They called the boys 'buttons' because pushing a button would be the last thing they did
Aired on April 04, 2016
BBC Producer Rasha Elass
Six days into a fragile cease fire in Syria, daily life is slowly returning. But although Russian airstrikes have stopped pounding the country, leaving room for some respite, many Syrians are worried about what comes next.
When Syrian teenager Omar ran away from his family, he had no idea what was in store for him. It all started last year, when he was 13, and ISIS came to his hometown of Ras Al Ayn near the Turkish border.
This story is a part of a PRI series ------>
Syrian youth: Five years later
As Syrian men go missing, women take new leadership roles, and bear new burdens
Aired January 20, 2016
By Rasha Elass
Children crowd around Zein in a camp in southern Aleppo.
Credit: Photo courtsey of Zein.
Five years into the war in Syria, it is the women who endure so much of the burden, especially in rebel-held areas.
Leila Al Bakhry at a Women’s Center in Eastern Ghouta.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Women Now for Development
Leila Albakry, 24, wakes up every morning to the sound of music and a cup of coffee. Her husband joins her, and for a few precious moments they can pretend that life is normal.
But nothing about their life is ordinary.
In a besieged part of Damascus, Eid comes with few blessings for Syrians who feel abandoned by US
Aired September 25, 2015
By Rasha Elass
A man walks amid rubble of damaged buildings in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus.
Credit: Photo by Amer Almohibany / Reuters.
Mohammad Saladin lives 10 minutes away from a front line in Syria's civil war.
Muhammad Al and Rasha Elass on airstrikes in Syria
Syria's War: ISIL withdraws after attack on Yarmouk refugee camp
Published on Oct 5, 2015
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad says Russia’s military intervention in his country must succeed for the future of the Middle East.Assad said in an interview Sunday on Iranian state television that the alliance between Syria, Russia, Iraq and Iran must succeed or else the whole region will be destroyed. That statement came as Russia intensified airstrikes across Syria in a move Moscow insists is aimed at fighting Islamic State.An estimated 240,000 people have died in Syria’s civil war since 2011 and the United Nations estimates the refugee population at nearly 12 million people. The discussion continued:Muhammad Ali is a Syrian journalist and commentator.Rasha Elass is a Syrian-American journalist who has covered the Middle East for over ten years.
Published on Apr 1, 2015
Rasha Elass, Al Jazeera's Syria contributor, says rebel groups face hunger, disease, and pressure from the government