Politics & Governance / International Politics / War & Conflict

Syria's Descent into Hell: The Morning They Came for Us

When war arrives, it doesn't knock. Journalist Janine di Giovanni, who covered Bosnia in the '90s, returned to Syria in 2012 to witness a nation unravel. In her book 'The Morning They Came for Us,' she reveals the chilling suddenness of collapse—one day, people planned ballet lessons; the next, banks closed, phones died, and streets became battlegrounds. From the elite partying in Damascus hotels while civilians starved in Homs, to the systematic use of rape as a weapon by the Shabiha militia, to the horror of barrel bombs flattening Aleppo, this is a story of shattered lives and a failed international response. Di Giovanni captures the voices of survivors like Nada, imprisoned and tortured for eight months, and Hussein, whose lungs were punctured in a military hospital turned torture center. This isn't just a history lesson—it's a raw, urgent look at how ordinary people become casualties of politics. Watch to understand what happens when the world looks away.