[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Perspectives
Rape and Sham Marriages: The Fears of Syria’s Women Refugees A France 24 report on the convenience marriages bringing together young women from Zaatri refugee camp and men from neighboring countries, a source of revenue for the families of the brides and others facilitating the temporary unions.
Lebanon Foreign Minister Creates Stir Over Syria Elie Hajj on Adnan Mansour’s call for the reinstatement of Syria under Assad in the Arab League meetings.
Freedom is Economics too Annalena Di Giovanni introduces a bouquet of pieces addressing the economic dimension of the conflict and of the post-war reconstruction.
The Syrian Irony for Turkey Foti Benlisoy and Annalena Di Giovanni say “behind Davutoglu's assertive regional strategy, there is a wealth of Turkish capitalists who are increasingly investing abroad and looking for new opportunities to expand Turkish capital.”
Share the Pie Maurice al-Haddad on the class dimensions of the conflict and of the reconstruction period.
Syria’s Kurds, Deeply Divided, May Determine the War’s Outcome Wladimir Van Wilgenburg says “the future for the Syrian Kurds remain uncertain, but a deal between Turkey and the PKK – which this week emerged as a political possibility with a PKK ceasefire in southeast Turkey – could certainly improve relations.”
Lebanon’s ‘Fuel War’ Linked to Syrian Conflict Nasser Chararah says groups supporting the revolution are blocking the roads to prevent diesel from reaching Syria.
Syrian Financial Capital’s Loss is Turkey’s Gain Deborah Amos on the migration of Aleppo businessmen to the South of Turkey
European Foreign Fighters in Syria Aaron Y. Zelin provides figures “ based on more than 450 sources in the Western and Arab media as well as the martyrdom notices that have been posted in jihadist online forums.”
Hezbollah’s Role in Syria Ibrahim Al-Amin reiterates that “Hezbollah’s view, simply put, is that the war in Syria aims at shifting the country politically and strategically to a position of opposing its existence.”
FSA Statement to Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood Hassan Hassan translates a statement accusing the MB of delaying the revolution and fragmenting the opposition.
Analysis: World Plans for a Post-Assad Syria James Bays provides a list of stakeholders in Syria and their plans in the event of a sudden change in the conflict.
Syrian Narratives
Syria Has a Massive Rape Crisis Lauren Wolfe says “rape has been reportedly used widely as a tool of control, intimidation, and humiliation throughout the conflict.”
“What Good Are Free Elections When a Country is Destroyed” A Q&A with Syrian Kurdish writer Baderkhan Ali, who shares his views on how the revolution went wrong.
One Fighter’s Story Reveals the Challenges Syria Faces Hassan Hassan says “the real challenge in rebuilding Syria after the Assad era will be this: to find ways to respect the rebels' sacrifices, even though they are motivated by politics that many Syrians - including myself - find troubling.”
Syria: An Opposition Divided? Al-Jazeera’s Inside Syria Program with guests Najib Ghadbian, Robin Yassin-Kassab, and Amr al-Azm.
No, Islamists Will Not Dominate in Syria Rami Khouri argues that “the heart and soul of Syrian society for a century has been neither sectarian nor religious.”
Revolution or Civil War: The Battle of Narratives in Syria Nadim Shehadi says “it is too simplistic to just label what is happening in Syria a sectarian civil war; rather the opposition to the regime is often more intense within each sect or community, between those who hold power in each context and those who are revolting against it”
Solving the Syrian Riddle Jihad Yazigi says “the risk is that a post-conflict scenario will see international aid heading towards the main urban areas, replicating the regime's neglect of a larger rural reality - which was the first one to take to the streets.”
Syria Contextualized: The Numbers Game Musa al-Gharbi argues that we do not have a clear picture of facts on the ground, claims that might have been pertinent one year ago but that seem problematic today.
Syria’s Conflict: March was ‘Conflict’s Deadliest Month’ 6000 people allegedly died in Syria this past month.
Casualty Count Proves Inexact Science, Rights Group Finds Stephen Starr meets with the founder of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, whose estimates are considerably lower from the UN’s estimates.
Syrie Et Si On Arretait de Jouer Sur Les Peurs Ignace Leverrier says the extent of the disaster is way worse than any of those estimates.
Reasons to Remain Optimistic About Syria Leila Nachawati Rego on the solidarity movement that emerged as a result of the war.
The Profile: Yakzan Shishakly Amal Hanano writes a poignant entry on Yakzan Shishkaly, founder of the Maram Foundation.
A Subtle Shift May Mean Syrians Will Get The Tools to Resist Assad Robin Yassin-Kassab maintains his support in favor of the arming the opposition.
Mortar Kills 15 at Damascus University
Damascus University: A Snapshot
Inside Syria
Kurds in Syria: A Struggle Within a Struggle Tracey Shelton says the Kurds, who celebrated Newroz for the first time in 40 years, remained on the fence when it came to siding with either side, regime or rebels.
Could Syria’s Kurds Change the Course of the Civil War? A few days later, Matthieu Aikins reported the realignment of some Kurdish groups in Aleppo with the Syrian rebels
Syria Slams Hamas Head Mishaal After Re-Election The Syrian government narrative is that Meshaal gave up on resistance against Israel.
Yaser’s Diary: A Makeshift Mall in HassYaser Alsaghrji describes his experience providing humanitarian assistance in Idlib.
In Swaida Kidnappings and Extremists Finally Lure Druze Into Conflict
The Black Flag of Raqqa Rania Abouzeid witnesses an argument between two men after one of them expressed his support for replacing the three-star flag with the black flag with the Muslim shahada on it.
Damascus: Guardians of Zainab’s Shrine Jamal al-Ghorabi visits an important site for Shi’a pilgrims.
A Day in Damascus John Wreford, who remains in Damascus’ Old City, writes about the rapid deterioration of the situation in the Syrian capital.
The Shebabs of Yarmouk A film by Axel Salvatori-Sinz on the third generation of Palestinians in Syria’s biggest Palestinian camp.
Art and Social Media
Syria Video A Syria Comment project gathering videos published on the web.
The (Media) Crisis in Syria Maha Zaraket says “at every historical juncture, the birth of new media seems to coincide with a brutal war.”
Syrian Newspapers Emerge to Fill Out War Reporting
The Tinker of Damascus: A Very Short John le Carre Story Another satire by Karl Sharro
The Al Jazeera Controversy in Syria, and Why We Should Say No to Nihilism On the importance of asking questions about certain narratives on Syria
Syria’s Art of Resistance An exhibition and symposium organized in Copenhagen
Catholic Priest and Star of Syrian TV An interview with priest Paolo Dall’Oglio, now living in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Child Soldiers in Syria: Sick Mascots or the new Face of Global Jihad? Versha Sharma on the videos emerging on social media of children holding guns
Q&A: How Foreign Journalists Operate in Syria Alex Thompson on his experience covering the uprising inside Syria
Syria: A Collection of Images covering the violent side of the revolution.
Syria’s Ancient Oasis City of Palmyra Threatened in Fighting
Policy Reports
Syria at the Crossroads: U.S. Policy and Recommendations for the Way Forward A report prepared by the Baker Institute
Month-by-Month Summary of Developments in Syria (Updated) International Crisis Group’s monthly update.
Joint Rapid Assessment of Northern Syria – Aleppo Assessment
Arabic
Feras Al-Jundi provides his opinion on the stance of the Muslim Brotherhood during the Syrian revolution.
مشاهدات سورية: ثقوب في الضمير… بالعين المجردة!
Hayfaa Bitar recounts stories of Syrians and how they are coping with the daily horrors that they witness in the country.
سورية بين احتمالات التفاوض و التشظي
Talal Al-Mayhani writes about the efforts of the recently founded Democratic Civil Alliance, which includes "members of the opposition who believe in negotiations as a viable option that would lead to a solution in Syria," while discussing the possibility of a national dialogue.
الحكومة المؤقتة للمعارضة المسلحة… أم هيئة تنفيذية - إغاثية - للمناطق المحررة؟
Majed Hebbo criticizes the establishment of the Syrian interim government, which he deems as not representative of neither the demands of the Syrian people on the ground nor all the factions of the opposition.
بين الاستبداد و تدمير الدولة: حي على العمل
Mohammad Dibo analyzes the repercussions of Al-Assad's regime tyrannical strategies that left the people with only two options for a solution: either a bloody battle that would lead to destruction, or the continuation of tyranny.
Rateb Shaabo on the repercussions of the regime's successful crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in the 80s in Syria on the status of opposition in the country.
بين العزلة عن دمشق و قبضة النظام: أين تقف درعا اليوم؟
Tarek Al-Abed writes about the current situation in Daraa, which has disappeared from the coverage of media outlets.
إني أتهم: السكوت عن اضطهاد العلويين في لبنان
Asaad Abu Khalil writes about the discriminations against Alawites in Lebanon.
Michel Kilo provides his opinion on the role of Riyadh Al As'ad in the Syrian struggle, while describing him as a "proud national fighting for freedom."
Majed Hebbo of the Syrian National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria comments on the Arab Summit in Doha and warns against the partition of Syria.
مقابلة معاذ الخطيب في برنامج الشارع العربي
Interview with Muath Al-Khatib on Dubai TV.