Syria

Photo of the Day: Four Syrian Bedouin women in the late 19th century. Mirrored from Al-Mashriq Syria in 1900 had a population of a little less than 3 million (not counting what is today Lebanon). My guess is that some 10-20% of the population was at that time pastoral nomads or transhumants, i.e. livestock raisers […]

Human Rights

842,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon (pop.: 4.4 mn) as UN Calls for $6 bn Aid

contributors

(By Agence France Presse) One in five Lebanon residents Syria refugees: UN (via AFP) One of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Syria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday. The UNHCR says there are more than 842,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon but the actual […]

Christianity

Syrian Christians Menaced by Extremist Sunnis, Slam Lack of Lebanese Support

Juan Cole

Layal Abu Rahhal reported in Arabic from Beirut for al-Sharq al-Awsat [The Middle East] on the dilemmas of Syrian Christians and their Lebanese neighbors, Dec. 13, 2013. This is my paraphrase, influenced by the translation done by BBC Monitoring: Considering what the Christians of Syria are facing, Christians in Lebanon are raising alarums about the […]

Arab World

How Peter O’Toole Saved the Arabs (According to David Lean)

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The late Peter O’Toole played T.E. Lawrence in David Lean’s 1963 “Lawrence of Arabia” with genius and abandon. All of us in my generation who went into Middle East studies were influenced by that film one way or another. Only later did it gradually become apparent to many of us how flawed […]

Featured

Dozens Killed by Regime Barrel Bombs in Aleppo, half of them Children

Juan Cole

The Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar reports that the Syrian air force bombed Aleppo on Sunday with makeshift barrel bombs, killed at least 36 persons, including 15 children. They targeted neighborhoods controlled by rebels in the country’s largest city, in the north of the country. The Aleppo Information Center made up of activist citizen journalists said that […]

Syria

Syrian Refugees’ Misery deepened by Snow Storm as Europe Shuts Doors

csstester

World Bulletin writes: “… the worst of winter is yet to come for 2.2 million refugees living outside Syria and millions more displaced inside the country. A storm named Alexa is sweeping across Syria and Lebanon, bringing with it high winds and freezing temperatures – and marking the beginning of the third winter since the […]

al-Qaeda

US, UK suspend Aid to Syrian “Moderates” as Fundamentalists Grab Western Supplies

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The United States and the United Kingdom have suspended aid to the Syrian National Council and its Free Syrian Army, headed by Gen. Salim Idriss, after FSA warehouses of arms were raided by the Islamic Front. It also captured a key border crossing with Turkey. The Islamic Front, a coalition of fundamentalist […]

Human Rights

Against Demonizing Syria’s Refugees (Seeley)

Juan Cole

Nicholas Seeley writes in a guest column for Informed Comment On a sunny fall afternoon, Abdullah joined me for lunch in the sitting room of my apartment in Amman, Jordan, and told me his story. He hails from a small town in southern Syria, a cousin to some of the families I’ve become friends with […]

Lebanon

Plight of Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Juan Cole

Some 750,000 Syrians have been forced to seek refuge in Jordan. About 2/3s live in apartments or with families, with about a third forced to live in unsanitary tent cities. DeutscheWelle reports: Rochelle Davis and Abby Taylor have [pdf] have just issued a report at Georgetown University on the difficulties the Syrian refugees face: They […]