Leila Al-Shami is British-Syrian, has been involved in human rights and social justice struggles in Syria and elsewhere in the region since 2000, and is co-author (with Robin Yassin-Kassab) of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War (Jan 2016, Feb 2018).
It’s difficult to recollect the euphoria of the early days of the 2011 uprising in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Reflecting on that time, Syrians speak of the breaking of the “fear barrier”—the suffocating authoritarianism and repression that . . .
In the spirit of solidarity with those on the streets, Leila Al Shami offers lessons from the Syrian revolution that might be applicable to the uprising against police violence in the United States.
Over the past few days a popular uprising has broken out across Idlib against the hardline Islamist group HTS (formerly Al-Qaeda linked Nusra) which is militarily dominant in much of the province.
The recent uprising began when HTS increased Zakaat (taxes) on a . . .
The recent Turkish offensive on north-eastern Syria and US withdrawal of troops from the region is unleashing yet another humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.
In the past few days over 130,000 Syrians have fled for their lives, in desperate search of . . .
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