Author: Ahmad Zaza
Ahmad Zaza is a Syrian journalist based in Istanbul.

ISTANBUL – For two years Alaa* lived in a basement in Istanbul with his mother and sister. As the sole provider for both, Alaa said he had to work as a waiter for 12 hours a day to pay rent and bills. (More…)

ISTANBUL – Um Farouk almost drowned on her first trip from Turkey to Greece. The 47-year-old Syrian refugee said it was a “miracle” Turkish soldiers rescued her and 40 others from a boat that capsized in the Aegean Sea last year. Within a week, she tried the dangerous trip to Europe a second time with her son. (More…)

In Damascus, war profiteers are leveraging the scarcity of burial spots in the capital to rent out graves as one would apartments, charging as much as $1,000 per year for a plot of land. (More…)

After enduring four years of government-imposed siege and living under the increasingly authoritarian rule of the armed opposition, residents of the Damascus suburb have no choice but to join Jaish al-Islam if they want to find work. (More…)