Latest posts by Yazan Badran
Syria: Gaza On Our Minds
Syrian bloggers are in a frenzy since the bombing in Gaza started almost two weeks ago. To many Syrians this comes from a deep long rooted identification with the cause of the Palestinian people. But for some, there's also a very personal side to it. Yazan Badran reports.
Syria: Silent Demonstration for Gaza
Syrian blogger Dania reports on the silent demonstration organized by Syrian bloggers in-front of the European Commission in Damascus to protest the continuing Israeli onslaught on Gaza. She also publishes the petition sent to Brussels by the demonstators.
Syria: Present Day Nazis
“I mean the present-day Nazis that are shelling an entire population in Gaza. Who knew that the heirs to the ethnic genocidal policies of the Holocaust would be the Jews themselves? And have they perfected those policies!” Says Syrian blogger Lujayn, about the latest bombing of Gaza.
Syria: Outrage at the “Massacre in Gaza”
The Arab world is somber today. The feeling of shock and disgust at the events of yesterday can be felt at every blog. As the Israeli Defense Forces bombed and wrecked havoc in besieged Gaza the Syrian blogosphere had a sense of disbelief at what is happening and the international reaction to it, as Yazan Badran explains.
Syria: A Blogosphere Divided
The Syrian blogsphere has been embroiled in a heated debate over the weekend. It is a debate that is quite reflective of some of our modern disagreements as Syrians, over a wide range of basic issues: identity, religion, state and personal freedom. Yazan Badran gathers the different threads of this controversy here.
Syria: Love is in Stuttgart
Forget politics, Obama or the economic crisis. The new buzz in the Syrian blogosphere is about love. Mariyah, a Syrian blogger from Damascus, has been playing with the hearts of her readers with the most delicate series of posts about the story of Ghassan and Alexandra. It all starts on...
Western Sahara: A new Sahrawi satellite TV station
This will be our first attempt to cover the Sahrawi blogsphere. I, alongside Jillian York and Renata Avila will try to shed light on what the Sahrawi bloggers are saying each week, in Arabic, English and Spanish. The topic of Western Sahara is one of a very complex background, and emotions tend to run high whenever it is under discussion. We will try to cover the Sahrawi side with as much objectivity as it is humanly possible.
Syria: Crisis in Neighboring Lebanon
As the Lebanese leaders go to Doha, Qatar, to resume their "National Dialogue", here is a roundup of what Syrian bloggers had to say on the latest crisis in Lebanon. The Syrian bloggers were as divided as their counterparts in Lebanon about who is to blame for this latest crisis, and what must be done to avoid such events in the future.
Syria: Explosive Nuclear News
Yesterday, the CIA released footage of an alleged Syrian North-Korean-built nuclear reactor. The footage "exploded" all over the news. Yazan Badran brings us the reactions of Syria's bloggers.
Syria: Safita and Chastel Blanc Photo Tour
Abd from Syria Winks takes us on a photo tour in the ancient city of Safita, and its crusader tower, Chastel Blanc.
Syria: Chocolate Thief
Wouldn't you hate it if someone waited for you to go pray, to steal your… chocolates?! Kinan from Jar of Juice, shares his “bitter” experience with a co-worker.
Damascus: The Destruction of The Old City
Damascus prides itself on being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The history of Damascus goes back well into the 8000BC. In every corner of its ancient alleys there's a taste of every historical era there was to be found. The city that had withstood everything from earthquakes to invasions for nearly 10 millennia, is now crumbling under the threat of... "Modernism", writes Yazan Badran, who brings us the reactions of a Syrian blogger.
Syria: 60 years after Deir Yasin
“As Israel prepares to celebrate its sixtieth anniversary, and as Palestinians reach sixty years of dispossession, we must honor the memory of those who perished in the savage butchery that was the Deir Yasin massacre of April 9, 1948,” writes Rime Allaf, who commemorates the 60th anniversary of the massacre.
Syria: Carter meeting Mashaal
Joshua Landis brings us media reports about a planned meeting between former US president Jimmy Carter and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, in Damascus, during Carter's Middle East tour later this month.
Syria: The Colored Tile Complex
“So I used to step on the colored tiles… and count. Yes! I would count how many of each colored tile did I step on using each leg. The main issue here is that I have to, eventually, step on an equal amount of the colored tiles using both my...
Syria: The Arab Summit
So, another Arab summit comes and goes. This time it was the all awaited Damascus summit. As you can see, this roundup is almost a week late, simply because I couldn't find anyone who's actually writing about the summit - which tells you exactly how little people have come to expect from these annual gatherings.
Syria: The Changing Face of Syria
Syria, is a country that is still "officially" considered a Socialist country. The socialist policies in Syria date all the way back to 1958, when Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic, under the leadership of Gamal Abd el-Nasser. It was a very short lived republic that ended in 1961 but marked the turn of Syrian politics and economy into the socialist thinking. That continued after the Baath party took power in the March 8th coup d'etat. But all that is changing now.
Syria: Imad Mughniyeh Assassinated
The latest headlines from Damascus talk of a car bomb explosion in the uptown neighborhood of Kafar Suseh. The explosion - as was discovered later today - was a successful assassination attempt at one of Hizbulla's top leaders Imad Mughniyeh. Yazan Badran sums up the reactions of bloggers.
Syria: Free Tariq Campaign
Syrian blogs are abuzz at the moment with another crack down on freedom of speech by the Syrian regime. Except, this time it's one of our own. Tariq's case took around six months to catch the attention of bloggers - six months he's still languishing in jail, writes Yazan Badran.
Syria: Bloggers React to Gaza Blockade
As Israel continues its blockade on the strip, humanitarian conditions dip lower and lower. And while the Middle East shivers under the exceptional weather conditions, Gazans find themselves without fuel for heat or electricity. Yazan Badran records the reactions of Syria's bloggers on the unfolding tragedy.
Syria: Bloggers’ New Year
As another year passes, we all raise our toasts for a better year. Following is what the Syrian bloggers had to say about 2007, and the young 2008.
Yazan Badran's space
Syria Planet is the online portal of all Syrian bloggers. It's the place where you can trace Syrian thoughts across the globe.
