Alex Simon

@AlexGSimon

Syria Program Director

Beirut, Lebanon
Joined January 2012
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    Mar 4

    THREAD: A rare silver-lining to Syria's war lies in the proliferation of brilliant Syrian voices inside and outside the country. I aim to capture some in this essay. Below are just a few more, who narrate Syria's present and foreshadow its future

    2 replies 55 retweets 100 likes
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  2. Mar 28

    Damascus moving a major state enterprise to Hasakeh is important, and fits within a broader effort to rebuild influence in the northeast. via

    11 retweets 21 likes
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  3. Mar 27

    This from captures a very specific, ugly indignity: As ordinary Syrians live in misery, those who destroyed the country are ever more aggressive in flaunting their wealth

    23 retweets 25 likes
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  4. Mar 27

    Damascus both distrusts and depends upon Syria's religious sphere, which fills gaps left by a decaying central state. Great rundown from

    9 retweets 11 likes
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  5. Mar 26

    Illuminating portrait of the dismal mood inside Syria, where everyone--regime and society alike--is digging in for a long, bitter stage ahead. from

    11 retweets 7 likes
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  6. Mar 26

    Useful from on Aleppo's textile industry, which encapsulates Syria's economy: - infrastructure ravaged by war; - corruption & extortion undermine recovery; - smuggling cheaper than local production; ---> capital fled & can't viably return.

    2 replies 28 retweets 42 likes
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  7. Mar 21

    One of Syria's great mysteries is that Western countries continue to invest in a peace process that Damascus has faithfully undermined from day 1

    7 replies 42 retweets 73 likes
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  8. Mar 20

    Forward-looking and focused on Syrian agency, this from is a welcome glimmer of positivity amid dark times in Syria

    1 reply 16 retweets 41 likes
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  9. Mar 18

    Very useful, succinct sketch of the Syrian revolution's arc, and the many players that shaped it: from peaceful protests to ever more extreme militarization, through to disintegration and despair. from

    1 reply 7 retweets 18 likes
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  10. Mar 12

    Returns until now represent a trivial number of total displaced. They largely comprise Syrians who are not "wanted," and/or who will assume terrible risks to escape conditions in host countries. It's wrong to infer that returns will snowball--and wronger still to encourage it.

    Replying to @AlexGSimon
    Alex, given that some refugees are returning or want to return, does number two really fit in with reality?
    1 reply 6 likes
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  11. Mar 12

    Europe badly needs a Syria policy beyond the fantasy of a negotiated transition, resting instead on modest goals and clear parameters for its own engagement. My thoughts:

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  12. Retweeted
    Mar 11

    The is in urgent need of a policy that looks beyond the chimera of a negotiated transition. The current slogan—which links reconstruction funding to a “political ”—is treacherously ambiguous. By Alex Simon.

    4 retweets 7 likes
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  13. Mar 11

    My quick take on how EU can align Syria policy with reality: 1) Articulate concrete, modest goals for the future; 2) Push back, hard, on creeping narrative of refugee return; 3) Decide what, exactly, Assad must concede to gain any relief from isolation.

    2 replies 15 retweets 36 likes
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  14. Mar 6

    This is the best explainer I've seen on the impact of sanctions, and the most plausible argument on how to use of them for practical objectives. from &

    1 reply 5 retweets 21 likes
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  15. Mar 6

    American political discourse is nonsense, and the and opinion pages are as bad as any tabloid or cable news show

    1 reply 1 retweet 6 likes
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  16. Mar 5

    Syria will not fully recover from its war, and the coming stage looks dark. Yet societies move slowly: Syria’s trajectory will be measured not in years, but in decades. There is every reason to anticipate and invest in something better over the horizon.

    2 retweets 7 likes
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  17. Mar 5

    A Syrian professor put it well: “Nobody has any right to despair looking at today's generation. Look how many successful young Syrians have emerged inside or outside Syria. The important thing is not to stop."

    1 reply 2 retweets 1 like
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  18. Mar 5

    The aid sector, for all its drawbacks, has channeled massive investment into the professional capacities of young Syrians. Many—regardless of their stance on the revolution—continue struggling to make Syria better.

    1 reply 1 retweet
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  19. Mar 5

    More subtly, Syria’s reservoir of human capital has taken countless steps backward and a few leaps forward. Migration to Europe is both a great loss and, if properly leveraged, a real gain. The diaspora will remain a vital and highly flexible resource.

    1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
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  20. Mar 5

    Equally important is how people take care of each other, including in counterintuitive ways. I hear stories of Syrians paying voluntary bribes—i.e. donations—at checkpoints and public offices, out of solidarity with underpaid employees.

    1 reply 1 like
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  21. Mar 5

    Most striking is the sheer grit and adaptability on display. A friend met with a woman whose house was destroyed, and who single-handedly rebuilt her kitchen from the rubble. Syrians weather unimaginable suffering through limitless ingenuity.

    1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
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