We are confronted by new fears, and new sources of mourning. Despite it all, my city of Homs is in a state of joy<\/p>\n
My friend called me crying. Homs was liberated, she said. My nerves were about to explode. Liberated, not liberated, liberated, not liberated \u2013 the only certainty was that Syrian insurgents had entered the city and taken some of its surrounding countryside.<\/p>\n
I have lived in Homs all my life, writing under a pseudonym so that the world would know about the people of the city and their sorrow. I wanted to be our voice. After the siege of Homs from 2011 to 2014, the past decade has brought ever-present violence and frequent blockades of food, fuel and medicine.<\/p>\n
Mona Rafea is the pseudonym of a writer based in Homs. Translated by Ammar Azzouz<\/p>\n
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