One of my media friends, Kinde, has a TV show on Syria TV, state-run satellite station, and invited us to appear. It was live and dealt with disabilities and what we were doing in Syria. The studio was a quarter of the size of my studio at Sprayberry, but the crew was very professional. It went great. Jill was a star. We talked about our workshops and how impressed we are with the commitment Syria has to advance the lives of the disabled. I felt right at home and Jill had to stop me from playing director.
The next day one of Jill’s friends, May, invited us to the country home of another friend. After bumping through tiny back streets about 15 miles north of Damascus we reach the house. We discovered that this was a ‘summer home’ and once inside, found a lavish back garden with grape vines everywhere and a swimming pool—but nobody told us to bring suits. Damn, could have used a swim in this heat. There were several other couples and Maha (May’s friend) set out yet another lavish Syrian meal. These meals seem to overflow the table and Maha’s husband insisted we try everything on the table. Then fruit in the garden. Then sweets. We should have walked back to the city to walk off the dinner.
Tonight we had dinner at a lovely outdoor restaurant with Moutez, the PR director at AAMAL, with his wife and child. It was wonderful to see them caring for their 18-month-old boy. It took real restraint on Jill’s part not to bring the boy back with her. Rubara works for the first lady. We discovered the first lady spent her first 25 years in England—her father was a surgeon there. The president was an ophthalmologist in London and that’s where they met. We are going to find a way to meet the first lady, who is the patron of AAMAL, when we come back in December.
Tomorrow is my final day of training. This group has been a bit more contentious than in March. Actually, only one guy seems to question things I say. I think it is working for me, because the others are seeing his reluctance to consider new ways to do journalism. The rest of the group has been very supportive and seem genuinely interested in expanding the coverage of the disabled. In fact, two of the young people from March (who were back in May)—Milia and Arwa—will adapt the workshop and present it to new groups of journalists starting in July. It is so great to see such energy and commitment. They are part of a small cadre of young people who have big plans about changing how journalism is done in Syria.
Tomorrow is my final day of training. This group has been a bit more contentious than in March. Actually, only one guy seems to question things I say. I think it is working for me, because the others are seeing his reluctance to consider new ways to do journalism. The rest of the group has been very supportive and seem genuinely interested in expanding the coverage of the disabled. In fact, two of the young people from March (who were back in May)—Milia and Arwa—will adapt the workshop and present it to new groups of journalists starting in July. It is so great to see such energy and commitment. They are part of a small cadre of young people who have big plans about changing how journalism is done in Syria.
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