A Little Empathy Would Go A Long Way

I attended a Dubai Slam Poetry session few days ago and one of the talented young poets, Syrian Sarah Tamimi, told the story of war through a daughter’s promise to her departed mother: ‘Don’t look back’… What I understood from Sarah’s tearful performance which content evoked my own experience in Lebanon’s physical war zone in […]

I Urge you Not to Lose Faith in Humanity

My name is Kalima [my nickname, for security reasons] and I am Syrian. I left my country two years ago, following the massacre of my mother, father, brother, uncle and grand-parents. I was fortunate enough to be rescued and to be able to escape to Europe via Turkey, but many others weren’t. I have been […]

Toward Resilient Arab Societies

I was invited more than 10 years ago by an association of psychologists in Montreal (Quebec- Canada) to testify about my experience as a war survivor. The main theme was ‘Resilience’ and my hosts and colleagues defined it as having a positive attitude, optimism, and the ability to change one’s life even after a misfortune. […]

Women in Personal Status Laws: IRAQ, JORDAN, LEBANON, PALESTINE, SYRIA

Recommending the following study by Gihane Tabet (SHS Papers in Women’s Studies/ Gender Research – Gender Equality and Development Section, Division of Human Rights, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, 2005). Introduction: The objective of this paper is to explain the legal system as it pertains to women’s rights in the Middle East. We will […]