We did not come from one place,
but we came from one shared pain…

Nadine from Daraa, Safiya from Banyas, Katia from Mashta Al-Helou, Nanda from Qamishli, Kholoud from Tadmur (Palmyra), Hanadi from Rural Damascus, Maya from Salamiyah, and Mariana from Aleppo.

Cities divided by geography, politics, and war, yet brought together by one question:
How do we survive as Syrians—women and men?
How do we rise and heal?

In the TASTAKEL trainings – Cohort 14 in Transitional Justice, we were not only trainees;
we were witnesses to one another’s pain.
We listened to stories we had never heard before,
and we came to understand that every community has its own narrative, its own fears, its own losses, and its deferred hope.

We learned that disagreement does not mean hostility,
that negotiation is not weakness but courage,
and that common ground is not imposed—it is discovered when we see the human being before the affiliation.

We moved from our narrow, personal experiences
to a broader experience that embraced most regions and communities of Syria,
guided by outstanding trainers with a clear vision,
and supervisors who truly believe that serious work makes a difference.

We were able to form a small model of what Syria could be.

We agreed that my freedom ends where the freedom of others begins,
that my rights are not complete unless the rights of others are secured,
and that either we survive together… or no one survives.

This experience did not only change our ideas; it redefined us as Syrian women.

We realized that the new Syria will not be built by speeches or by waiting,
but by our own hands…

And from here, from this encounter— from TASTAKEL—
the journey began…
the journey toward a Syria that has room for all of us