IamA (n) 18 year old Syrian who fled Syria and is now living in Lebanon, and my mother owns an NGO that helps Syrian refugees here in Lebanon AMA!

One of the main reasons I made this AMA is because in the previous one the dude said a lot things that were blatantly wrong. There aren't only two majors in Syria's educational system, Aleppo isn't the most dangerous city to be in, Syria isn't democratic, Bashar was never chosen to be president (the unopposed "elections" are proof of that) etc.

Are you gay?

Yes I am. And being openly gay in Syria (and anywhere else in the Middle East) was a whole issue of its own but I'm not sure if you're interested in that.

It's safe to be gay in Israel...

*anywhere else in the Middle East except Israel

Death to all tyrants! Stay safe, bro.

As if Isis is better?

Bashar isn't perfect, but he kept the peace and protected gays and Christians and the like.

Any of the FSA-ISIS coalition will be a step down from him.

He might have protected gays and Christians, but he killed over 150000 other people. Fuck him.

The problem is that another 150000 people will probably die when he will be gone. As bad as it sounds it looks like most of Middle East countries need someone who can keep them stable, no matter how harsh. I don't like Asad but neither I preffer islamist front and other raicals. it's not black and white here deffinitely. That's my oppinion of course and I live nowhere near Syria :)

I'm not sure where the false dilemma of "It's either Assad or Islamists and radicals" comes from.

If not them then who? Im sure that you know much more about what is going there then me. I have just seen how simmilar (at least from my point of view) situation ended in Egypt or Iraq.

I've said this before somewhere, but there is no way of telling who will fill the power vacuum once Bashar falls. The situation is nowhere near being over from the looks of things, and this may drag on for years. A lot of things could change, and there's so many variables many of us don't understand or haven't been brought forward yet. So yeah, no one knows right now what the fate of Syria will bring.

You mentioned your first language is English. How was it that you grew up in Syria but acquired English as a first language, and do you find any strong/notable linguistic differences between the Syrian and Lebanese varieties of Arabic? (This is coming from a Lebanese whose first language is also English and who happens to be a language geek/snob.)

I grew up going to international schools, and we didn't speak Arabic at home. My mom is Turkish and dad speaks to us in Aramaic, so I never really used Arabic. My reading and writing still isn't that good, but I can speak.

The main differences between Lebanese and Arabic are a few words that we use differently, but mostly the pronunciation. Like Lebanese pronounce the أ a lot differently than Syrians and the أ is used a lot so it's noticeable.

How did your parents tell you that you would have to leave the country?

It was more or less sudden. My school received word from the American embassy and they told us the school would be shut down in 2 weeks. My parents automatically knew we'd have to leave and so I applied to the nearest ACS (American Community School) which was here in Beirut, and we had to pack everything and leave after 3 weeks. We were all kind of expecting it, so it wasn't much of a shock but it was devastating.

why do lebanese hate syrians ?

That goes back to Syrians having occupied Lebanon for so many years until they finally kicked the Syrian government out (check Cedar Revolution)

Thank you for doing this! I was wondering about the previous AMA from the kid in Aleppo; it conflicted with so much that I've been hearing about from Syrian friends in Turkey.

Given that, I live in the United States and the actual news we get about Syria (not the sensational items) is hard. I think Frontline probably did the best job of getting across parts of the reality.

Do you have any reliable sources of information that those of us not living nearby can turn to?

With all honesty there really aren't any completely reliable news sources. My dad gets most of his news from his friends and people he knows living in the different cities of Syria and then news spreads fast through Facebook, Twitter etc.

BBC does a fairly decent job at the big news stories, but is also just as biased as the rest of the news sources. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. The news is always being presented from either side, the opposition and the Assad forces and they both exaggerate a ton.

If you really want to get an idea of the reality of the situation, I'd say Youtube and WikiLeaks videos do a pretty good job at showing the monstrosities of the Assad regime (and even some of the FSA unfortuantely). /r/syria isn't that active but I guess you could get some news there. Again, I'm sorry, but I really don't have a great answer to this. Most of our news even in Arabic (which is usually the most detailed) is extremely biased and manipulative.

[deleted]

No thank you for your questions!

• With all honesty, I haven't been surrounded with or seen too much racism happen to me. The only time I realized how messed up it really is is when I had a job working as a choreographer. I was talking to the guy in English (which I consider my first language) and then I answered a question in Arabic and he noticed I was Syrian. He then said "Oh, if I knew you were Syrian I would never have hired you." I shrugged it off but it really stung and put a lot of things into a whole new perspective for me on how rough other people who are less fortunate may have it.

• My grandparents and cousins all live in Syria. My dad goes back and forth between the two countries. When their electricty/internet isn't cut off we keep in touch through Skype, Viber etc.

• I'm in LAU right now, a freshman, but plan on going into Business. The tuition cost is turning into a bitch considering our financial problems right now.

• A lot of my friends also moved to Lebanon so I guess it wasn't that hard. I went to boarding school here in ninth grade so I guess it wasn't an entirely new experience. With all honesty I knew I would come to Lebanon eventually for university, so I guess studies-wise it wasn't much of an issue.

• Based on where I live and the people I hang out with, I didn't notice the cultural differences at first. But the more people I met, the student council elections, and even on Twitter now, I've realized people here take religion and politics way too seriously. None of my friends were like that so it was extremely shocking how integrated religion and politics are in daily life. Apart from that, Syria and Lebanon really are "one population divided among two countries"

[deleted]

The thing is, I have a 3.8 GPA, and I know my financial situation is kind of rocky right now, but there are other people who have it much worse, and I wouldn't sleep with a good conscience knowing I'd be taking someone else's ability to use the scholarship who is much more deserving of it.

I am Lebanese and i would like to apologize for how some of your people are being mistreated here in Lebanon, i remember in the July war here in Lebanon, the Syrian people took us with open arms, i am sad to not see the same happening in these rough days for Syria, i have no questions, just wanted to state this.

Thank you for that :) but honestly I can't hate the Lebanese for it, and some Lebanese have been incredible people to us. But again, thank you for your kind words. You know that saying "Syria and Lebanon are one population divided among two countries."

If there is one thing you could tell people to help them understand the situation, what would it be?

Every week you may see five or six short 3-minute videos of some horror happening in Syria. Now think of the statistics of that. That video may have a mother crying over her dead 4 year old son. Take that, multiply it by two hundred. Two hundred instances of that happening in 7 days. The people dying are being seen as statistics and not as people. Each person has a mother, a father, friends, family, siblings. And that's what people don't get. The figures and statistics/numbers would make you burst into tears if you actually thought of each number that way. It's fucking heartbreaking.

Thank you for doing this AMA.

I have a few questions, and I'll try to word them as best I can.

-In the event that the Assad regime falls from power, what do you see occupying the power vacuum? Other power struggles in the middle east have shown that even a more "democratic" turnover in power can turn violent. Given the religious divisions within Syria, could there perhaps be a mass purge of the Alawites, for instance, if the regime falls?

-Lebanon itself has experienced decades of civil war and is often the victim of incursion from both Syria and Israel. What is your perspective on the Syria regime attacking refugees in the Bekaa valley and along the border?

-Prior to war, unemployment was a big issue in Syria and perhaps helped fueled the eventual rise of the civil war. This is true in other Arab countries as well when relating to their popular uprisings. Does your mother's NGO have any strategy for helping refugees find jobs? If so, are those local to the Middle East, or does it look further abroad to developing nations or the Americas?

Thank you for taking the time.

• there is absolutely no way to tell right now who fills the power vacuum, but it will not be the Muslim brotherhood. But honestly nothing is apparent. Religion in Syria is more cultural than actually having to do with religion itself. Religion defines social status more than anything. Some of the more radical groups have talked about expelling the Alawites but that isn't really necessary. Mostly it's about prosecuting (or expelling) the Alawites in power or who have done a lot of wrong.

• My mothers NGO is in the Bekaa valley so she's seen the attacks firsthand. And it is really messed up, but there's nothing that can be done because of Nasrallah's alliance with Bashar. (In case you don't know who nasrallah is, the brief summary is he's an extreme fanatical political and religious leader in Lebanon)

• The NGO is for educating the children, but my mom tries to so her best to employ as many Syrians as possible. The teachers get a salary, and the schools are basically wooden kind of "huts"/tents that are built. My mom employs other Syrian refugees to build these huts in order to benefit as many as possible. So far there hasn't been too much international interaction but there have been a lot of donations coming from other Arab countries for clothing, books and salaries.

Thank you for your great questions!

What about the Kurds? Do you see them benefitting from the situation like they've done in Iraq? How would you, or other fractions of the Syrian people react to independence/autonomy from their part?

The difference between Iraq and Syria with the Kurds is that in Iraq they actually had something called "Kurdistan" which was theirs. In Syria they're more dispersed. There are some areas that are predominantly Kurdish but they're small in number, primarily in the north eastern sections of Syria. I hope they finally get the autonomy they've been fighting for. I don't really know how it would or if it would affect Syria, but of all the Kurds I've ever met I've never identified them as Kurds. They're just people I know that are originally Kurds. They've integrated and assimilated.

Did they identify as Kurds?

They would say "I'm originally Kurdish" or "Yeah, my family name/family is Kurdish" but they consider themselves Syrian. At least the ones I know (like the Zaza or Hito family)

Is every ethnicity in the Middle East organized into clans or families?

I wouldn't know as far as the "Middle East" but in Syria at least almost everyone knows their origin. Mostly because we've been ruled by so many different empires and countries that we're ethnically very diverse. My generation doesn't really care anymore about our roots though, but our parents' generation at the very least know what they are originally.

That's bittersweet I guess, for me, but whatever you people want. Thanks.

I don't get what you mean?

Because I like it when people preserved the knowledge of their forefathers, so I find it kinda sad that you're gonna lose it. But if the people of Syria don't want to know anymore then it's their decision.

My dad takes this subject really seriously, which is why he taught us Aramaic and their mythology and stories. It is really sad honestly, because I find it pretty interesting.

With at least three warring fractions and all the propaganda left and right, is there a way of knowing where the loyalty of the actual population lies? Can you give us some stories from people you have met, about their reasoning for supporting a certain fraction?

I'm aware it may seem like there are three warring factions, but honestly there really are only 2 major ones right now (and probably multiple smaller groups in between): The Assad supporters, and the non-Assad supporters.

My family is a non-Assad supporter and has been for decades. It was extremely hard for my dad to get to where he is today and to acquire his wealth because his main rival and competitor in Syria was Nizar Al-Assaad (not Assad, still related to Assad though). Most of the economy was dominated by Assad and his relatives or close friends, almost everything was monopolized.

My dad grew up in Deir Al Zour, which is another city in Syria which is much poorer than Damascus and Aleppo and that's mostly why he's very against the Assad regime. He's seen its evils in these corners and just because we're part of the 1% doesn't mean it's okay for the rest of the 99% to suffer. There is no middle class in Syria. You're either extremely rich, or barely making end's meet. I'm going to estimate a statistic now because I'm not sure of the exact number, but it's something like 60-70% of the country's wealth is with 1% of the population. That's why the majority of the population really is anti-Assad despite what many surveys and polls show. Many are just too afraid to speak out.

This will all make more sense if I give you the Assad supporters' perspectives. They can mostly be divided into two categories: The ones related to him in some way, and other minority groups.

My best friend since childhood's grandfather was one of Hafez Al-Assad's military generals. Although they are not politically affiliated now, they support Assad not because they think he's a good president, but because they owe him almost everything. Where they are right now is all because of him even to this day. Their social status not just their wealth.

The other part of Assad supporters is composed mostly of minorities (other Alawites, Christians etc.) The Alawites support Bashar because they get very special treatment for being Alawites, most of the ones I've met were cunts to everyone because they knew they had some form of protection from the government for the sole purpose that they are Alawites. They also find it a lot easier to get jobs, and end up in higher social statuses.

The Christians mainly support Bashar because of the propaganda fear that if Bashar falls, the Muslim Brotherhood will control Syria (which I'm assuming is the third fraction you were talking about?) With all honesty I know that there is genuinely no way that would ever occur. And that the Christians only support Bashar because of the irrational fear of this that has been planted in their heads for years. The Muslim Brotherhood is no threat in Syria, especially not since the 1982 Hama Massacre. But this fear will continuously drive them to support Assad. Most of my friends who happen to be Christian have debated me with "I don't know why you would support the rebellion, do you want us to end up being a Muslim country like Saudi Arabia? Where you could get killed for being gay?" and so on.

With all due respect, Syria used to have a large middle class, but the neo-liberal policies that helped the wealthy helped to destroy it.

And no, Christians don't have irrational fears because of what has been "planted in them." They have legitimate fears because what is happening to them, which is their expulsion and eratication. I come from an Assyrian family who isn't sided with Assad and already have had cousins killed, and kidnapped by the rebels. Most of them have fled their homeland or are trying to leave. On fact, Christians in Raqqa now have to live under Sharia and are not allowed to practice openly and are extorted from.

It wasn't the rich peoples' fault that the middle class disappeared and there was such a huge gap. It's the regimes fault. There was huge inflation, corruption, the Syrian currency losing its value, the agriculture firm (which they uses to be considered middle class) collapsed, and the regime appointed most high paying jobs to people close to it, in it, or related to it.

I'm not sure why you think that. At the current moment there is no threat from radical Islamists or the Muslim brotherhood despite what you may think. I don't mean to sound condescending, but I really don't know who has tricked you into believing that. Any extremist Muslims who have made or tried to make threats haven't been a big issue. Their threat is so minimal it's almost insignificant.

I'm also from an Assyrian family. The Ma'amra tribe. What is your tribe?

Of course it was the regime who led the privatization campaign, but I didn't see any of the wealthy Syrians show any push back against it. And they didn't lend out any support to the Communist and leftist parties in the 80's when they were working to overthrow the foul regime.

I'm not sure why you think that. At the current moment there is no threat from radical Islamists or the Muslim brotherhood despite what you may think. I don't mean to sound condescending, but I really don't know who has tricked you into believing that. Any extremist Muslims who have made or tried to make threats haven't been a big issue. Their threat is so minimal it's almost insignificant.

So I guess over 500,000 Christians have fled because they have been tricked into thinking that they are in danger. It's not like they have been extorted.. Or had churches desocrated.Or bishops have been kidnapped. Or preists having been killed. Or have had many other despicable crimes done to them. Have you ever even heard of Al Nusra, or ISIS, or the Islamic Front who make up a good church of the rebels and have made it clear they want to establish an Islamic state where Christians are either expelled and killed or live under them as exploited third class citizens.

I'm also from an Assyrian family. The Ma'amra tribe. What is your tribe?

I'm a secular atheist and I think all tribes and sects are among the stupidist things ever, but my family comes from the Tyare tribe. Chet soutet Sureth?

Man, it's fucked everywhere. Christians aren't being targeted for the sole purpose of being Christians. Everyone's going through shit.

Tribes are stupid yeah, but it's more of just something to say, not anything taken seriously. I think I know what you just asked, but I don't speak that dialect. Our tribe seems to have kept living the most obsolete and useless dialect, the Aramaic one.

One thing that both syrian and western media kind of agree on is the story of fundamentalists strongly undercutting the resistance. What makes you so confident that this revolution will not be hijacked by islamists? What is the big difference from Egypt? The massacre you mentioned in one of the other posts was a long time ago and people like to forget.

The Muslim Brotherhood was organized in Egypt at the time of the Egyptian revolution. I'm not sure of the exact number but at that time they already had over 500,000 supporters. In the 2012 elections they had a candidate (Morsi) that ended up winning the election. The Muslim Brotherhood has always had a huge dominant role in Egyptian politics since its inception. In Syria however, they were thwarted completely in 1982. Whatever remnants of them in Syria are not organized, collected or powerful at all. That's the difference between them in Syria and Egypt.

Did your family lose a large part of your wealth in the process? What jobs did they have before? What jobs do they have now?

My dad owns a set of contracting, constructional, engineering, and oil and gas extraction companies. My mom was a pharmacist. Since all of my dad's companies are in Syria, we haven't really had any work/job opportunities in the past two years. We're living off of our old wealth which is slowly dwindling. The biggest loss we had to our wealth was when many of our assets and bank accounts were frozen (due to an international law being passed if I remember correctly?) to all Syrians.

Now most of the money we use is outstanding payment and debt that a lot of other companies owe us but most are unable to pay back because they are also struggling financially.

It's good to hear that you're working to help other refugees. Hopefully there will be a day when we don't need that word

Thank you! :)

What can people in nearby countries donate to make refugees' lives just a little better?

Simply, money and clothes. Every winter that passes the refugees go through hell and worse. And money for proper housing, education, food etc. But food isn't the main issue, there has been a lot of aid and help with food. It's mostly housing/living conditions that need to be improved and that's why donations are always appreciated no matter how they come. Even simple tarps can help a ton.

Lol I loved your introduction to this.

Haha thank you! The downvote brigade doesn't seem to love this AMA as much though.

What do you think of the Kurds in Syria? (sorry?)

I don't know why you're apologizing, it's an okay question. I don't think of them as Kurds honestly. I have a lot of friends that are of Kurdish origin but they don't identify as Kurds anymore. I'm not sure if that answers your question.

May i ask why they don't identify as Kurds anymore?

I don't think it's for any specific reason. For centuries the Syrian people have been conquered and ruled by different regimes and civilizations, so everyone has an "origin" and not everyone identifies with it, they just identify as Syrian.

Hey man what's your opinion on healthcare professionals helping in Syria? It's something that I want to do in the future as a nurse. I'm fairly dark skinned, so I won't stick out as much as the stereotypical American. Is foreign medical help needed and wanted? Is it too dangerous?

Honestly, it's terrible here. My grandfather and uncle both died in Syrian hospitals after having simple surgeries. Even when I was living in Syria we would always go to AUH (the american university hospital in beirut) or to Jordan for medical treatment. Foreign medical help is always appreciated. The educational system in Syria is absolute crap, it's horrendously bad. The doctors that come out of the Syrian universities are just licensed murderers.

Right now I won't lie, it's obviously fairly dangerous for you to be here. But in the future, we need educated and professional people to be here helping people out. There's a huge educational gap especially in modern medicine.

What religion are you? What languages do you speak? What profession would you like to take?

I'm an atheist. But culturally I'm a "Muslim." The way it works here is you inherit a religion rather than think of it, kind of like your identity. They don't care if you practice the religion, you are what your parents are, and what their parents were.

I speak English, Arabic, Turkish, Aramaic and some French.

The dream job is to be a university professor. I've always wanted to be a teacher, and university professor is the only teaching job that will get me relatively good pay. I'm a freshman now going into marketing though.

Is being culturally Muslim really common in the Middle East?

Yeah. A lot of our customs come from Islam. And many people call themselves Muslims but don't really follow anything to do with the Qur'an. It's just a label. And as far as I know, it's extremely common in most Arab countries. Saudi is an exception however, they actually are pretty religious.

If you have to leave Lebanon too, what country will you go to?

Turkey. My mom's side of the family all live there (she's Turkish).

What city? If you don't mind me asking...

They live in Istanbul and Bodrum, but if I end up moving there I'd probably go Istanbul because of the universities.

Da Fuq?? Your family is having financial problems and you're attending LAU?? GET out of there man.

I know it's not rational, but I'm working and I guess well try to manage.

For those wanting to help the people that are in Syria, what can we do?

Donations to NGO's and spreading word about the NGO's and what's happening. Trying to push a political thing is futile honestly. But donations are incredibly useful even the smallest of things or amounts of money.

Are there any NGO's in particular?

At the moment UNICEF would be your safest bet. Even my mother's NGO is still setting up a bank account etc. so money can't be easily transferred to us. The safest and most reliable place to donate is UNICEF (and I'm sure you can find more information on their website, because I don't really know how this stuff works)

What are the beaches like in Syria and Lebanon?

Rocky, mostly. But there are some sandy beaches that are incredible, the ones that aren't heavily populated and full of litter. Syria and Lebanon are fairly small, and so people from all around the country travel to the coastal areas and beaches and it gets dense.

I'm an american living in D.C. and with the media all we ever hear is feel good stories about the relations between the israel and the people and the countries around it or as is more common stories of extreme hate (because those are the stories that sell) so I would like to ask how do people actually feel about israel in general? also to anybody else who is reading this thread I ask you please don't make this into a troll war because we all know what a political hot potato israel can be.

I didn't know that but it doesn't come very surprising. Over here there's propaganda and more propaganda everywhere about how evil Israel is. There's also a huge amount of fostered hate towards Jews. Even most of my friends and pretty much most people I know don't seem to have the ability to differentiate between a Jewish person and an Israeli, or if they even know the difference. It's a mix of hatred taught by their parents and ignorance on their part. Especially considering Palestinians have more rights in Israel than any other Arab country.

Hello! I know I'm a little late and my question is quite silly but if you have time I'd like to ask your advice on Europeans traveling to Beirut. I've been invited to a wedding in Beirut in September and would love to get your views on whether it's safe to travel there. Of course it's a long way off still but in general, do you see it as a dangerous place for white Europeans? Thanks much, this has been a very interesting thread!

There are car bombs maybe once or twice a month, but usually they only happen in the outskirts of Beirut. In the past year there was only one car bomb near the center of Beirut (in Downtown) and that was an assassination to some political figure. As long as you stay in Beirut and not venture out too far it really shouldn't be that dangerous. Most foreigners live around these areas in the center, too (like most of my teachers from school) and it is relatively safe for them. I hope you have an awesome stay in Beirut!

Hi! Thanks so much for doing this AMA. We have friends working on the borders helping out refugees as well. I've been wondering, is there any specific need by the border/ in Syria medically? Have many people been injured, or what exactly is the situation?

Medical help in Syria from the outside would be too dangerous for any foreign workers to even try. The Assad army doesn't let too much aid get in to the more dangerous cities. I'm not sure if you've seen the numbers, and I'm on my phone so it would be hard to search for them now, but a day there are more than 500 people injured all across Syria.

The latest news I see coming out of Syria is that Assad is close winning the war. If this is true, the future of Syria looks very bleak. Do you have any hope that the country will be able to pull out of this, that Assad will be gone in the foreseeable future?

I'm not sure when Assad will be dethroned, but I believe firmly he will be. There is no hope for him staying president. And I doubt his sons will inherit the "democracy" either. I'm not sure when this whole thing will be 'solved' but I doubt it will be within the next five years honestly.

[deleted]

The Syrian Assad army. And I also believe anyone who says it's not the Assad army is brainwashed and/or deluded.

HEy all, I noticed that the previous Syrian AMA was biased, so I'm here to offer my own biased opinions!! AMA!

When people asked for my opinion or views I answered accordingly, of course those answers were meant to be subjective.

[deleted]

You need to learn to differentiate between a jew, an Israeli citizen, and the Israeli government.

[deleted]

Excuse me? I haven't even told anyone what my mother's NGO is. When a guy asked where to donate I said UNICEF. How exactly am I trying to profit off war? I said my mother owns an NGO that helps Syrian refugees because that is also a giant factor of the Syrian war right now, the diaspora of the Syrian population. Don't make absurd claims with no grounds.

Where does the money for your mother's NGO come from? The US?

Why do you side with terrorists?

Most of the funding is from local people donating money in fundraisers etc. we also get a few donations from people in other Arab countries.

I'm not sure why you would say an allegation like that we don't "side with terrorists." If you have a better and more respectful way to phrase that question I'll be more than happy to answer.

we also get a few donations from people in other Arab countries.

The Saudis? The people who are destroying your great nation?

Why do you side with the rebels? Assad is the only man who can defeat them, if he is defeated do you think Syria will become a democracy? It won't, Al Qaeda already controls half of it, they will take the other half without the SAA stopping them.

I doubt the Saudi people who are giving money to help people are destroying our great nation. You don't blame an entire country's population people for the mistakes of their government.

I'm not going to have an Assad and FSA debate with you because you're too in love with and confident with Assad's presidency to reason with.

Because you know I would win. The SAA is the only thing standing Syria and an Islamist theocracy. 40,000 Alawis have been killed in this conflict don't try and tell me the rebels are 'moderates'. Why would a 'revolution' need tens of thousands of foreigners to help it? Clearly the Syrian people are against the rebels, you can't deny that.

I told you I wouldn't argue because even now I can see so many flaws with what you're saying. I didn't make this AMA to argue with people I can argue with by just walkingn in the street so please respect that I don't want to argue.