Hummus For Thought is pleased to announce the release of “Enab Baladi: Citizen Chronicles of the Syrian Uprising”, available as a free Enab Baladi. You can right-click and download it or just open it on your browser.

This is the result of a collaboration between Joey Ayoub and Alice Bonfatti who worked as editor and Arabic-to-English translator respectively. Georgia Hyland also worked as the proofreader. Needless to say, this project is in collaboration with Syrian citizen-journalist outlet Enab Baladi. Their website is available in English and in Arabic.

© Enab Baladi, 2019, All rights reserved.

To Enab Baladi’s Martyrs

Mohammad Anwar Kuraitem

One of Enab Baladi’s Founders

28-11-2012

Mohammad Fares Shihadeh

Daraya Reporter

16-01-2013

Ahmad Khaled Shihadeh

Managing Editor

12-03-2013

Nabil Sharbaji

One of Enab Baladi’s Founders

03-05-2015

Table of Content

Prologue: An Idea Called Daraya 7

Chapter 1: Why Enab Baladi? 13

1 – Why Enab Baladi? 15

2- I Am in This Revolution for Many Reasons 17

Chapter 2: Early Citizen Journalism from Daraya 19

1 – Daraya: Protesters and Security Forces Clash During the Friday of

Right of Self-Defence 21

2 – Daraya: Evening Demonstrations Drain Assad’s Militias 22

3 – Daraya: A Women’s Sit-in Protest for the Detainees 23

4 – Daraya: Air Force Mukhabarat Used Machine Guns and Armoured

Vehicles Against Student Demonstrations 24

5 – Mass Demonstration and Heavy Security at the “Arming

the Free Syrian Army” Friday Protest 25

6 – Daraya: Some Are Released, but Many More Arrested 26

7 – Student Demonstrations on Wednesday for the Release and

Freedom of Mohammed Sharkas 27

8 – Daraya: Near-daily Intrusions into the City by Shabbiha and

Assad’s Forces 28

9 – Our Women: Demonstration in Solidarity with Nour al-Tal 31

10 – Besieged Daraya Fears the Madaya Scenario 32

Chapter 3: The Syrian Regime: A Long History of Civil Repression 35

1 – The Syrian Regime Continues Its Policy of Systematic Killing 37

2 – The Assad Regime: Is It Looking for Legitimacy and Justification

for Its Actions? 40

3 – The Assad Regime Has Decided to Opt for Civil War! 44

4 – Between Rhetoric and Failure 47

Chapter 4: Women at the Frontline 49

1 – Women at the Heart of the Syrian Revolution 51

2 – Women at Work and Men at Home: Change of Roles Strikes

a Hard Blow to Traditional Customs 54

3 – Women Fear Arrest: Assad’s Attempt to Suppress Their Voices 58

4 – Aleppo’s “Little Women” 59

5 – Women Held Captive in Syria: Weapons of War and Terror 62

6 – You Can Never Besiege My Mind! 64

7 – In the Grips of Extremism: Syrian Women Forced into Slavery

in Deir ez-Zor 66

8 – Wives Separated From Their Detained or Missing Husbands:

Society Forbids What Shari’a Law Permits 69

9 – Little Openness Towards Women Working in

Opposition-Controlled Areas 78

10 – Syrian Activists Taking off Their Veil: Revolution or Escape? 86

11 – Spouses, Friends and Families Divided as Struggles of

War Reshape Bonds 90

12 – What You Don’t Know About Female Journalists’ Personal

Lives Inside Syria 94

13 – Syrian Breast Cancer Patients Suffer Twice as Much During War 96

Chapter 5: Detainees and Stories from Syria’s Prisons 99

1 – On the Brink of Anticipation 101

2 – The Women’s Section of Adra Central Prison: Torture of a

Different Kind 103

3 – Rasha Sharbaji: The Story of Detainee Number 714 106

4- ‘Nobody’’s Family… Memories of a Political Prisoner 109

5 – Documenting Darkness: Stepping Inside Syrian Prisons 111

6 – Branch 215’s Gargamel: The Military Security Officer in Damascus 119

Chapter 6: Violent Conflict 121

1 – Commander of the Martyrs of Islam Brigade to Enab Baladi:

“We Have no Choice but to Sacrifice Everything” 123

2 – Abu Salmu: Commander of Osod al-Tawhid Battalion in

Daraya in Conversation with Enab Baladi 129

3 – 32nd Anniversary of Hama Massacre: Facts and Testimonies

Aabout One of the Most Brutal Contemporary Massacres 134

4 – From Damascus: This is Sparta! 136

5 – “The End of Aleppo”: The Reasons Behind the Defeat and its

Potential Consequences 140

6 – A Year After the Collapse of Aleppo, What Has Changed? 151

Chapter 7: Local Councils: Unique Examples of Self-Organisation 161

1 – Does Local Media Promote Hatred Between Arabs and

Kurds in Syria? 163

2 – Arabs, Kurds, and the Social Ties That Overcome Political Conflicts 174

3 – Local Councils in Syria, Affiliation and Mechanisms: An Interview with

Osama Natoof, Head of the Local Council of Rif Dimashq Governorate 181

Chapter 8: Refugees and Forced Displacement 185

1 – The Syrians Who Have Not Died Yet 187

2 – The Change of Priorities among Syrian Revolutionary Activists:

From Ghouta to Germany 189

3 – Car Parks for the Displaced in Damascus 194

4 – How Will Daraya’s Children in the Camps Complete Their Education? 198

5 – Discouraging Refugees from Staying: How Lebanon is

Forcing Syrians to Leave 199

6 – Syrian Refugees Are Forced to Buy the Worst and Most

Expensive Passport in the World 206

7 – Syrians Change Their Names to Obtain Turkish Nationality 209

8 – 750 Syrian Minors Married to Foreigners from Nine Nationalities in 212

9 – Countless People Commemorate Syrian Dancer Hassan

Rabeh Following His Suicide 213

10 – “Baynetna”: An Arabic Library Opens in Berlin 215

11 – Hamish: A Cultural House for the Syrian Community in Istanbul 216