Emma Beals

Analysis, research, peace, policy. Senior Adviser @Eurpeace. Non-res @MiddleEastInst. Fmr Ed @SyriaContext. Tips via DM. Opinions my own.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Journalists report facts, it's not their job to rebut every insane conspiracy theory that's dreamed up as a counter-narrative. We're collectively getting dumber b/c the reality-based 1/2 of the world is being asked to fact-check the fantastical half, at expense of new knowledge.

[jack @jack]

Accounts like Jones' can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors, so it’s critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information directly so people can form their own opinions. This is what serves the public conversation best.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

A must watch, thank you @waadalkateab!

(Be warned, it’s gonna be a full ten minutes of ugly crying…)

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Military parades and celebrations have been held across Syria to mark the first anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and the end of a five decade dynasty of iron-fisted rule.

Assad's downfall last December came as a shock as he was overthrown by rebel forces.

The new interim President, and former Jihadi leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa now rules over a country fractured by 13 years of war, with ongoing sectarian violence, cities in ruins and a stable future far from guaranteed.

For filmmaker and activist, Waad al-Kateab, who documented the atrocities under siege in Aleppo for Channel 4 News and in the Oscar-nominated documentary 'For Sama', today is much more than 'an anniversary'. 

This year, she returned to Syria - along with her husband Hamza, a doctor to find her country broken, but with at least some hope of healing.

This is the story of their homecoming, filmed by Fadi al Halabi.

Warning: there are some distressing scenes in this report.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Another emotional day. A year without Assad is truly worthy of celebration. The lives lost on the way remain close. The promise of what lies ahead continues to beacon.
Congrats to all Syrians now doing the hard, devastating, exciting, and hopeful work of writing their future.

[Qalaat Al Mudiq @QalaatAlMudiq]

#Syria: Ummayad Square in #Damascus probably like never before, after a sea of people gathered today for the festivities of the Liberation Day.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

I’ve also met crying mothers at Najha mass grave, who were looking for signs of their loved ones, whose relatives were documented in those same files. So much funding and infrastructure and effort went into avoiding this info void for victims: https://t.co/vT57I7lp58

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

The grisly “Caesar” photos from 2020-24 were seen by journalists. I’ve seen images for the period between 2013 and 2020 since the fall. They don’t leave you. Why haven’t families been informed yet? Why aren’t we still talking about Assad’s death machine? https://t.co/YrJ6VJvIdc

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Media may use the footage which I shot myself if they produce a receipt of donating to https://t.co/jTSra8Tiba

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Full black out in Grand Central Station.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Worth a try: If you or someone you know is the good human who filmed a phone thief on a bike from the bus stop on City Road in London on Sunday, 31 August, just before midday, could you DM me? Thanks a bunch.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

This was also the source of great inspiration to civil society actors elsewhere when I used their fine example to show what a potential future role for them might look like in their country, and outlined the journey of each of these individuals over the last 14 years.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

This makes me enormously happy and hopeful for the future of Syria. I’ve met or worked with most of those in this picture, all of whom have diligently worked toward becoming the people they are today—talented, skilled, committed, and ready to meet the challenges of the moment.

[Ibrahim Olabi @IbrahimOlabi]

صورة للتاريخ

عدنا إلى وطننا و إلى دولتنا

في قلب دمشق المحرّرة، اجتمعنا نحن، شبابًا وشاباتٍ سوريين من المهجّرين إلى أصقاع الأرض؛ بعضنا هجر خلال سنوات الثورة، وبعضنا وُلد في الغربة ولم يعرف أرضه يومًا. ومع ذلك، تفوّقنا في مياديننا، ورفعنا اسم ثورتنا و عملنا من اجلها حيثما حللنا في كل المحافل. وعندما تحررت الأرض، لم نتردد في قلب حياتنا رأسًا على عقب، وعدنا إلى سوريا لنخدم في مؤسسات دولتنا ال��ديدة.

في هذه الصورة، أفخر بأن أظهر فيها مع مستشاربن لوزراء، ومدراء لإدارات، وخبراء، وباحثين، عادوا جميعا من مختلف أنحاء الأرض خلال أيام و اسابيع قليلة، ليكونوا اليوم في أربع وزارات ومؤسسات حكومية في سوريا الجديدة ، خدما لأهلها.

في تلك الليلة، ضحكنا، وبكينا، وتبادلنا الأحلام، واستمعنا إلى قصص تكاد تكون من الخيال: من التهجير والمعتقل، إلى أرقى جامعات ومؤسسات العالم. حكايات عن تضحية، وشغف، ومثابرة، وعزيمة لا تعرف الكلل.

وتعاهدنا جميعًا—زملاء وإخوة، نساءً ورجالًا، أن نعمل يدًا بيد مع كل من يخدم هذا الشعب الجبار و من حرره من زملائنا و اخواتنا، كفريق واحد، من أجل وطن واحد.

كنا نقول في المهجر، إن شاء الله في الشام ...ها نحن فيها...لخدمتها.

إلى آبائنا وأمهاتنا الذين ربّونا وأعدّونا لهذه اللحظة؛ من شهدها منهم، ومن رحل قبل أن يراها، وعلى رأسهم والدي، رحمه الله...وإلى أهلنا وأزواجنا و أحبابنا الذين يقفون معنا اليوم في وجه أصعب القرارات...لكم منا كل الامتنان والعرفان، فبعد فضل الله، و فضلكم, لما كنا.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Brilliant to see so many talented young Syrian’s taking leading roles in Syria’s future.

[Charles Lister @Charles_Lister]

Kudos to @AsaadHShaibani for hiring #Syria's young diaspora professionals into leading posts in the Foreign Ministry.

To name a few: @Qidlbi @razanspeaks @IbrahimOlabi @zalbarazi @ObaydaGhadban & more.

[Timour Azhari @timourazhari]

Trump-Sharaa official photos

[Levant24 @Levant_24_]

Syrians welcomed the news of sanctions being lifted with celebrations in Homs City.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Out with a large group of Syrian friends and colleagues, this news elicited cheers, hugs, a couple of sly tears, and rounds of drinks.

Let Syrians shine, he said. Now they have a chance to do so. The future isn’t guaranteed but now they have a chance to try to write one.

[Ryan Grim @ryangrim]

Trump says he’s lifting sanction on Syria to “give them a chance at greatness.”

As he gets a standing ovation, he adds of MBS, “Oh, what I do for the Crown Prince….”

[Centre for Humanitarian Leadership @centrehl]

HUMANITARIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE | An extraordinary line-up for the Day 2 morning panel discussion: Local Leader Spotlight - Leading from the front: the humanitarian vanguard.

Leaders from #Myanmar #Syria #Sudan #Syria #Ukraine

@onlineCHS

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Poor journalism focused on a single prison, documentation orgs overfocus on torture techniques and not on bureaucracies and systems of violence, and policy lens on justice alone, are all adding to this problem. Security and social cohesion challenges aren’t helped by any of this.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

This is an issue I think a lot about. The lack of a shared understanding and narrative about the last 14 years is dangerous. As is the need for acknowledgement, truth-telling, and reconciliation. TJ discussions focus mainly on criminal justice, but the ‘softer’ part is urgent.

[Syria Direct @SyriaDirect]

🧵 Dealing with the legacy of Syria’s prisons and security branches as atrocity sites is a collective moral responsibility and part of the fight for memory, "the last bulwark against repeating the past," Nour al-Khateeb writes.

🔗 https://t.co/rXactyOXw1

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Join us from 16:30 today in Geneva if you’re around for HPNW.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

The aid landscape is changing rapidly. Find out how you can join those working to support and fund local responses and mutual aid in crisis and conflict. Join us on Monday at HPNW in Geneva.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

The aid landscape is changing rapidly. Find out how you can join those working to support and fund local responses and mutual aid in crisis and conflict. Join us on Monday at HPNW in Geneva.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

Despite years of suffering and a truly desperate humanitarian situation, the resilient, vibrant, hilarious, generous, ordinary people of Syria are taking small bites of the giant elephant that is creating a brighter future despite all of the challenges and risks. Truly inspiring.

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

On this anniversary of the Syrian revolution, I would like to pay tribute to all those Syrians doing the hard work — in big and small ways — to write the next chapter and ensure it is better than the last. Often overlooked in media coverage, ordinary Syrians are:

[Emma Beals @ejbeals]

creating Facebook groups and informal networks to discuss and design new town plans, documenting rights abuses, pursuing justice and information about the missing, putting their own pain aside to rejoice in each other’s homecomings and reunions. And more!