WunderWelten: The New Syria

Description

A JOURNEY THROUGH A COUNTRY IN TRANSFORMATION Over fifty years of dictatorship. Fourteen years of war, destruction, flight, and fear. That is Syria. Millions of people have been displaced from their homeland, hundreds of thousands have lost their lives. And now – a new beginning? A free Syria? Lutz Jäkel, photojournalist and author, has known Syria for over thirty years, from close up, from afar. He has lived in Damascus, traveled extensively through the country, made friendships, fallen in love with the Syria of the people, not of power. For fourteen years, he had to stay away because of the war. To him, Syria seemed lost, the 2011 revolution failed. Many thought so.
Then, suddenly, the turning point in December 2024. The regime falls. And just a few days later, Lutz Jäkel sets out, returns to the battered country, and a few months later, he goes back again. Meets old acquaintances, long-time friends. Like Amer, whom he embraces again after several years and who was still detained and imprisoned by the secret service in 2024. In the Christian quarter of Damascus, Christians celebrate their first Christmas without dictatorship. In the famous Café Noufara, waiter Ahmad suddenly approaches, says: "Hello Lutz, how are you?" As if nothing had happened in the last fourteen years.
But there are also shocking stories. Zubaida shows Lutz the place where she lost her husband in a massacre in 2012; now she hopes for justice. In the notorious Sednaya torture prison, Abdurahman holds up a photo of his son to the camera, missing for years; he does not know exactly where he is or if he is still alive. An HTS fighter leads Lutz into a drug factory, letting millions of pills fall from crates. With this, the Assad regime enriched itself and financed the war.
The return to Syria is the most personal journey of the Middle East expert. A search for traces in a torn but not lost land. During his travels through the new Syria, Lutz hears stories of loss and of new beginnings. Of exhaustion and courage to continue. He talks to people who have stayed or returned, documents their stories, their doubts, their quiet optimism as well as their joy about the new freedom. After the great success of his first live report about Syria before the war, Lutz Jäkel's new live report is a journalistic record, an emotional look at a country in transition, at Syria and its people after the war and dictatorship. Where silence ends after decades of fear. More info about the lecture and festival can be found at www. WunderWelten. org

Highlights

• Lecture by Lutz Jäkel about Syria
• Insights into the current situation after regime change
• Personal stories of returnees

General Information

The lecture "WunderWelten: The New Syria" takes place at the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus in Friedrichshafen. Lutz Jäkel, an experienced photojournalist, shares his experiences and impressions from Syria after the fall of the regime in December 2024.

Location

Olgastraße 20, 88045 Friedrichshafen, Germany

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