Triggered to Thinking

Janine di Giovanni is a reporter, and her work has received praise from Amnesty International. She has covered conflicts in Sierra Leone, Chechnya and Bosnia. The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria is a very readable, excellent account of the horrors of the Syrian War. 

Chapter I: Damascus-Thursday, June 28th 2012

This time period is right before the main horrors of the War. She explained Christians in Damascus were “liberal “as in they didn’t support armed resistance or the Syrian government’s crushing of armed rebellion (4). She explains her meeting with Jihad Makdissi, a Christian with a Muslim name, who held a ministry position in Assad’s Syria. He explained how Syria was a melting pot of different ethnicities like Alawites, Kurds, Shias, Sunnis and Jews (6). He fled to the Gulf a year later, and this chapter gives other examples of people who fled Syria (7). The chapter ends with a scene describing jubilant pool parties and how the vibe changed when on June 28th, two car bombs exploded, and the prior day had been one of intense bloodshed. 

Chapter II: Latkia-Thursday, June 14th 2012

This chapter explains the stories of a woman named Nada and the stories of religious persecution in Syria. She describes her journey to protesting against the Assad regime. Di Giovanni recounts examples of rape from both sides in the conflict (19). Captured Shabihas’ accounts of rape are explained in this chapter. Nada also explained how Assad-loyal security forces tortured her, and they were delighted to tell her family she had passed. Di Giovanni explains the shame that sexual violence brought to many in the Syrian War, and especially Sunni Muslims (28-30). The chapter ends with a brief description of the Atma refugee camp (35-36).

Chapter III Ma’loula and Damascus- June-November 2012 

This chapter begins with a discussion of Ma’loula and how Druze, Christians and Muslims fought against the colonial oppression of France in 1925. Di Giovanni writes, “a Jordanian suicide bomber exploded a truck at a Syrian army checkpoint at the entrance to Ma’loula, rebels then attacked the checkpoint” (42). The chapter continues with a discussion with a young man named Ahmed who supports the Assad government (44-46). The conditions of detainees for those who opposed the Assad regime are mentioned (48-50). The chapter ends with a brief discussion with a soldier named Firis and his experience at the Battle of Homs. He mentions, “The men that shot at him at close range were not Syrians, but foreign fighters: Libyans, Lebanese and Yemeni (57).

Chapter IV Homs- Thursday, March 8th 2012

The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the American occupation of Iraq and an example of a Palestinian man imprisoned in an Israeli torture centre. Di Giovanni describes meeting victims of torture in a north Lebanese town. Assad’s forces launched an assault at the end of February 2012. Entire families were killed (67). A man named Hussein vividly describes the tortures he experienced and how he is now healing in northern Lebanon. He described a disturbing quote from a pro-Assad doctor. The doctor said, “My job is to make sure that you are still alive and can sustain more torture, but I can’t watch this anymore” (72). 

Chapter V Darayya- Saturday August 25th 2012

In this chapter, the killings that occurred in the poor Sunni community of Darayya are mentioned. The chapter mentions, “intense shellings from helicopters with mounted machine guns” (75). This chapter goes on to list the other shellings and killings, and it provides quotes from the journalist Robert Fisk. Fisk is known for his book, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War. Darayya was a stronghold of the Free Syrian Army and held almost 3,000 fighters. This chapter features the thoughts of a woman named Maryam and evidence found by Human Rights Watch.

Chapter VI Zabadani- Saturday, September 8th 2012

This chapter begins with a discussion of the Alawites. Maryam explains how Syrians can’t believe this War is happening. Zabadani was a place Maryam used to visit as a child. Also, it was an old smugglers’ route before the War, but now it was full of soldiers (97). This town had endured 52 straight days of shelling. This chapter examines Syrians who had professions or worked as smugglers before the War. Marie Colvin, a journalist who covered many conflicts and lost an eye in Sri Lanka, was killed in Homs. The chapter ends with a sombre tale: a boy would watch Home Alone repeatedly and ask when the War would end (102). The chapter ends with Janine admitting to lying to the boy by telling him the War would be over soon. 

Chapter VII Homs, Bab al-Sebba Street- Sunday 14th October 2012

This chapter discusses some young soldiers in the Free Syrian Army on Bab al-Sebba Street. Soldiers discuss buildings that were previously used to torture Syrians. By late October, some people were returning to Homs. This chapter discusses the trauma of a woman named Carla. Carla, a Christian, stated, “Let me tell you what helpless is: helpless is being a mother and not helping your kids” (118). There was a nearby church that was damaged by bullets. 

Chapter VIII Aleppo- Sunday, December 16th 2012

This chapter discusses the ancient origins of Aleppo and how the War had devastated the city. Umm Hamud explained, “The most difficult thing is not being able to feed your kids” (127). This chapter compared the atrocities in Aleppo to the battle of Sarajevo. Aleppo was an up-and-coming city in 2006, with brand-new places to visit before the War. The bread queue, where civilians discussed the horrors of the War, is mentioned. A doctor expresses his frustration in this chapter, he says, “Hundreds of people in here in the past month because of missile attacks, where is the United Nations?” (149). This chapter discusses the kidnapping and murder of Steve Sotoff. 

Epilogue

The book’s conclusion mentions some Syrians the author met during her reporting. At the time of writing the book, the Syrian War had not concluded.