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Sally Warhaft and Kassem Eid on stage at the Wheeler Centre

In 2013, Kassem Eid narrowly escaped death when Bashar al-Assad’s government unleashed a now-infamous its-like-to-survive-a-sarin-gas-attack.html">sarin gas attack on Ghouta, Syria. It wasn’t just sarin: the area was also bombarded by mortar fire. At least 1500 people died. Eid didn’t, but the devastating assault irreversibly injured his community and upended his life.

Since its beginnings during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, the war has claimed tens (some say hundreds) of thousands of lives. It has made refugees of more than ten million people, including Eid – an activist and journalist, himself born to Palestinian refugee parents.

In this episode, the author of My Country: A Syrian Memoir speaks with Sally Warhaft about his life, the history of the conflict and how he understands the prospect of it ending. They discuss the Syria he grew up in, the Syria he fought for, and the Syria the world abandoned.

Kassem Eid's visit was supported by Goethe Institut Australia.