A Syrian Wedding

by Nicholas Seeley

Getting married in a refugee camp is a tricky business. It's a world without rules, where the value of money changes by the day, rumors and gossip are everywhere, and tragedy is a constant backdrop. Yet there are weddings nearly every day in Za'atari, the crowded, dusty camp in the Jordanian desert, where some 120,000 Syrians have come after fleeing the chaos that has consumed their homeland.

"A Syrian Wedding" tells the true story of Mohammad and Amneh, a young couple who are navigating this treacherous landscape as they try to prepare for what should be the happiest day of their lives. Middle East reporter Nicholas Seeley offers readers an inside look at the terrible challenges and tiny joys of people displaced by violence and conflict.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2013

About the author

Nick Seeley is an international journalist based over the past decade in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. His work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy Magazine, Middle East Report, and Traveler’s Tales, among others. His fiction and criticism has been published in Strange Horizons. He is originally from Fairfax, Virginia. Cambodia Noir is his first novel.

Reviews

[Ema · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the very true story of the devastation that has come upon Syrians through a simple short poignant tale of a young couple getting married; and the resulting tale is exquisite. The author seems to have really listened to the pain the confusion Syrians are experienced instead of trying to project his own self and feelings upon the situation. I cried through the whole thing.
Highly, highly recommended .

[Michelle (driftingsong) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a large part in the middle of the story, I wasn't sure if this book had the right title. I think what would have been more accurate is "Life in a Syrian Refugee Camp and a Wedding". Not that there's anything wrong with the book's priorities, and I do like how the wedding is used as a launching board/pad into the broader topic of what life is like for Syrians living in this particular refugee camp in Jordan. I would have in fact loved if this was a little bit longer and got more into depth about refugee camp living, but I think this is a good primer/intro to this topic and how life continues, evolves and goes on in a refugee camp, how things are different, how things are the same, how people change and the challenges they face. I can't imagine what it is like for them as they have lost their homes and so much of what they know.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started reading this, I didn't realize that it is more non-fiction than not. I learned so much and I wish that the story was a bit longer. This was a very enjoyable, eye-opening, and educational read.

[Fatima Afridi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short, to-the-point, objective, yet an emotional heavyweight. The forgotten people, their country and the mess their lives have become; and our sheer apathy. Shook me to the core, and left me with many questions. Very effectively written!

[Alex Linschoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent little window into the world of Syrian refugees in Jordan. Lots of context, too. Very short.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

This book was a heartbreaking but important read to help understand what Syrian refugees are going through after leaving their country.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good documentary

I was expecting something more thrilling and exciting but the information was good so it was okay. Not the book I was looking for.

[Robyn Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Za’atari by Moonlight

Eighteen year old Amneh and Mohammed, 22, could make beautiful music together if only they were living in the peaceful Syria where they grew up instead of the bleak and impoverished, Jordanian provided refugee camp, Za’atari.

If Za’atari by moonlight is more attractive than sunlit Za’atari, it is only because the darkness hides the harsh realities of makeshift shelters, community toilets and the publicly visible clotheslines that typify the loss of privacy and dignity the refugees lost when bombs and gunfire drove them from their Syrian home.

The primary question the refugees all face is, " Shall we do our best to get on with our "normal" lives, or is "normal" only something we left behind and hope to return to someday? How a family answers that question determines whether they pursue education, business, or social connections or defer the major events and accomplishments that make up life: preparing for the future, schooling, career preparation, building relationships, marriage and childbirth.

Amneh's and Mohammed's families decide they have delayed their marriage long enough. They face the fact that they will not have the extended, extravagant festivities they so enjoy, and rent a lovely wedding dress from the ramshackle bridal shop and make plans to prepare the best meal they can on their one-burner camp stove.

I couldn't help but think of Fiddler on the Roof and Anne Frank as I read this documentary account of Syrian life in a refugee camp. Their Jordanian benefactors offer basic shelter, and donations from other nations provide the minimum allowance of calories needed to maintain life. But, as the Za’atarian villagers know, "normal" is a relative term and truly, "There is no place like home."

I didn't give this book a 5 star rating to measure it's enjoyment factor. Three stars given for how interesting it is, and 1 star is to indicate the importance of its message. The 5th star is a medal of honor for the courage and strength it takes for these people to persevere. They deserve far more, but like resources in Za’atari, those are all the stars I have.

[Tami Ewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great look into what it's like in a refugee camp and gives a little bit of background on what is going on in Syria. I would have liked it to be a bit more descriptive.

[Nisreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful yet tragic insight into the lives of Syrian refugees in al-Zaatari camp away from the mainstream media sensationalism

[Jack Sallay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this is depressing. And makes me think how fortunate that I am.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much about marriage, more a very solid and balanced reportage about enduring human hope in dire circumstances. There's a marriage, of course, and it plays its part.

[Adeelizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but a little slow. This book reads almost like an extra long list of facts.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic short story, though it's more feature-journalistic than anything (for some reason I thought it was fiction when I picked it up). The author is great at describing the refugee camp and the world surrounding it (I know a little about that). I only wish it didn't have outdated statistics, as things have changed since this was published.