I did not regret missing Rouzaina Lazkani’s television work as much as I regretted discovering—too late—that Syria had been hiding its true face in a place we had not looked closely enough. Rouzaina, chosen by President Ahmad al‑Shar’a as part of the complementary third of the People’s Assembly, is not merely an actress stepping into politics. She is a distilled image of a Syria trying to break free from the era of rigid interpretations and step into the era of life.

I cannot write about Rouzaina the actress; I was not fortunate enough to watch her performances. But I can write about the Syria I know well through years of journalism—Syria that now reveals itself in small but decisive details: a beautifully crafted airline advertisement, a flight returning to Europe after a decade of isolation, and a familiar artistic face entering parliament to say something larger than politics.

The advertisement released by Syrian Airlines as its first flight departed Amsterdam for Damascus was an event that transcended aviation. It was crafted with enough emotional force to pierce the heart, not merely the viewer’s mind.

Dutch media described the flight as “a symbolic step reconnecting Syria with Europe after years of isolation,” while a European aviation journal called it “a turning point in Syria’s reintegration into the global airspace.”

Dutch media described the flight as “a symbolic step reconnecting Syria with Europe after years of isolation,” while a European aviation journal called it “a turning point in Syria’s reintegration into the global airspace.”

This Western language, emerging from distant newsrooms, quietly aligns with the........

© Middle East Monitor