Hello everyone,
The past couple of days have been very emotional for me.
I have so much to say, but at the same time, I find it hard to express myself.
In 2016, around this time eight years ago, we didn’t know if we would survive. We were in the last hospital in Aleppo after six months of siege by Assad, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah militias. Sama was about to turn one year old, and I was pregnant with my second daughter, Taima.
Before we left Aleppo, we said goodbye to everything. We left our hearts there and moved forward, terrified that we might not make it. We survived, but the loss of Aleppo remains a wound in all of us.
The greatest heartbreak of my life is that I can’t take my daughters to live in, or even visit, the place they should belong to—the place where they should grow up.
I made For Sama film and started the Action for Sama campaign to not give up on that dream, to promise myself, my daughters that I will never forget Aleppo.
Now, there’s a new chance to go back - to have hope again. There’s immense joy, but it doesn’t feel real. There’s a fear of what’s coming next—whether it’s the regime bombing and burning Aleppo and everyone in it, like they did in east Aleppo from 2012 till 2016 and all the other cities out of its authority, or the type of governance which might complicate people’s lives, or the cycle of negotiations between countries where we, Syrians, and our rights are never a priority.
Everyone who has those different fears agrees that the biggest risk and threat is coming from the sky, the Syrian and Russian airstrike attacks. So the international community needs to prioritise protecting civilians from such attacks. A no-fly zone to protect civilians is needed more than ever.
We also need support for Syrian civil society to respond to the huge needs in the newly liberated areas across all sectors— humanitarian aid, health, education, shelter, human rights documentation, and governance.
For those of us watching from afar, our role is to amplify the voices of people on the ground, to empower them, and to never stay silent in the face of violations.
Each of us can contribute, support, and make a difference.
The situation can change at any moment, and it’s our duty to learn from what we’ve been through and do everything we can to make things better.
You can hear my full thoughts and feelings in a video I shared to the world in the posts bellow. Please share the message anywhere you can:
Thank you,
Waad