Loubna Mrie
Loubna Mrie (Arabic: لبنى مرعي ; born 1991) is a Syrian civil rights activist and writer based in the United States. {{Cite web |title=Loubna Mrie, The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/author/loubna-mrie/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en-US}}
Life
Mrie comes from an Alawite family from a village near Latakia. Her father is a high official in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence. Despite her family ties, she is one of a few Alawites to join the fight against the Assad regime and has been branded a traitor by her father.{{Citation|title=Syria conflict: 'My father wants me dead'|work=BBC News |date=2013-05-02|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22389484|language=en-GB|accessdate=2016-12-08}}
As rioting broke out in the initial stages of the Syrian Civil War, Loubna attended Latakia University{{Cite news|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/alawite-fsa-supporter-whose-father-backs-assad-tells-of-a-syrian-family-ripped-apart|title=Alawite FSA supporter whose father backs Assad tells of a Syrian family ripped apart {{!}} The National|access-date=2016-12-08}} but moved to Damascus in 2012 as Latakia was deemed to be unsafe for activists.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-left-my-family-for-the-free-syrian-army-000205-v19n11/|title=I Left My Family for the Free Syrian Army {{!}} VICE|date=2012-11-27|newspaper=VICE|language=en-us|access-date=2016-12-08}} This was due to Assad troops opening fire on civilian protestors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html|title=Syrian Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Several Cities|last=Slackman|first=Michael|date=2011-03-25|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-12-08}} She later joined the Free Syrian Army (FSA) where she helped with the transport of food and medical aid, then with the smuggling of ammunition. She promoted the aims of the revolution in the Alawitian community and spoke with the victims of government-run troops.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/11/syria-shabiha-alawite-peace|title=Syrian exile: 'My mother is dead. And it was my father who killed her'|last=Chulov|first=Martin|date=2012-11-11|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-12-08}} After her father issued a warrant for her arrest, she fled in August 2012 to Turkey.{{Cite news|url=http://www.aksam.com.tr/guncel/istanbulda-yalniz-bir-suriyeli--148898h/haber-148898|title=İstanbul'da yalnız bir Suriyeli - Akşam|newspaper=aksam.com.tr|access-date=2016-12-08}}
On August 11, 2012, her mother was abducted, according to her father, who subsequently broke off all contact with her. Loubna later received information from a friend about the death of her mother.
She later became a photojournalist with Reuters based in Aleppo where she covered the conflict then moved to New York where she is a researcher and commentator on Syrian and Middle Eastern affairs. She has been published in The Washington Post, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung,{{Cite web|url=https://www.rosalux.de/en/publication/id/39371/translate-to-en-afrin-after-the-turkish-invasion/|title=Afrin After the Turkish Invasion|last=|first=|date=|website=rosalux.de|access-date=}} The Atlantic{{Cite web |last=Mrie |first=Loubna |date=2024-12-20 |title=Bashar al-Assad Exploited Alawites’ Fear |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/12/assad-alawites-syria-hts/681038/?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=theatlantic&utm_content=edit-promo |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}} and The New Republic, among other publications.{{Cite web|url=http://neareaststudies.as.nyu.edu/object/Loubna_Mrie.html|title=Loubna Mrie, Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, New York University|website=neareaststudies.as.nyu.edu|access-date=2016-12-08}}
References
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Category:Civil rights activists
Category:Syrian human rights activists
Category:Syrian women activists