Publication: Al-Monitor KILIS, Turkey — With her pale face and dark circles under her eyes, Amal looks like she hasn’t slept in days. And she hasn’t, she tells Al-Monitor, because of the constant explosions in her neighborhood. Two days before, Amal and her children fled…
Publication: Al-Monitor GAZIANTEP, Turkey — A young Syrian rebel fighter recounts the horrific experience of spending more than three months imprisoned by the radical Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). It had been 20 days since Mohammed’s arrival in Turkey, after having spent more than three…
Publicatie: Algemeen Dagblad KILIS- Terwijl de wereld zich met andere conflicten bezighoudt, gaat het drama in Syrië gewoon door. De vatbommen, olievaten vol explosieven en metaal, worden nog steeds vanuit helikopters op woonwijken gegooid. ‘Waarom doet niemand iets?’ In een park op een paar kilometer afstand…
Publication: Al-Monitor REYHANLI, Turkey- Children at a Syrian field hospital near the Turkish border accept the war as the new normal. Three weeks ago, 15-year-old Mohammed was a normal, healthy boy. Although he lived in a war-torn country, he played with his friends and bought…
Geschreven met Rena Netjes. Geplaatst in De Tijd CAIRO- Egypte heeft de Nederlandse correspondente Rena Netjes aangeklaagd voor terrorisme. Ze wordt gelinkt aan Al Jazeera, dat ervan verdacht wordt het regime te ondermijnen. Vlak voor ze het land ontvluchtte, schreef ze met een collega een…
Geschreven voor het Algemeen Dagblad ‘Egypte 3 jaar na revolutie een verscheurd land’ CAIRO- Precies 3 jaar na de revolutie is de chaos in Egypte nog onverminderd groot. Toch blijft generaal Sisi, de man die vorig jaar president Morsi afzette, onverminderd populair. In hem zien…
Publicatie: De Tijd De Syrische burgeroorlog maakte al minstens 110.000 doden en joeg 7 miljoen Syriërs op de vlucht. Ondertussen verdwenen tienduizenden anderen van de radar. Ze werden opgepakt en opgesloten in geheime gevangenissen. Wie vrijkomt, getuigt over gruwelijke martelpraktijken. De Syriër Jad Bantha (32) woonde…
‘Niemand stuurde mij naar het Midden-Oosten, dus ging ik zelf maar’ Ieder medium heeft wel een buitenlandredactie, tientallen freelancers en vaste correspondenten. Het is dan ook niet makkelijk om in Nederland je plekje tussen alle Midden-Oosten journalisten te vinden. Toch besloot ik het te proberen,…
Written for Al Jazeera Amnesty International says government forces are responsible for “a shocking catalogue of abuses” in secret jails. Syrian activist Jad Bantha came back to Damascus after a long period of living abroad. He wanted to participate in the revolution and started attending…
Written for Al Jazeera Sixth of October City, Egypt – Salem, the owner of a small market in this Cairo suburb, knows all the Syrian refugees living in a neighbourhood that has come to be known as “Little Damascus”. He wears a “Free Syria” bracelet…
Written for Al-Monitor CAIRO — As the interim government continues its crackdown on protesters and leading activists are being detained, other protesters are being held in jail for months while prosecutors continuously renew their detention for 15 days. It has already been nearly 2½ months since Omar Assaf,…
CAIRO — In Mohamed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on Tuesday, Nov. 19, hundreds of young Egyptians shouted, “Down with those who betrayed us — the military, Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood!”
Published: Al Monitor Almost every hospital in Jordan has a ward where Syrians can receive free health care after being severely wounded in Syria. AMMAN – At Al-Jazeera Hospital in Amman, Fatima, 10, cried when she talked about what happened to her right eye, which…
Written for Al Monitor AMMAN- At Al-Jazeera Hospital in Amman, Fatima, 10, cried when she talked about what happened to her right eye, which is covered in bandages. Tears mixed with blood ran down her cheeks and onto her pillow.
Za’atari, Jordan – Fatima sits in a beauty salon getting her hair and make-up done by young female refugees. Their pink, white and blue dresses with lots of little fake diamonds are shining in the afternoon sun.