''We Are Syrians'' is an autobiographical memoir by Sana Mustafa, Naila Al Atrash, and Radwan Ziadeh''.'' It was published in 2017 by

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

Press and was edited by

Adam Braver Adam Braver (born 1963, in Berkeley, California) is an American author of historical fiction. His first book was ''Mr. Lincoln's Wars'' (Harper Perennial, 2003), a novel told from thirteen different perspectives in order to illuminate Abraham Lin ...

and Abby Deveuve. Both editors worked at the ''Scholars at Risk Network''. The book is the fourth in a series of publications by

Press called "Broken Silence".

Plot

The book documents the lives of three generations of Syrian dissidents. It starts with theatre director Naila Al Atrash, who after studying in Bulgaria returned to Syria to organize political theatre. Al Atrash is the granddaughter of

Sultan Pasha al-Atrash Sultan al-Atrash, (March 5, 1891 – March 26, 1982) ( ar, سلطان الأطرش), commonly known as Sultan Pasha al-Atrash ( ar, سلطان باشا الأطرش, links=no) was a prominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander Ge ...

a famous military hero of the first Syrian Revolution. The second part of the book is about Radwan Ziadeh who grew up in Syria as it was being controlled by President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

. Originally a dentist, Ziadeh became an intellectual who took part in the 2000 Damascus Spring. The third part follows the story of Sana Mustafa. Mustafa, a university student in Damascus, takes part in peaceful protests against the government of

. While on an educational exchange program in USA she is notified by text message that her father is detained and that her family are fleeing to Turkey. She applies for and received political asylum in USA and completes her education at

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

Writing style

''We are Syrians'' is presented as first-person narratives which was put together from a series of interviews.

Reception

''We are Syrians'' was described as "compelling" by Maryam Rafiee writing in

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

and by academic reviewer Edward Fitzpatrick. Rebecca Foster, writing for Foreword Reviews complimented the editors for letting the three subjects tell their own stories and noted that the book is likely provoke increased empathy from western readers towards people affected by the Syria Civil War.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteScholars at Risk Network
Books about Syria 2017 non-fiction books Syrian literature Books about war Books published by university presses of the United States