A SONG FOR SYRIA
Abbas, Hani
A Syrian-Palestinian cartoonist, born in 1977. Threatened by the Syrian secret service in 2012 for one of his cartoons, he sleeked asylum and now lives in Switzerland where he continues to denounce the war atrocities through his work.
Abu Hajar, Mohammad
A Syrian born political rapper based in Berlin. Abu continues creating music championing the Syrian cause defying the backlash he faced from the regime that forced him to flee the country in 2012.
Abboud, Hamed
Born in Deir Ez-Zor, Syria, in 1987, Hamed fled his country at the end of 2012 and has since then travelled across parts of Middle East, Turkey and Austria, publishing poetry collections and books that have been translated to foreign languages.
Albatal, Saeed
Saeed Al Batal was born in Tartous, Syria, in 1988, and is a citizen journalist, photographer, and filmmaker. He is a founder of Humans of Syria and worked as a reporter for several radio stations among other things.
Aljabr, Tareq
Tareq Aljabr is a Syrian poet and translator. He was born and raised in Damascus. He studied Translation (English-Arabic) at the University of Damascus. He translated books from English and Italian into Arabic. He worked in the humanitarian field with UNHCR and several NGOs in Lebanon, Greece and Italy. He was one of the creators and protagonists of the doc-film "On the Bride's Side" (2014) successfully presented at the 71st Venice Film Festival.
Ahmad, Ehmad Al
Ehmad Al Ahmad is a Syrian poet, translator, political analyst, and researcher. He is the winner of the short story prize from the Arab Writers Union (Syria, 2009), and The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Fellowship Program at Akademie Schloss Solitude (Germany, 2016).
Asmar, Aziz
Almusa, Mustafa Taj Aldeen
Mustafa is a Syrian author and Media College graduate from Damascus University. His literary works include several published short stories collections and two plays.
A graffiti artist based in Binnish, Syria Asmar has turned the town into a maze of ghostly, bombarded buildings brought to life by colourful graffiti in an attempt to liven up the ruins or deliver a strong message.
Aoun, Sanaa
Born in 1977 in Syria, Sanaa is an author, journalist and teacher and has worked as a special education teacher in the Syrian elementary school. Aoun has published short stories and continues to be a regular contributor to Arabic online newspapers.
Al-Shami, Abu Malek
Born in 1994 in Damascus, Malek used his spare time to hone his skills as a graffiti artist while being an active member of Free Syrian Army, earning the name of ‘Banksy of Syria’ for his explosive work across the city of Darayya.
Bayrakdar, Faraj
Born in 1951 at a village near Homs, Faraj Bayrakdar has authored eight books of poetry and two books of prose, one of which is about his experiences in Syrian prisons.
Hunnaidy, Tammam
Hunnaidy is a Syrian Media graduate and has three poetry books to his name. Some of his poems have been translated into several languages.
Kesh Malek Syria
“Kesh Malek: Checkmate” is a group of youth that shared a common belief in the revolution of justice, freedom, and dignity and came together with the beginning of the Syrian revolution in March 2011. The group has engaged protests organizing and advocacy campaigns of political significance.
Mohammad, Hussam Eddin
A Syrian poet and a veteran Syrian journalist, writing for al-Quds al-Arabi, among other publications. He is the President of the Syrian Media Institute and Vice President of the Syrian Writers Association.
Wakkas, Yousef
Shabo, Rateb
Rateb Shabo is a Syrian author, translator, and physician. Shabo has published opinion pieces in the areas of politics and political Islam in a number of newspapers and his works have been translated to a number of languages. He has spent around sixteen years (1983-1999) in imprisonment due to his work as an activist in the Communist Labour Party.
Wakkas is a Syrian author noted for his documentation of the surreal journey that he witnessed between prisoners and migrants during the Italian exodus. Yousef’s efforts were recognized with a medal by the President of the Italian Republic in 1998.
Omran, Rasha
Born in 1964 at Malaja, in Tartus district of Syria, Rasha Omran now lives in exile in Cairo, Egypt. After graduating from Damascus University Arabic literature, she directed Syria’s International Al-Sindiyan Festival of Culture for eighteen years. She has published six collections of poetry and is the editor of an anthology of contemporary Syrian poets.
Almadhoun, Ghayath
A Syrian poet born in Damascus (1979) and based out of Berlin, Almadhoun writes in Arabic and has published 4 poetry books, the latest Adrenalin (2017). His work translated into 15 languages and his poetry a part of the work of renowned artists such as, Jenny Holzer and Blixa Bargeld. In 2019 Almadhoun was granted the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program award scholarship.