Sage Smiley

Sage is a current Syria Direct Media Trainee. She is a university senior who will graduate in April of 2019 with degrees in Journalism and Arabic and a minor in Chemistry. Sage works at a radio station in the US and her great passion is public radio; she is rarely out of the company of her audio recorder. Follow Sage on Twitter: @sgsmly

‘A new Syria’: Law 10 reconstruction projects to commence in Damascus, backed by arsenal of demolition, expropriation legislation

Nov. 19, 2018

The Yarmouk camp in South Damascus in November. Photo by Louai Beshara/AFP. AMMAN: The guns went silent in Damascus months ago, when the last remaining suburbs outside government...

Civil society, aid organizations withdraw into the shadows as Syrian government reasserts control

Nov. 8, 2018

Vehicles of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent enter Daraa on July 26. Photo by Mohamad Abazeed/AFP. AMMAN: When pro-government forces recaptured the southwestern rebel stronghold of D...

‘The beginning, not the end’: What are the prospects of return for Syria’s internally displaced?

Sep. 25, 2018

Syrians flee their homes in Idlib on September 6. Photo by Aaref Watad/AFP. As the Syrian government gradually reasserts control over the majority of the country, officials have ...

Refugees expert: ‘More displacement’ to come as returning Syrians face myriad obstacles back home

Sep. 17, 2018

Syrian refugees in Beirut prepare to depart for Damascus in September. Anwar Amro/AFP. Years of warfare have left much of Syria in ruins, with five million Syrians displaced in...