Scan barcode
howtobebooks's review
5.0
An important book for our age given the horrific situation currently in Syria. Samer's experiences are harrowing, and dehumanising, to the point it reflects how much we take the issue for granted and how much we have turned off watching the terror unfold. It's gruesome, and terrifying, but that's expected given the topic. Hats off to the author for providing this piece to the world.
lauraxbakker's review
4.0
Een kort, maar indrukwekkend dagboek dat is bij gehouden door een jongeman in Syrië. Ik heb er kippenvel van.
eviereads124's review
4.0
The Raqqa Diaries is the product of contact between the BBC and a small activist group from Syria. The book tells the story of “Samer”, one of the members of the activist group. The diarist’s father is killed and mother badly injured during an airstrike, he is sentenced to 40 lashes for speaking out against a beheading, he sees a woman stoned to death. It shows how every aspect of life is impacted – from the spiralling costs of food to dictating the acceptable length of trousers. This is a raw and profoundly brutal book, but so so important to read - I think when you hear stories from Syria they’re often so unbelievable they’re hard to comprehend that they’re actually real and happening right now, but this book does make you face the reality of the situation a lot more starkly.
safiaisreading's review
4.0
Life in Raqqa is like a slow death. There’s no way you can live a decent life there. -Samer
A short and brave account of life under ISIS. I highly recommend reading it, along with Mustafa Khalifa's 'The Shell': Memories of a Hidden Observer, for a better understanding of the Syrian situation.
A short and brave account of life under ISIS. I highly recommend reading it, along with Mustafa Khalifa's 'The Shell': Memories of a Hidden Observer, for a better understanding of the Syrian situation.
hellsbell's review
5.0
my full review can be found at HellyReads
I thought this was amazing and should be a must read book for people interested in current affairs, politics or the middle east.
I thought this was amazing and should be a must read book for people interested in current affairs, politics or the middle east.
hasseltkoffie's review
5.0
The marketplace was hit. There were huge explosions, and body parts everywhere. It was a Russian air strike supposedly targeting terrorists.
Isn’t the terrorism we suffer on the ground enough? Now you bring it from the skies as well.
---
The fact that the world is standing idly by, just watching what is happening, does not surprise anyone here any more. Everyone I meet, whether it is a child or an old person who has witnessed many horrors, pins their hopes on our own revolutionaries. The outside world has not answered our calls.
Some countries do worse than just stand by. They have given the regime help in killing its people. They continue to do this while thousands of families live out in the open with nothing to protect them from the rain, the sun and the bombs.
---
Many people here tell me they wish they were already dead. Many are hoping to cross into Turkey, but the border is completely closed. It’s hopeless. Many have been maimed by the regime’s war machine. Some are missing limbs. These injuries have a dramatic impact on them and those who care for them. Every single person here has lived with horror. Yet instead of weeping or cursing, they all try to help each other.
Isn’t the terrorism we suffer on the ground enough? Now you bring it from the skies as well.
---
The fact that the world is standing idly by, just watching what is happening, does not surprise anyone here any more. Everyone I meet, whether it is a child or an old person who has witnessed many horrors, pins their hopes on our own revolutionaries. The outside world has not answered our calls.
Some countries do worse than just stand by. They have given the regime help in killing its people. They continue to do this while thousands of families live out in the open with nothing to protect them from the rain, the sun and the bombs.
---
Many people here tell me they wish they were already dead. Many are hoping to cross into Turkey, but the border is completely closed. It’s hopeless. Many have been maimed by the regime’s war machine. Some are missing limbs. These injuries have a dramatic impact on them and those who care for them. Every single person here has lived with horror. Yet instead of weeping or cursing, they all try to help each other.
cosyhomelibrary's review
5.0
We’re all familiar with the conflict in Syria, but we have so far only been able to guess at what it must have been like to live in the city of Raqqa, which was seen as 'Islamic State's' "capital". It became one of the most isolated, dangerous and terrifying places in the world. When Daesh (Islamic State) and their twisted idea of Islam took over Raqqa, the penalty for those who spoke to the western press was death by beheading. My sheer amazement that this book even managed to exist was enough to make me desperate to read it. I personally have a particular interest in civilian experience during wartime but those that don’t would benefit from reading the incredibly brave and inspiring story of Samer.
This book, written as a diary by Samer (not his real name) begins as he documents his hopes that the end of the Assad regime would mean a better future for him and his family, except the crushing terror of an enemy even worse takes over. This short book is composed of brief diary entries in which Samer bears his soul to the reader, speaking of love, heartbreak and loss. He reveals his crushing desperation to keep his family safe, and utter fear while Daesh exact the terror of crucifixions, beheadings, torture and the cruelty of living under a corrupt and unchallenged power.
‘While some of Daesh’s members are busy executing people for nothing, others spend their time creating friction. They provoke people in order to get a reaction. Then they punish anyone who opposes or criticises them’.
The Raqqa Diaries opens up a shocking window into what is happening in our world. Despite living in extreme terror, Samer bravely documents his journey and demonstrates how people will continue to help one another no matter what. It is incredibly human and is the most important book I have read in years. Samer understands the power of information in opposing Daesh as he risks his life in order to expose the truth to the outside world.
‘I have been greatly affected by Khalid’s death. I am now more determined than ever to fight this criminal group and expose what they are doing. I want it to be known what they are doing to us. Not only how their actions affect us physically, but what they have done to our dreams, our revolution, our way of life. Yet I also find myself overwhelmed by fear. It’s not just the horror of what happened to Khalid, it’s the knowledge that the same thing might happen to me in front of my mother’.
My Rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From my blog - www.literarylove.co.uk
This book, written as a diary by Samer (not his real name) begins as he documents his hopes that the end of the Assad regime would mean a better future for him and his family, except the crushing terror of an enemy even worse takes over. This short book is composed of brief diary entries in which Samer bears his soul to the reader, speaking of love, heartbreak and loss. He reveals his crushing desperation to keep his family safe, and utter fear while Daesh exact the terror of crucifixions, beheadings, torture and the cruelty of living under a corrupt and unchallenged power.
‘While some of Daesh’s members are busy executing people for nothing, others spend their time creating friction. They provoke people in order to get a reaction. Then they punish anyone who opposes or criticises them’.
The Raqqa Diaries opens up a shocking window into what is happening in our world. Despite living in extreme terror, Samer bravely documents his journey and demonstrates how people will continue to help one another no matter what. It is incredibly human and is the most important book I have read in years. Samer understands the power of information in opposing Daesh as he risks his life in order to expose the truth to the outside world.
‘I have been greatly affected by Khalid’s death. I am now more determined than ever to fight this criminal group and expose what they are doing. I want it to be known what they are doing to us. Not only how their actions affect us physically, but what they have done to our dreams, our revolution, our way of life. Yet I also find myself overwhelmed by fear. It’s not just the horror of what happened to Khalid, it’s the knowledge that the same thing might happen to me in front of my mother’.
My Rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From my blog - www.literarylove.co.uk