War Alone Does Not Define Aleppo: Ammar's Story

Aleppo has a long history with trade and industry. It was part of the ancient Silk Road and an important administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, literally at the crossroads of cultures. Textile production was an important craft: During Ottoman times, the work was done by hand; later, when the French came to Syria, they brought with electricity and machinery, as did the Germans. Since that time the textile sector and industry overall has thrived in Aleppo, where there is a culture of problem-solving and unceasing opportunities. From early adulthood, young men work on textile or printing machines, learning their craft bit by bit until they perfect their skills. After three to five years, they either buy a small machine and become a small-business owner, or they team up with another business and become a partner.

Having ambition and drive is the usual thing to have in Aleppo. My name is Ammar and I am part of this culture.

Bab al-Hadid, the neighborhood in which I grew up, was an important district in the old city within eastern Aleppo. When I was in secondary school there I wanted to be an engineer like my father. I would leaf through my father's engineering textbooks, mesmerized by the yellowing pages heavy with typeset printing spilling the theories of electrical engineering, diagrams, and charts.

In September 2012, when the rebel groups captured

Bab al Hadid, my life turned to hell. This is what it was like living under ISIS. People in military uniform were at the roundabout. They were on every street and inside every mosque. Missiles and bullets landed very close to my home, but my family braved the storm. I saw a boy I knew pushing his brother in a wheelchair. His leg had been amputated. That image was now common across Aleppo and perhaps the country. I put together a motor for a wheelchair to help my paralyzed grandmother be more mobile, and volunteered as an electrician's assistant. The fear of possibly dying at any moment pushed me