Ammar Hamou

Author

Ammar Hamou

Senior Arabic Reporter

Ammar Hamou is Syria Direct’s Senior Arabic Reporter. Originally from East Ghouta outside the Syrian capital, Ammar studied journalism at Damascus University. He has participated in numerous journalism trainings in the US, Europe and Jordan, and has published in-depth research on the Syrian conflict.

ARTICLES

Syrians seek refuge in Saudi Arabia

May 20

Amman- Speaking in a hushed voice so as not to disturb his sleeping bunkmates, Mohammad al-Zu’bi recounted a tired story of exile that knows no end.

Podcast: Voices from the diaspora

May 20

Amman- Eight years after the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution, Syria’s civil war remains one of the most important issues facing the international community. The world is still o...

Residents of Rukban face their “most difficult choice” as caravans depart camp

May 02

Amman- A 26 year-old man stands in front of his house, built out of mud, and watches what has become a regular sight: a crowded convoy of trucks preparing to depart from the Rukba...

‘From one crisis to another’: Gas queues and frustration as Damascus residents grapple with fuel shortages

April 25

Damascus residents tell Syria Direct of everyday life “at a standstill” as a gasoline crisis reaches a head for a second week in a row.

Thousands leave Rukban camp in largest convoy to date as Russian, Syrian pressure mounts

April 23

Monday saw the latest convoy to leave Rukban camp, an isolated informal camp settlement of mud homes housing up to 40,000 displaced Syrians on the Syrian-Jordanian border.

In Rukban, rumors of dead, mistreated returnees leave displaced residents mulling an uncertain homecoming

April 15

The rumors were unconfirmed: two men who had returned to Syrian government territory from Rukban camp via a Russian-backed “humanitarian corridor” were reportedly shot dead by sec...

Silence, paranoia in decimated East Ghouta suburbs one year after government recapture

April 11

Together, the grainy photos—selfies sent over a messaging app—tell the story of one life in East Ghouta, and how it has changed drastically since a year ago.

Hundreds of Rukban camp residents leaving US-administered desert zone board Syrian government buses

April 10

The photos are scarce. In one, a dozen or so women, young children and elderly men bite down on sandwiches as they crowd the inside of a bus. One of the passengers wears a red ves...

The politics of return: Refugees, NGOs navigate increasingly fraught climate in host countries

April 10

When Abd al-Majid al-Qalamouni* first arrived in Lebanon six years ago, he felt like he was met with “empathy." “In the beginning everyone wanted to stand by your side,” al-Qalamo...

As displaced East Ghoutans mark one year in exile, tales of arrests and forced conscriptions reverberate from back home

March 28

From his life of exile in rebel-held Idlib province, Muhammad al-Hassan clings to any news that slips through the state security net back home in East Ghouta.