Postcards from Syria

Voice: Hadoodle

From: Hama, Syria

I created Postcards from Syria as a resistance project. Resistance to exile, displacement, and to the destruction of Syrian history. 

Syrians are all too familiar with the destruction of our historical structures. Castles, bazaars, mosques, and other archeological masterpieces dating back thousands of years - are nothing but targets for Syria's dictator to bomb.

In Hama, we lost much of our precious Norias in the Hama massacre of 1982. They were targeted by Hafez Al Assad, the predecessor and father of the current dictator Bashar Al Assad. The bombs were focused mainly on the aqueducts and channels that store and dispatch the water. Part of the water wheels were bombed as well. Until 1982, Hama was an agricultural powerhouse, the heart of which was the Noria and their water distribution system. The regime deliberately targeted Hama's agricultural and economic influence, eventually causing drought and economic crisis. Many other ancient structures have been destroyed as well, like the Citadel of Aleppo, which was bombed in 2015.

After the Syrian revolution, much of Syria was forced into exile. This was part of a treaty signed after Assad had sieged and starved entire cities - forcing them into opposition controlled territory in the north. Those in the north of Syria cannot return to their cities without facing detainment and torture. Alongside the exile, Assad and his allies thrust Syrians into one of the worst refugee crises of modern history. Over 500,000 Syrians are still living in refugee camps years after the revolution. 

There are sanctions on Syria, so those of us in the diaspora struggle to access the cultural goods that define our Syrian identity. But we will always have our rich and powerful history, the proof of which is in every ancient stone lining the walls of our cities. Syrians forced to live in exile, refugee camps, and all Syrians displaced by violence deserve a postcard from home. The landmarks and structures that define us as Syrians - they deserve to be on a postcard. That is the least that they deserve, after all they have endured.