Quotes from Wendy Pearlman

We know that freedom has a price. Democracy has a price. But maybe we paid a price that is higher than freedom and higher than democracy. There is always a price for freedom. But not this much.

I remember we crossed a bridge and it trembled underneath our feet because we were so many people.

Hey, Mom, what's new?" "By God, today it's raining and foggy." "Foggy" meant security forces were present. "Raining" meant they're shooting. "Storms" meant shelling. And we were saying all of this in the heat of summer!

But even a monster has hope. He hopes that someday he'll go back to being a normal human being.

Every lawyer told me, "We'll get him out." But they were just lying so I would keep paying them.

if the world had helped us from the beginning, we never would have reached this point. Some think that we're religious fundamentalists. But nobody forces me to fast during Ramadan.

I swear, in Syria nobody used to ask whether you're Muslim or Christian. We had no idea what religion our friends were.

But we haven't come looking for safety. We're not afraid of death." And it's true. We don't have a problem with death. Our problem is life without dignity.

I started yelling in a loud voice, "Dignity!" What did we want after dignity? We didn't know. But we knew that we needed more than just food.

Hama today is nearly without men. There are only women and old people. My sister calls it "the Widow City.

The more someone supported the regime, the more he was scared of it.

Blood is what moves people. Blood is the force of the revolution.

Many people aren't happy with the refugees coming to their country. Maybe we came illegally, but every other door was shut in our faces. What do they expect us to do?

Arabs used to produce science and algebra and now we're famous for killing.

Just because you're fighting evil doesn't mean you're good. And just because you're doing evil doesn't mean you're bad. You end up with the conclusion that there is no ultimate right or wrong. It's all shades of gray.

But I think I'm too old to dream now. In a month and a half, I'll be twenty-nine.

Today, the word "refugee" is used in a horrible way. It's something either to be pitied or blamed for everything. Overpopulation? It's the refugees. Rents going up? It's the refugees. Crime? It's the refugees. If you label people refugees, they remain refugees for the rest of their lives.

Many people aren't happy with the refugees coming to their country. Maybe we came illegally, but every other door was shut in our faces. What do they expect us to do? Isn't it enough our government destroyed us and we lost everything? We would prefer to stay in our country. If you don't want refugees, help us make peace in Syria.

It's been so long since I heard that someone died of natural causes.

The regime has turned us into monsters so it can justify killing us by saying that it's fighting monsters... I imagine this man who loses his kids- the one thing that defines his future. I completely understand if he turns into a monster. But even a monster has hope. He hopes that someday he'll go back to being a normal human being.

For many Syrians, the start of a new life in Europe was the third in a succession of traumas. The trauma of war was followed by the trauma of a death-defying journey, only to be eclipsed by the trauma of disappointed expectations upon arriving in the West.

You can't imagine how he died. His toenails were ripped out. His bones had been pierced with a drill. There were marks from being beaten and burned. His nose was beaten so severely that it was flat.

I can't sleep without the sounds of bombs or bullets. It's like something's missing.

There was one child from the camp with polio. He used to come and say to me, "When I was a little kid . . ." And he was only ten years old.