✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

The reluctant collaborator: surviving Syria’s brutal civil war – and its aftermath | Syria | The Guardian

theguardian.com · 7,250 words · saved by 1 readers

At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killed M ustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations across the Middle East. In Syria, a sense of anxious anticipation hung in the air, and the government was responding with propaganda films and TV shows designed to fire up nationalist sentiment. A friend of Mustafa’s hired him to play an extra in one of these shows. The job didn’t pay much, but it was more fun than the long hours Mustafa spent working in a restaurant kitchen. Tall and handsome, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, Mustafa dreamed that maybe one day he could join the long list of Syrians who starred on Arab TV dramas. The youngest of three brothers and a sister, Mustafa had grown up in a crowded working-class district in the eastern

Men post pictures of missing people in Marjeh Square in Damascus in December 2024. Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/The Guardian At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killed By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad Thu 13 Mar 2025 01.00 EDT Last modified on Fri 14 Mar 2025 16.54 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google M ustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations acr

Explore this link on the map →

saved by

related reading