This interview was originally broadcast in April, 2019.
The overthrow of the Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath regime in 2007 threw a war-torn nation into even deeper turmoil. Travelling to Damascus to report on the sudden exodus of Iraqis to Syria, our guest today, Deborah Campbell, met Ahlam, a refugee known in the industry as a “fixer” – someone who provides Western media with dependable information and contacts.
But when Ahlam is taken from her home right in front of Campbell, a different story emerges. A Disappearance in Damascus tells that courageous and heartrending story, of two women caught in the gap between violent conflict and malevolent political forces.
Deborah Campbell is an immersive journalist who has spent a decade reporting from such places as Iran, Syria, Palestine, Cuba and Russia. Her writing has appeared in Harper's, The Economist, and The Guardian, among others, and she is the recipient of three National Magazine Awards for her foreign correspondence. She teaches at the University of British Columbia.
