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As U.N. Cuts Food Aid to Refugees, One Family Feels the Pinch
‘We need the WFP money in order to eat. If we do not get it anymore, I do not know how we will live’.
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- Civil Society
- ISIS
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Syrian Diary: Missing My Mom, Missing a Reunion
Marah, a teenage girl from one of Syria’s besieged cities, shares her stories of life in the war. She recently moved to Damascus to continue her education, deciding to focus her college studies on prosthetics. She hopes to help heal the injured in her country’s conflict.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Night Kidnappings Terrorize Syrians in Masaken Barzeh
“I was dead sure about his voice – that’s when I realized this was an organized kidnapping.”.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Displacement
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Ambassador Fred Hof on Buffer Zones, Rebel Groups, and U.S. ISIS Strategy
‘The avoidance of the scenario in Iraq, probably more than anything else, explains U.S. policy in the past three and half years’.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
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Amid the Debate Over a Buffer Zone, Challenging Questions on How it Would Work
“Any time you mix military action with the protection of civilians, you put them in danger. The Assad regime could argue that they are a military target and a threat to the regime.”.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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UN Pushes for Targeted Syrian Cease-Fires in Hopes of Delivering Aid
The UN is suggesting Aleppo as a starting point to provide much-needed relief to areas hardest hit by the Syrian civil war. But it’s a hard sell with warring parties.
- Civil Society
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With Diesel Scarce, Syrians Turn to Solar Power as an Emerging Energy Option
‘Syria must be rebuilt with solar power, as it is the next revolutionary leap of our time’.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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ISIS Sets a ‘New Paradigm’ for Child Soldiers: Ideology, Combat and Forced Marriage
‘Violence undermines children’s abilities to learn and develop as adults in a healthy manner, to become healthy members of their communities’.
- Civil Society
- Education
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My Library: One Woman’s Attempt to Educate and Heal Syria’s Children
‘Through paintings and discussions, we managed to identify signs of the psychological problems the refugee children were experiencing’.
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Abu Shaker, a Famous Juice Shop in Damascus, Puts ‘Continuity Over Profits’
Abdel Hadi spoke to Syria Deeply about what it takes to keep his famous juice shop running in its third generation.
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Syria’s Artisans Make their Intricate Woodwork, Through the Fog of War
Two artists spoke to Syria Deeply about how they have fought to keep creating work that is representative of Syria and its people.
- Civil Society
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Syrians Reach a New Level of Desperation, With Limited International Support
Sarah Case of the International Rescue Committee explains why the need for donor countries to support such refugee host countries as Lebanon and Jordan, who are struggling to support Syrian refugees, is urgent.
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- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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Sparking Resentment, a Shopping Mall Rises in Tartous
‘The authorities have been trying for three years to reassure people that life can be normal in Tartous, but the truth is that conditions are declining’.
- Civil Society
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In a Twist of Social Norms, College Girls Take Up Waitress Jobs in Damascus
“The crisis forced a lot of us girls to be [financially] responsible for ourselves as the prices of basic commodities increased.”.
- Health
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Syria’s Descent into a Public Health Nightmare
Dr. Annie Sparrow spoke to Syria Deeply about the ongoing attrition and targeting of Syria’s doctors, and the rapidly deteriorating public healthcare system inside Syria.
- Health
- Human Rights
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The ICRC on Syria: We Are in a Constant Emergency
Syria Deeply talks with the Red Cross’s Simon Schorno about their operations and how it works with combatants on all sides.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- ISIS
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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A Teacher in Raqqa, Living Under ISIS Rule
‘Physics and chemistry contained many unholy laws, and we had to be careful not to corrupt the minds of children under ISIS rule’.
- Civil Society
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Rebel Alliances Pose Threat to Assad in Damascus and Southern Syria
Theodore Bell, analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, spoke to Syria Deeply about the how the emergence of a stronger, unified opposition in the south might threaten the regime in Damascus.
- Human Rights
- ISIS
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ISIS Restructures Raqqa Under its New Ruling System
Residents tell Syria Deeply that ISIS has divided Raqqa and assigned responsibilities to its local leaders, in a systematic bureaucracy of religious rule.
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Syrian Diary, Part 16 – My First Day at University
Marah, a teenage girl from one of Syria’s besieged cities, shares her stories of life in the war. She recently moved to Damascus to continue her education, deciding to focus her college studies on prosthetics. She hopes to help heal the injured in her country’s conflict.
- Displacement
- Articles
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A Syrian Story: Moving Syrian Refugees into Europe
‘Those working in the smuggling business by sea are new in the profession. I believe they are godless; they are human traffickers’.
- Human Rights
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When Human Trafficking Goes Awry
A Syrian lawyer tells the story of his Palestinian wife’s dangerous trip at sea – and how she ended up in an Egyptian jail.
- ISIS
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Fear in Raqqa, Under the Rule of the Islamic State
‘In Raqqa, it seems the color black and fear go hand in hand’.
- Civil Society
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Syria’s Kids, Foraging Through Trash to Survive
‘Most of those buyers are exploiters. They buy things from us for very cheap prices, but we have to sell to them because we want to live.’.
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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A Kurdish Fighter in Kobani Tells His Story
‘We hope that a speedy international intervention can save Kobani, because everyone knows that if it falls, there will be huge massacres’.
- Displacement
- Human Rights
- Articles
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The Road of a Refugee: ‘Looking for a Place to Start Over’
A Syrian doctor tells the story of his flight to Lebanon, and the difficulties he, and many others, face.
- Civil Society
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One-on-One: Francesca Borri Shares a View of Aleppo from the Ground
“An old man told me my life was more important than his because I, as a journalist, could tell the world what was happening in Syria. He disappeared into dust and smoke”.
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
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Underage Teens Face Conscription in Assad’s Syrian Army
“My son was only away for four days before he was killed. He was supposed to be in a training camp for at least six months.”.
- Human Rights
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How U.S. Led Strikes on Syria May be Helping Assad
Activists point to increased Syrian airstrikes against the opposition since the US-led campaign began. But rebel groups are also fighting Islamic State, analysts note.
- Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs
- Government & Pro-Government Forces
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A Booming Business for Firewood, as Syrians Seek Ways to Keep Warm this Winter
“I would estimate that the sale of wood has multiplied more than 12 times because of the surge in demand”.
- ISIS
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ISIS Accused of Abducting, Torturing and Abusing Kurdish Children
‘Many Syrians are facing two bleak choices: Syrian government barrel bombs, or ISIS’s advance and own brand of horrendous violations’.
- Human Rights
- Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces
- Religious & Ethnic Groups
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Al-Qaida Affiliate Gains Ground Against U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebels
‘If these are the champions of the Sunni-Arab cause in Syria, an al-Qaida offshoot, then there is reason to be worried’.
- ISIS
- War Economy
- Articles
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Understanding the Oil Money that’s Fueling ISIS
David Butter, a Middle East energy analyst and associate fellow at Chatham House, spoke to Syria Deeply about ISIS oil and what it means for Syria at large.
- Arts & Culture
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Syria’s Treasured Historical Sites: War Damage Captured on Satellite
Before-and-after photos from the AAAS show the extent of damage to Syria’s World Heritage sites as a result of the war.
- Arts & Culture
- Civil Society
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War Sparks Virtual Romance: Online Marriages on the Rise
‘Whatever feelings we developed virtually don’t compare to actually meeting and talking face-to-face’.
- Displacement
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Lebanon Closes Its Borders to Syrian Refugees, After Surge in Numbers
Ninette Kelley, the U.N. refugee agency’s representative in Lebanon, said the country has been restricting the entry of Syrians since August.
- Civil Society
- Education
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Syria’s ‘Lost Generation’ of Kids, Caught Between Limited Education and Pressure to Provide
A recent report by Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre maps the educational provisions and status of refugees from Syria aged 12–25 years old, in the main hosting countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.
- Civil Society
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Greening the Rubble: Syrians Embrace Urban Farming to Stave off Starvation
Ansar Hevi of 15th Garden explains how the program teaches urban Syrians how to grow their own food, empowering people to feed themselves.
- Displacement
- Articles
- Forum
Focus In Turkey, Syrian Women and Girls Increasingly Vulnerable to Exploitation
Dubious matchmakers and criminal gangs are preying on the Syrian women and girls who have sought shelter in Turkey. The sexual exploitation ranges from illicit marriages to prostitution.
- ISIS
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Hassan Hassan on How to Uproot ISIS in Deir Ezzor
Hassan Hassan gave us his take on what needs to be done to effectively root out ISIS in Syria.