I glue my eyes to the brown soup, listening to the hissing flames. Since not long after I moved in, Layla has been nagging me to talk to Am at the hospital. She’s heard the stories of Syrians finding safety in Germany. So have I. Some of my own patients have been able to secure passage across the Mediterranean Sea via Am. How he finds the boats I have no idea. But with money, anything is possible. I love every character in this book.I was affected by every single one of them. I'm ready to sacrifice myself for them. They deserve the best in the whole world. Layla was so bright and so full of life she was the shining light in the darkest times. Ahmed Lamar and Yousef were the bravest kids ever i admired their courage and strength . Kenean was so sweet and determined and brave his love for his country and his siblings was really admirable<33

They also feature in the title of her debut novel, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, which is set in war-torn Syria at the height of the revolution and centres around a young woman, forced into the role of doctor, surgeon and pharmacist before her education is complete. This is, of course, a little joke, as harmless as possible given the fact that this book is extremely sad and it carries a beautiful and important message.Despite the book being aimed at young adults and teenagers, it weaves into its narrative actual events from the war alongside fictional elements, painting a somewhat representative depiction of the conflict. Outside the supermarket a desolate picture greets me. I don’t recoil, used to the horror, but it amplifies the anguish in my heart. I remember when As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow was first announced. I read the brief synopsis and gasped. It felt like the book I’d been waiting for—that the world had been waiting for—for years.

Meski dunia memiliki akses untuk melihat gambaran-gambaran ini, dunia tak akan pernah bisa memahami situasi konflik Suriah secara sempurna seperti layaknya warga Suriah sendiri. Di sinilah peran Koutuh, penulis berdarah Suriah sangat dibutuhkan. Layla sits up, her seven- months- pregnant belly stretching the navy- blue dress she’s wearing. “Tell me how it went, Salama.” he'd be standing in front of me now, holding up two fresh halloumi mana'eesh, the melted cheese on the warm bread seeping through the paper wrapping, while supporting two cups of zhoorat tea, the mint leaves filling the air with their freshness. Kenan says to Salama, “There are enough people hurting you. Don’t be one of them” (p. 209). What do you think he means? How was Salama hurting herself?

Layla’s smile deepens and she pats my cheek. “You’re too adorable for your own good, Salama. One of these days someone will snatch you up and take you far away from me.” Dengan mengelaborasi perjuangan para karakternya inilah, Katouh mampu memperlihatkan pada pembaca tentang Suriah yang tak pernah kita pahami atau lihat lewat kacamata dunia. Narasi yang begitu humanis dengan penekanan pada perlawanan juga harapan di tengah kengerian konflik bersenjata. The story takes place in Homs, which was a purposeful decision on the part of Katouh. “Homs is known as the birthplace of the Syrian Revolution. I wanted to pay an homage to that city,” she says. Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors. She knows that she should be thinking about leaving, but who will help the people of her beloved country if she doesn’t? With her heart so conflicted, her mind has conjured a vision to spur her to action. His name is Khawf, and he haunts her nights with hallucinations of everything she has lost. Burning with the fires of hope and possibility, AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW will sweep you up and never let you go.

this blanket of darkness isn’t our forever. their evil isn’t forever. not as long as we have our faith and syria’s history running in our veins.” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) bahkan sampai menobatkan Suriah sebagai negara dengan krisis pengungsi terbesar di dunia. Sejak tahun 2011, lebih dari 14 juta warga Suriah terpaksa meninggalkan rumah mereka untuk mencari tempat yang lebih aman. Lebih dari 6,8 juta warga Suriah masih menjadi pengungsi internal di negara mereka sendiri, di mana 70 persen penduduknya membutuhkan bantuan kemanusiaan dan 90 persen penduduknya hidup di bawah garis kemiskinan. Bayangkan mimpi terburuk yang pernah kamu alami tetapi mimpi itu terjadi ketika kamu terjaga, setiap hari selama bertahun-tahun,” kata Hamza dikutip langsung dari laporan Human Devastation Syndrome:The Impact of Conflict on Mental Health Human Devastation Syndrome pada 2018. as a pharmacy student with some medical knowledge, she had to volunteer at the hospital to heal and help injured people. she teaches you to fight your fears no matter how persistent and real they seem. she teaches you that you can eventually heal from the pain and trauma and if not, you can still find love and happiness. although some of her decisions were dumb and hypocritical, i appreciated the realism. A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea>.Salama ...

Khawf appeared to Salama after her mother was killed, and he only shows her the horrible things that have happened or that could happen. Why do you think he does that? What does he represent to Salama? The main purpose of this book is to raise awareness. Awareness of a reality that happens at the same time as our reality but it's completely different, like a world apart.

This blanket of darkness isn’t our forever. Their evil isn’t forever. Not as long as we have our faith and Syria’s history running through our veins.” This is why the question of whether to stay and help her compatriots or to flee weighs heavily on Salama. Ahead of its September 13 release, read an excerpt of the first chapter from As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow below. Keinginannya untuk memberikan pemahaman soal situasi di Suriah membuat Katouh mengelaborasi perjuangan penuntutan kebebasan Suriah melalui kegigihan para masyarakat Suriah yang memutuskan tinggal di Suriah. Katouh menampilkannya lewat para anak-anak dan muda-mudi yang tanpa takut tetap berjalan beringan membawa bendera Suriah sambil meneriakkan kalimat pembebasan negerinya. Seperti yang sudah Koutuh coba elaborasi sebelumnya mengenai sindrom kehancuran manusia, ia menyadari bahwa tidak semua orang bisa bertahan waras dengan situasi konflik berkepanjangan di Suriah. Nyawa dan kesehatan mental menjadi taruhannya. Karena itu, bagi mereka yang memutuskan untuk mencari suaka, keluar dari Suriah untuk menyelamatkan nyawa diri sendiri dan orang terdekat tidak digambarkan Koutuh sebagai sebuah tindakan pengecut.A year ago, after the Arab Spring sparked across the region, Syria grabbed the hope awakening in the masses and called for freedom. The dictatorship responded by unleashing hell. Wow. I haven’t felt this moved by a book in a long time! Knowing that it’s Z. Katouh’s debut novel is impressive. Her characters are poignant and raw. It’s a book about hope and a love letter to Syria I don’t know if I am capable of stringing together sentences that would properly convey how I feel about this book, so here are a list of adjectives I wholeheartedly believe apply: PDF / EPUB File Name: As_Long_as_the_Lemon_Trees_Grow_-_Zoulfa_Katouh.pdf, As_Long_as_the_Lemon_Trees_Grow_-_Zoulfa_Katouh.epub I listened to the audiobook of this and my heart was POUNDING. This is a harsh but hopeful story lead by two teens who have been forced to grow up way too fast in war torn Syria. The main character Salama (an 18yo pharmacy student/war doctor) has so much trauma, loss, and uncertainty in her life. We see the toll that constant war is taking as she continues to give all she can to those in her care while internal struggle begs her to take the few loved ones she has left and leave Syrian soil.