Silva Mnla Othman

Aleppo - Between 2012 and 2016, the neighborhoods of Al-Ashrafiya and Sheikh Maqsoud were subjected to heavy shelling and violent attacks by mercenaries of the Turkish occupation. These assaults resulted in numerous civilian casualties, hundreds of injuries, and extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure.

The resistance of the two neighborhoods — Sheikh Maqsoud and Al-Ashrafiya - in the Syrian city of Aleppo, through the unity and solidarity of their residents and fighters during every assault, turned into a people’s revolutionary war. With their organization and sacrifices, they ultimately triumphed.

 

Writing as a Weapon to Convey the Messages of War and Resistance

Writer Laila Khaled, who also serves as an administrator in the Syrian Women’s Council in Aleppo, drew inspiration for her novel “Brother of Pain” from the immense suffering endured by the people of these neighborhoods under bombardment and killing. She explained that the Syrian people were targeted by their enemies, but the attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Al-Ashrafiya were particularly brutal due to the neighborhoods’ ethnic and sectarian diversity.

Laila said that inspiration struck her in a moment of self-reflection and inner dialogue. She initially began expressing her thoughts and emotions through posts on her Facebook page but soon realized that social media was vulnerable to hacking. Thus, she found that traditional writing - on paper - was the most reliable medium to preserve her words.

A Collection of StoriesLaila witnessed firsthand the stories she recorded in her book - narratives that touched the hearts of many. “Brother of Pain” was first published in Sharmola Newspaper and later printed in 2022 by Shaliq Publishing House.

 

She explained that her book contains eight stories: Brother of Pain, Childhood on the Ruins, My Heart for My Son, My Son’s Heart for the Homeland, The Sad Feast of Poverty, The Story of a Neighborhood, A Doctor Without a Diploma, War Without the Letter R, and Butterflies in a Fiery Storm.

Each story carries a tale born from the heart of war, bombardment, and destruction.

In The Sad Feast of Poverty, joy, laughter, and family visits vanish - even children’s delight fades. The sound of laughter is replaced by gunfire, explosions, crying, and ambulance sirens.

Laila described another story about a baby searching for his mother’s breast to nurse - only to be struck and killed by a sniper’s bullet while in her arms.

She also recounted My Heart for My Son, My Son’s Heart for the Homeland, the story of a young man whose parents sent him abroad to escape war and chaos. Yet when he felt a sense of duty toward the neighborhood where he was born, he returned to defend it. The call of homeland, childhood, and memories proved stronger than the peace he had found in exile - but he never made it back to his mother’s embrace; instead, he joined the frontlines to defend his people and his home.

The story Childhood on the Ruins explores the loss of childhood during wartime. Instead of playing in parks or on swings, children play with the shrapnel of shells and rockets that rain down like deadly storms.

In War Without the Letter R, a young man and woman fall in love while both are fighting to defend their homeland. Neither war nor love prevented them from fulfilling their duties - their love story culminates in marriage.

As for Butterflies in a Fiery Storm, it tells the story of three young women - Semav, Shirin, and Nujiyan - who sought to prove that women are capable of conveying the voices and struggles of the people of their neighborhoods. Despite limited resources, danger, and constant fear, their determination to document events was stronger than any obstacle.

For Laila Khaled, the pen was not merely a tool for writing, but a weapon - a means to deliver messages and document the moments of war that no survivor could ever forget. Her purpose in writing was not only to express and depict the scenes that took place in those neighborhoods but also to preserve them for future generations, so they may know how bravely their fathers, mothers, and grandparents resisted and endured.