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The Documentary: Poems from Syria

Syrian Man in Douma

28/10/2015 GMT

Poems from Syria

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Poems from Syria

The emotions and humanity of the Syrian people as seen through the eyes of its poets

The emotions and humanity of the Syrian people at war as seen through the eyes of its writers and poets.

During the conflict in Syria, it seems incredible that there are still writers expressing their experiences through poetry. News journalist Mike Embley meets and speaks to Syrian poets, writers and academics about how their work has reflected the emotions and humanity in a seemingly impossible situation.
 
Some are in exile while others spend their time helping writers still in Syria to translate their poems and share them with a wider world. There are many who are writing to make sense of the trauma suffered by every Syrian and there are those who have found themselves unable to write.

It contains poems by Mohja Kahf, Ghada al-Atrash, Najat Abdul Samad, Ghias al-Jundi, Ibrahim al-Qashoush, Golan Haji and Aicha Arnaout - along with interviews with writers Ghada al-Atrash, Ghias al-Jundi, Golan Haji, Aicha Arnaout and Dr Atef Alshaer.
 
Readings by Frank Stirling and Eve Matheson.

(Photo: A Syrian man rides a bicycle amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of Damascus. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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