During her early life Loubna Mrie was loyal to the Assad family who had ruled Syria for decades. Mrie comes from an Alawite family – a historically marginalised group from a coastal region in what is a highly sectarian country. She grew up believing the Assad regime protected this community. But as the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, she became curious about the growing opposition to the brutal regime.
She went to an anti-government protest in Damascus – in secret – and witnessed a massacre. After this bloody awakening, she became a political actor. Now a photojournalist and author, her memoir A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria, traces her upbringing. Including life under a father who worked for the Assads and day to day life in an authoritarian society.
Loubna Mrie’s memoir Defiance is a raw account of surviving Syria’s civil war.
Photo: