connected and ignited a revolution in the country, and about one of the current crises that threaten their connectedness.

Sham Al-Ali

22 August 2017

On Rising Apostasy Among Syrian Youths

In contrast to extremism and the rise of Islamist politics to prominence within the anti-regime sphere, various levels of abandonment of religious commitment are in constant increase.

Ali Bahloul

15 August 2017

One Regime, Multiple Revolutions

Syrians have been drowning in a sea of authoritarian symbols brought forth by the Assad state. After this symbolic regime began to be undermined, they found themselves in the midst of new set of authoritarian symbols.

Khalifa al-Khuder

1 August 2017

How the Islamic State Perceives Society

Khalifa Khodr sheds some light on the categorization of society from the standpoint of the Islamic State, whereby it strives to incite the “commoners” to challenge and undermine state authorities.

Adel al-Ayed

25 July 2017

Syrian Youth: Why is Political Action Still Missing?

A discussion of the objective and subjective conditions that led many revolutionary young people to avert/ political action and constantly express their hostility toward politics.

Lama Rajeh

18 July 2017

Western Far-Right and the Question of Refugees

The surge of right-wing parties, its root causes and recent transformations, as well as its potential impact on refugees in Europe, discussed by Lama Rajeh in her third piece in Al-Jumhuriya.

Fadel al-Homsi

11 July 2017

Will the Kurdish Dream Come True in Syria?

Syrian Kurds seem to be the major beneficiaries of the state of affairs in Syria, but further moves towards their nationalistic ambition of establishing an independent state are becoming increasingly harder.