Trainee flight attendant Ghenwa, engineering student Ali and electronic music DJ Jawad are among a generation of young Syrians to have come of age during the war.
They live in the capital Damascus, which was spared the intense bombing raids that destroyed opposition bastions such as Aleppo but life for the 20-somethings is far from normal.
A decade of conflict, Western sanctions, a financial collapse in next-door Lebanon, and now, the global pandemic, have battered Syria's economy and a currency crash has sparked shortages of essential goods like wheat and fuel in government territory.
We are hungry for happiness
Economic hardships aside, their access to the rest of the world has also been severely curtailed, leaving them little chance of leaving the country for work or leisure.
The freedom to travel was the main reason Ghenwa decided to train as an air hostess, having dropped out of university where she was studying architecture.
"I'm Syrian and I can't travel at the moment except through this opportunity," said Ghenwa, who like the others who spoke to Reuters for this story used only her first name for security reasons.
"It's the only opportunity that makes me feel I can move faster ... to feel the freedom of borders."
Away from her hometown, Sweida in southern Syria, Ghenwa has had to work multiple jobs to support herself, doing everything from working with children with cancer to modelling.
She finds a sense of release with her friends who share a passion for electronic music.
I didn't like the way other countries were treating Syrians
"We are hungry for happiness," said 24-year-old Jawad, an electronic music DJ who returned in 2019 to a Syria he barely recognised, after spending the war years in Dubai for safety.
Jawad, who studied business administration, says music is his escape from the harsh realities of the country he came back to.
"It was a big shock, everything without lights ... no electricity but despite all the exhaustion and sadness on people's faces we have hope that everything will be fixed," he said.
Like Ghenwa, his dream is also to travel and see the world but as a young Syrian man, any hope of getting a visa to Europe is dashed.
Unable to go on holiday to Spain, he watches documentaries about the country instead with his friends online, an escape from the less uplifting regular television news programmes.
"It's ironic," he said.
It was a bad experience to live in a warzone for what is supposed to be the best ten years of your life
Yara, 33, a lawyer by day and a music DJ by night, lives alone with her parents after three of her siblings left to live abroad.
She used to have a busy life between her work, yoga, cooking and her passion for music but now she says she can only manage one task a day.
"Putting fuel in my car for example after hours of waiting in line," she said.
Yara preferred to stay in Syria throughout the conflict despite the dangers involved.
"I didn't like the way other countries were treating Syrians, so I didn't want to lose the respect I have here, to get some pity from people who know nothing about us, even if that meant living my life in danger."
Yara was near the Damascus courthouse when a suicide bombing took place in 2017.
"It was a horrible experience... to see your colleagues' dead bodies around you and at the same time needing to help the injured and rush them to hospital."
Like Yara, 25-year-old university student Ali says he could talk for days about the things that affected him during the war.
"There wasn't a day that passed by without taking something from us," he said.
"It was a bad experience to live in a warzone for what is supposed to be the best ten years of your life."
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Jetour T1 specs
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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![Ghenwa, 21, dances on her birthday, at a party in Damascus. "I'm Syrian and I can't travel at the moment except through this opportunity [training and working as an air hostess]," says Ghenwa. Reuters](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/32KW4HNWFK5UK6ENEGHAX5W3OU.jpg?smart=true&auth=97bd27790906805ceb8d5287cf2638257fd9d5767541310c45e598f448070b9c&width=800&height=450)
![Roleen, 25, a model, heads to a party in Damascus. "I'm so happy that it [the music scene] is growing and growing.. that people are finally getting the idea of living their lives and enjoying it," she says. Reuters](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/UXB3W5RPZ4URTVA7TCMI2RMHOE.jpg?smart=true&auth=66e7d7d505947d59844f48c23cd88479dc527593617c9e650dd1ef43aa192881&width=800&height=450)
