Latest from Baghdad to Mars
25. my experience with donating aid to one of the most unstable regions in the world (and why cash is better)
After seeing the destruction of my wife’s village in Syria, and its villagers spending the below-freezing nights huddled in a tent around a single stove for warmth, I knew I had to do something more than teach them English to improve their situation.
Endlessly Now : Victoria from Nigeria
I’d seen Victoria once or twice in passing since we live in the same apartment building. She seemed like an interesting person and I thought she would be a great interviewee. I originally thought I’d interview her for the “Neighborhood Memories” episode, but once we sat down, she seemed more interested in a longer interview.…
Endlessly Now : Neighborhood Memories
I wanted to mix things up a little for the fifth episode of Endlessly Now. Usually in this series I focus on the person, not where they’re from. However, in this episode I wanted to focus on exactly where my interviewees were from – all the way down to the neighborhood level.
24. ten kilometers
“I think I’ll just go out for a little and then come back home early and study,” I told my friend on the later side of yesterday morning. As the saying goes, “Man makes plans and God laughs.”
Endlessly Now : Alina from Russia
Learning from the background noise problem of the previous interview, this episode was recorded inside a car on a quiet street in Cyprus. Alina and I hadn’t met before, only speaking briefly before starting the interview. Though Alina had been living in Cyprus half her life, she grew up in Russia which I believe accounts…
Endlessly Now : Maria from Palestine/Cyprus
On my first day in Cyprus I met up Maria, a Palestinian woman with a bright eyes, quick wit, and volumes of personality. It was clear from the start our unacquaintance wouldn’t last long so I started the interview almost immediately, before the chance that something brilliant could escape Maria’s mouth and not get captured…
Endlessly Now : Sama from Syria
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. This is what you need to do in Lebanon when doing anything in general, but also when you’re making a podcast. The internet is terrible here in Lebanon so a phone interview from Lebanon to Turkey would’ve been more of an effort in exasperated patience than having an intimate conversation about life.…
Endlessly Now Podcast
Ugu from Nigeria was more or less a stranger to me, until I interviewed him. His answers were thoughtful, sometimes humorous, and always and thought provoking. This is the first episode of the “Dangerous Questions” series in which I ask strangers a set of 23 questions to get to know them and humanity better. The…
23. we Syrians are made of jasmine
I listened to Uncle Khaled for hours. The smell of jasmine lingered throughout his store. One time we spoke about jasmine and the secret behind its scent, a scent that lingers everywhere in Syria. When you say the word, “Syria,” you can begin to smell jasmine. It’s like we Syrians are made of jasmine. Uncle…
22. all cats are grey in the dark
Visiting Sharya was the high point of a two week journey through Iraq. Since visiting, I’ve had a reoccurring dream of returning and walking through its shady alleyways or drinking tea while practicing my Kurdish with the shop owners. Upon returning to my home in Germany I decided to learn more about this town whose…
21. taxi to Mosul
Then the Syrians finally came flying into the back seat of the taxi and we peeled out of there, going directly to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi-Kurdistan. The teenagers consisted of two boys and a girl. The two boys made the taxi ride to Erbil the most fun taxi ride I’ve ever been on. Can…
20. magic wand
Pink is the colour of my dreams. When I wear a pink dress I feel like a princess with a magic wand that could realize any wish with a single stroke.
19. hashtag
“…I know what it’s like to migrate your home, your street, your city, and your country, because it’s not an easy and beautiful thing. Nobody chooses their future and what would happen to them. If they could do that, they would stop the war, for example. I’m thankful for all the countries that opened their…
18. the danger of turkish books
As time separates me from the years I lived in Turkey and the years I’ve lived since then, the memories of the joy and mystery I found in this country have inevitably faded. My perception of Turkey has been altered by political events – almost none of them reflective of my experience living there. I…
17. violence
When it comes to violence against women, we write words and cry out against it in general, but this isn’t enough to prevent it. If we want to stand in the face of violence, we must delve into its causes. In this article, we will take the first step in reducing violence against women.
For…
16. women
Usually when I get writing sent to me by a non-native English speaker, the writing can be well written, but in the style of the author’s native language. I worry that for the average Western person, the style will come across as clunky or unrelatable so I heavily editorialize my submissions to fit into the…
15. the fragrance of life
…We also see children dragging carts full of cardboard and pieces of plastic. They find the materials on the street or in trash bins and place them in their cart. When the cart fills up and becomes the size of their bodies, they take the cart to a warehouse to sell what they’ve found.
I…
14. no stopping for war
In previous articles, we’ve shared success stories of young Syrians living outside their homeland. They migrated into the unknown. The beginning was difficult but with persistence, they continued on and achieved their dreams.
What about the young men and women who still live in Syria? Have we put thought into how they’ve been able to…
13. eid al-fitr
Part 1: Preparing for Eid begins in the last three days of Ramadan. The preparation starts with buying sweets, new clothes, and cleaning the house. On these days everyone is busy with either shopping or cooking.
Part 2: While the last two articles were about experiences I had years ago, the events of this article…
12. ramadan abroad
Part 1: In this article, we will continue with the theme of Ramadan. This time I have conducted interviews with people who are living in different parts of the world. In the interviews, we talk about the difference in Ramadan culture from one place to another…
Part 2: When hitchhiking in Kazakhstan, the first thing…
11. ramadan and the mesaharaty
On the nights of the holy month of Ramadan, we wake to the sound of the drum. What time is it? Two in the morning? Three? Above the beat of the drum, another voice calls to those still sleeping. It’s important to wake up now. This is our last chance to eat and drink. Once…
10. a past that will not return
Are Syrians not simply people? Do they not have a culture and lifestyle like everyone else? The news and politicians talk about Syria as if it’s a country of bombs. Is it so difficult to imagine that Syria is a country populated by people, not bombs?
This is an article written by one of those…
9. making light
We have become used to being told about the war in Syria as a series of stories of hopelessness. This is not one of these stories. While it contains all the darkness of war, it also contains the light of hope. It’s not the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a light made…
8. boundaries and spaces part 2.2
What would you do if war came to your country? Would you stay or would you go? There is a lot of focus on Syrian refugees but what about those who stayed? In this article, we will cover a Syrian person who decided to stay in his country…
7. Syria: according to Syria, according to the world.
What are the first three words you think of when you hear the word Syria? Don’t think too much about it. I’m more curious about your first three thoughts.
How do you think a Syrian person would answer this question? How would a Vietnamese person answer? Or someone from Africa? What about someone from…
6. boundaries and spaces part 1.2
How could someone abandon their family in a warzone? Then again, how could they stand by as their family potentially starves or becomes chronically ill without money, and endlessly endures without safety? People have to make this decision every day. We call the people who leave, “refugees”.
5. bad guys
Why do you lock your front door? Why are minorities oppressed? Why do armed forces have to protect your nation? Two words: Bad guys. And what should be done with the bad guys? 2131 words:
4. human
How do we determine the nationality of a person? How do we know which country they came from? And why do we need to know these things? I’ve never thought about questions like this before. If someone’s personality, thoughts, and interactions with me are fine, then why do I also need to know their nationality?…
3: did you know a war just ended?
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War just ended, showing that once again, violence in conflict has dramatically decreased. I had written in the first article on this website that we often know when conflicts or wars begin, but not as often when they end. I’m happy to say that the world’s newest war, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war,…
2: the headscarf thing
Have you ever seen a woman in a headscarf or burka and wondered what’s up with that? Maybe you’re afraid to ask because you don’t want to look ignorant or be a jerk, or maybe you just don’t want to be schooled on the many ways you’re wrong about everything. I too was once like…
1: a lot less death
This is the first article of Baghdad to Mars. Its conception came from going to Wikipedia and typing, “list of ongoing armed conflicts.” What came up blew my mind. It blew my mind so much that I decided to make a website full of articles that I write, and write about this chart as my…
Baghdad to Mars 