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Syrian war

Safi Haso, about 70 years old, from Girik village of Kobani. "We are probably the last generation that has tattoos," she says. "All Kurdish women had them." In addition to facial, hand and neck tattoos, Haso has tattooed her own breast with circles around

These Kurdish refugee women are proud owners of facial tattoos

Culture

Photographer Jodi Hilton visited a Syrian refugee camp last fall. And she came across something unexpected: beauty. Kurdish women there have facial tattoos, also known as “deq.”

A Syrian refugee woman stands near her tent at the Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, January 15, 2015.

‘They told me they were going to melt me in acid if I continue the work I was doing’

Conflict
Diana Darke in the courtyard of her house in Damascus, Syria.

A British author fights to hang onto her home in Damascus

Conflict
Freed Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg stands outside the Home Office with his father, Azmat, after delivering a petition in London on March 14, 2005.

Former Guantanamo detainee says the UK rejected his offer to help save an ISIS hostage

Justice
Migrants in a boat during a rescue operation by Italian navy ship San Marco off the coast to the south of the Italian island of Sicily.

Italy has been rescuing migrants stranded at sea — but they don’t want to pay for it

Development
Members of the Hanano team rescue a man who had been trapped inside his home after a bomb hit it in Aleppo, Syria.

These young men risk their lives to save others in Syria

Conflict

While a lot of news out of Syria is mainly about death and destruction, one writer found a more positive story on his trip there. He spent a week shadowing a team of first responders who have made it their mission to stay and save lives.

Fouad Faris, 19, sits at his computer in Shrewsbury, MA, video chatting with his sister, Rama, who is in Turkey. Faris wears a neck brace because he is recovering from a biking accident.

A teen who escaped Syria waits for a future in the US

Conflict & Justice

19-year-old Fouad Faris fled his hometown of Aleppo, Syria, a year ago and moved in with his aunt and uncle in Shrewsbury, MA. He left behind bombs and tear gas, but also education, friends and family. For the past seven months, he’s been waiting for asylum and a chance to restart his life.