Over the past few weeks, Southern Syria has been engulfed in violence, between the Al-Sharaa regime, local Druze militias, and even Israel joining the fray. In season 5, we spoke to Nour Salam, a member of the Druze community from Suwayda, who explained the complex dynamics of the region. So this week, we're returning to that episode, to help you make sense of the events going on there today...
Nour Salam is a Druze and a human rights and women’s rights activist whose family are originally from Suwayda, where she has been living since fleeing there in 2013. Through the war she worked as a field coordinator for Syrian civil society groups, and she is also a member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement and many Suwayda-based initiatives supporting women’s rights.
In this episode, Nour shares her unique perspective as a Druze woman from Suwayda, discussing her identity, the history of the Druze community, and the impact of the Syrian civil war on her life and activism. She reflects on her family's experiences under the Assad regime, and her involvement in the revolution, highlighting the complexities of Druze identity and their relationship with other communities in Syria. Thomas and Nour later explore the arrival of ISIS in Suwayda, and the subsequent rise of factional conflicts from local militias formed to protect against ISIS, who are still controversially playing their part in the ongoing instability of the region, alongside Israel, today.
Season 5 has ended, but if you still want to have your Conflicted fix , then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community.
Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.
All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CONFLICTED