18
Jul
Why Art Helped Me Heal, And Why It Still Matters for Syrian Refugees
I grew up surrounded by color, Damascene courtyards painted with jasmine, old books stacked in my father’s study, calligraphy that danc...
Posts by Siwar Al Assad
24
Jun
Writing Refugee Experiences with Truth, Not Pity
There’s a dangerous temptation when writing about refugees: to reduce them to victims. It happens even with the best intentions. You wa...
24
Jun
What War and Displacement Taught Me About the Power of Storytelling
There are wounds that don’t bleed. They appear in silence, in hesitation, in the way someone pauses before answering a simple question ...
24
Jun
Books That Help You Understand Syrian Culture, Beyond the Headlines
Syria is often spoken about in the past tense. In news cycles and political debates, it’s reduced to ruins and warzones, to ceasefires ...
24
Jun
Why Syrian History Lives in My Stories, Even When It’s Unspoken
I don’t always write about Syria directly. But Syria is always in what I write. You can feel it in the silence between my characters. I...
24
Jun
What Writing Diverse Characters Taught Me About Listening and Responsibility
There’s a moment every writer dreads when you stare at a character on the page and realize you might be getting them wrong. Not just in...
24
Jun
How Novels Capture the Quiet Storm of Personal Transformation
There’s something about watching a character fall apart and slowly rebuild themselves. That always gets to me. Perhaps it’s because per...
26
May
Western Media Through an Eastern Lens
Growing up in Syria, I was immersed in stories—those told by my family, whispered in the streets, and broadcasted over the airwaves. Bu...
26
May
Books That Changed My Life — And Might Change Yours
Books have always been more than just stories to me; they’ve been companions, mentors, and mirrors reflecting parts of myself I hadn’t ...
26
May
How Syria’s History Shapes My Writing
Introduction
You don’t choose the country you’re born into. But it does, in many ways, choose the stories you end up telling.
I was...