A dialogue symposium on the novel “Arman” by the Syrian writer Rita Barbara

Cairo, (ST) – The Independence Cultural Forum in Cairo held a dialogue symposium on the novel “Arman Part of the Story of Aleppo” by Syrian writer Rita Barbara.

The participants in the symposium were a number of critics, those interested in cultural affairs, and Syria’s permanent representative to the League of Arab States, Ambassador Hossam El-Din Ala.

During the symposium, writer Rita Barbara said: “The writer has a great role in documentation, and in my novel “Arman”, I focused on this aspect, and I tried to be the eye that saw what happened, perhaps to be a reference for generations”.

“The novel’s characters are real and some of them have their actual names, and I tried focusing on the Syrian women who have been strong and steadfast,” she said

Ambassador Ala clarified that “Arman” is one of the old names for the city of Aleppo and that the novel summarizes the story of the terrorist war that targeted Syria.

It provides documented evidence about war and true stories about the suffering of Syrians because of this war, in contrast to the media misinformation that sought to distort the facts and divert attention from the true goals of this war and its sponsoring countries.

He pointed out that the novel deals with how Aleppo withstood the terrorism and siege that its people suffered, especially in terms of the basic requirements of life, and how the Syrian Arab Army liberated it and restored normal life to it.

Ambassador Ala also spoke about the common ties that bring Syria and Egypt together in various fields.

In turn, the Head of the Independence Forum, Dr. Jamal Zahran stated that Syria was subjected to a global war that targeted its Arab position, and the novel presented many testimonies from the heart of Aleppo that document the events in a literary framework.

Raghda Sawas