Syrian-British writers Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami discuss their
new book Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, in an interview
with Ian Masters for his Background Briefing programme on KPFK in LA
The interview with Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami comes in at about
35 minutes into the
program.
Description
In 2011, many Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to demand the
overthrow of the government of Bashar al-Assad. Today, much of Syria has
become a war zone and many worry that the country is on the brink of
collapse.
"Burning Country" explores the complicated reality of life in present-day
Syria, drawing on extensive new firsthand testimonies from opposition
fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous
human rights activists. The authors, both of whom are bilingual, interweave
these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the
uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of
Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
Through these accounts and a broad range of secondary source material, the
authors argue that the international community has failed in its stated
commitments to support the Syrian opposition movements.
Covering ISIS and Islamism, regional geopolitics, new grassroots
revolutionary organizations, and the worst refugee crisis since World War
Two, "Burning Country" is a groundbreaking look at a modern-day political
and humanitarian nightmare.
Robin Yassin-Kassab writes frequently for The Guardian and has contributed
to Guernica, the Daily Beast, Al Jazeera English, and Newsweek Middle East,
among other publications. He is the author of the critically acclaimed novel
"The Road from Damascus" and a contributor to Syria Speaks.
Leila Al-Shami has been involved in human rights and social justice
struggles in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, and was a founding
member of Tahrir-ICN, a network connecting anti-authoritarian struggles
across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Listen to the program here:
http://ianmasters.com/sites/default/files/mp3/bbriefing_2016_04_03full_audioport.mp3.mp3
About the authors:
Robin Yassin-Kassab is a regular media commentator on Syria and the Middle
East. He is the author of the novel The Road from Damascus (Hamish Hamilton,
2008) and a contributor to Syria Speaks (Saqi, 2014).
Leila Al-Shami has worked with the human rights movement in Syria and
elsewhere in the Middle East. She was a founding member of Tahrir-ICN, a
network that aimed to connect anti-authoritarian struggles across the Middle
East, North Africa and Europe.
Leila Al-Shami says:
I have both Arab and European roots, straddling two worlds and belonging in
neither.
I’ve been involved in human rights and social justice struggles in the
Middle East since 2001.
I’m a founding member of Tahrir-ICN a network that aims to connect
anti-authoritarian struggles across the Middle East, North Africa and
Europe.
Leila's blog: a blog on popular struggles, human rights and social justice
from an anti-authoritarian perspective
https://leilashami.wordpress.com/
Journalist Hassan Hassan says Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
is "poised to become the definitive book not only on the continuing Syrian
conflict but on the country and its society as a whole."
Burning Country is a vivid and groundbreaking look at a modern-day political
and humanitarian nightmare. It explores the horrific and complicated reality
of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication,
drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost
in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists
among many others...
Listen to the interview here.
http://ianmasters.com/sites/default/files/mp3/bbriefing_2016_04_03full_audioport.mp3.mp3
