Essays and Features

Horrors on the Syrian Coast:

Sectarianism, Savagery, and Silence

By

Elie Chalala

Right

Syrian Refugees Thrust into Lebanon's Politics of Bigotry

By

Elie Chalala

The talk of the town—or rather the country—in Lebanon has fixated on the great influx of Syrian and Palestinian refugees. Sadly, such talk is not about their physical, social and psychological suffering, but largely about their very presence in Lebanon and what it means to a delicate demographic and sectarian balance.

The Arab Spring Hasn’t Bloomed Yet… But Hegel’s “Philosophy of History” Says it Will!

By

Elie Chalala

Those bemoaning the death of the Arab Spring must read what Hashem Saleh has to say. Unlike the apologists for Arab dictatorships who are reading the Arab revolts from ideological and political perspectives, Saleh is analyzing the Arab Spring from a philosophical perspective, according to Karam al-Helou.

Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya Face Criticism... But of Network Ownership or Syrian Coverage

By

Elie Chalala

Some of the criticisms directed at major Arab media networks that support Syrian revolution are unwarranted. Critics argue that the stories of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are often politically motivated, influenced by the networks’ owners.

"No Shame in Apologizing!"

By

Elie Chalala

An essay, titled "No Shame in Apologizing," written by Lebanese columnist Hussam Itani, caught my attention a few months ago. I was reminded of it last Sunday, when I read another lengthy essay in the Sunday New York Times by Iraqi-American scholar and intellectual Kanan Makiya.

Fatima’s Head

By

Ziad Majed

It is hard to imagine what happened to Fatima,^* and it is hard to describe the silence that engulfed the witnesses of her death. I think the artistic works on Facebook that restored her head and depicted a rose garden or the moon or the sun have tried to compensate for that terrible silence and ease the pain of Fatima and her loved ones and all of us together.

Right

Yassin Bakoush: the Loss of Another Irreplaceable National Treasure

By

Rebecca Joubin

On Sunday, February 24, 2013 Yassin Bakoush, one of Syria’s most talented and adored comedians, was killed as he drove through a rebel-held check-point in the Assali neighborhood. He was on his way home to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus, an area that has witnessed unyielding combat between the regime and rebels.

As He Bombs Them, Assad Steals Syrian People's Good Deeds for Himself

By

Elie Chalala

Letter from Syria -- From the Back Window, Raghad

By

NAJAT ABDUL SAMAD

Raghad was thin and her appearance was as spare as the room that had become a new home to her and to her mother, her six brothers, and her uncle’s family.

Right

Letter from Syria -- Our Serene City

By

NAJAT ABDUL SAMAD

At first glance, our city seems serene, as if protected by God‘s blessed hands... as if spared from the fate of those other tortured cities… cities that have been flattened by invading tanks… tanks that shoot bullets and hatred… tanks that mow down people, homes, and trees.

Right

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