BOOK REVIEW- THE MORNING THEY CAME FOR US

Janine di Giovanni's writing style is passionate, fearless and utterly sensitive, as she reports on her experiences in Syria as it descended into war and sectarian violence with stunning velocity. Outlining her motivation to write about what she witnessed as wanting ''people never to forget'', Dispatches from Syria: The Morning They Came For Us won her the prestigious IWMG Courage in Journalism Award in 2016. 

I have long believed that it is of crucial importance to read about the very real human stories behind the headlines with regards to the ongoing conflict in Syria. The Morning They Came For Us does exactly that, relaying the stories from rebel fighters on the front line to families who have been forced to watch their loved ones die at the hand of the regime. This book also explores dimensions to the conflict which remain fundamentally absent from mainstream coverage of the war, such as the deeply complicated nature of allegiances to the Asaad regime (some Alawites claim that they remained loyal to the regime as they feared that they would disappear from political consciousness if Sunnis came into power, while others admitted they stayed loyal simply to save their own skin). 

Giovanni's reflections of a project she worked on alongside  the UN's Refugee Agency UNHCR about Syrian refugee women in neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt are particularly upfront and hard hitting to read. Many of the women in the camps had been widowed during the war and were thrust into a world so very far-removed from the one that they had built for themselves in the Syrian countryside. Many of the women had never left the house before without a male escort, while others were simply unused to the idea of making decisions for themselves and their families. But as single women, they were easy sexual prey for other men in the camps and many were too afraid to leave the safety of their tents or settlements to do simple tasks such as food shopping. This really troubled me. 

What I love about this book above all is how Giovanni simply observes. The unflinching accounts she provides from refugees she interviewed all allude to a current of tension and political wranglings which mounted after the events of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. The glimmer of opportunity and hope that arose in the wake of the revolts against dictatorships across the region and the moment it all fell spectacularly down and normal life ceased to exist are all documented here, with such empathy and understanding. 

On a final note, she adds how observing the war in Syria and the unforgettable resilience of Syrian people in the face of unimaginable horrors, has utterly consumed her over the past six years. This book is testimony to the strength of the Syrian people and the heroic strength of reporters such as Giovanni who live (and often die) through wars which are not their own; 

''As I write this, the Syrian war continues and there are over 400,000 Syrians dead. The Book of the Dead is not yet finished.'' 

Antonia x