The devil between the Details and the Big Picture

Originally published at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) under What War and Terror Do to Principles: A Young Syrian Recounts the Years in His Smoldering Homeland. Feature image by Ahmed Akacha

GRAZ – I lived in Syria for three out of the four and half years of war. I’ve never been physically harmed, even though there were several close calls. In another sense, though, I’ve come to realize this war has killed so much in me that I’ve turned into something completely unfamiliar; something that often works like a calculator.

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Confessions of a Free Woman in a Captive Homeland

Context & Author’s Note

This poem is written in the voice of absurd confession—a juridical parody spoken by a powerless teenager accused of crimes that only states and intelligence services commit. It reflects the psychological climate of Syria before the uprising: a society treated as guilty in advance, confessing to crimes it did not commit, awaiting punishment already decided. The violence here is not a call—it is a forecast.

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