Fighting for freedom and justice in Syria, Jihad Abdo and Fadia Affash had to flee their country and start from scratch in the United States. Jihad, a well-known actor in Syria, began as a pizza delivery man, but was soon recognized for his talents as an actor and landed leading roles in films such as "The Queen of the Desert" and "A Hologram for the King".

Fadia Affash, a painter and activist, recounts the challenges of their journey together, while recognizing the important impact those experiences have had on her work as an artist.

Interviewed by Raghad Al Makhlouf
June 2nd, 2018 | Arabic

Award-winning journalist Rania Abu Zeid has made countless trips inside Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Washington, and several European towns and cities to cover the Syrian uprising and the deadly civil and proxy war that ensued and destroyed tens of millions of lives.

Rania Abouzeid joins Status and VOMENA host Malihe Razazan to talk about her new book, "No Turning Back: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria".

Interviewed by Malihe Razazan | June 22nd, 2018

Courtesy of Voices of the Middle East & North Africa.

The interview is a dialogue with Ahmad Kiki, a Syrian young actor, who graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus, Syria. Two years after his graduation, Kiki found himself in a prison, arrested because he stood up for freedom and justice in Syria. In this interview, Kiki recounts a painful story about fleeing from Syria to Turkey in a dangerous trip he had to make by sea. Even so, this journey of fear and suffering fortunately has a happy ending.

In a conversation with Status host and Jadaliyya editor Kylie Broderick, Dr. Dina El Khawaga speaks to 20 years of the Asfari Institute for Civil Society & Citizenship's initatives in the Middle East and North Africa. "[...] Usually we talk about civil society as a victim, and we want to do the contrary. We want always to underline the fact that there are a lot of success stories that we forget to tell about civil society and civil initiatives," says Dr. El Khawaga.

For more content from the Asfari Institute for Civil Society & Citizenship, visit their Status Hour partner page at www.statushour.com