The Syria Issue
Mandaean Refugees Are Stuck Between Iraq and a Hard Place
There's a whole generation of Mandaean refugees in Syria that will never be given the opportunity to go to school.
Can Films Right the "Conspiracy Against Syria"?
Najdat Anzour is a leading Syrian director who made news in 2007, when it was announced that he was slated to direct a film based on a screenplay by Muammar Gaddafi. I dialed up Najdat to talk about the conflict in Syria.
Syria: Bombs Away
President Bashar al-Assad and the remaining Syrian leaders want to invite your investment, commerce, and tourism as we say BOMBS AWAY to speculation and development in Syria—"A country exploding with opportunity... and bombs!!"
All in the Family
As we were putting together this issue, we realized that coordinating a fashion shoot inside Syria would void our insurance. Luckily, we tracked down a Syrian Jewish family living in nearby Sheepshead Bay who were willing to participate.
On the Lam in Lebanon
It’s dusk when the rebels move into position within a cluster of lemon and olive groves about 300 feet from the Syrian border post north of the bleak and dusty Lebanese farming village of al-Qaa. I’m watching the operation from behind the troops with...
The Magic Kingdom of Syria
Here’s a fun idea for Syria: Disneyland. Just because your government has oppressed you for generations and your country is in the midst of a full-scale civil war doesn’t mean you don’t want to get soaked on Splash Mountain, right?
Who Wants to Kill a Million!
Bashar al-Assad follows fellow murderous dictators Mubarak and Gaddafi in the hot seat. "If you were to commit a massacre in Damascus, who would you put in charge?" A comic from the Syria issue drawn by Johnny Ryan.
VICE Speaks with Syria Deeply's Lara Setrakian
Syria Deeply is a soon-to-be-launched web media project that's "exploring a new model of storytelling around a global crisis." Lara also contributes to ABC News, 'Foreign Policy,' and 'Monocle' magazine. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Syrian Hamsters
These furry bags of joy love desert climates and stuffing as much food into their cheek pouches as possible—in fact, their Arabic name roughly translates as “Mr. Saddlebags.” Not joking.
Hey, United Nations!
In an attempt to find out how the world’s premier bastion of peace, international cooperation, and social progress has internally reacted to the conflict in Syria since its withdrawal, VICE bureaus from around the world reached out to their respective...
Thousands Are Losing Their Limbs in Assad’s War
Attempting to uphold humanitarian rights in Syria under Assad is risky business—especially for Chavia Ali, the wheelchair-bound Kurdish chairwoman of the Cultural Forum for People with Special Needs.
Gunrunning with the Free Syrian Army
Blindfolded, I fidgeted nervously in the back of an unmarked car, squished between a gunrunner and a young Free Syrian Army soldier. It had been at least an hour since we left the border town of Kilis, Turkey, and we were now off-roading across the...