In a few weeks, many Syrians, Syrian-Palestinians, and their supporters will be commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Syrian uprising. Amid ongoing diplomatic talks that expose just how much of Syria’s future is in the control of outside powers, it’s an important time to assess the challenges and debates facing ordinary Syrians.

While in March 2011 peaceful protesters demonstrated in the streets, facing Assad’s army and paramilitary forces, the battle has shifted six years later to become between states (the Assadist state, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, the United States) and non-state actors (ISIS, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham [JFS], Ahrar Al-Sham, etc) against a population caught largely between them.

Razan Ghazzawi participated in the 2011 protests in Syria and was detained twice by the Assadist state; the threat of a third detention forced her to escape the country. Still, in 2013 she returned to live in Kafranbel, a town outside government control, before entering the PhD program at the University of Sussex. Here, Ghazzawi interviews American grassroots activist Ramah Kudaimi on questions of grassroots activism, transnational solidarity, American politics, and the Left on Syria. They discuss the need to rethink mobilization and advocacy strategies in the service of people’s protection, justice, and accountability in Syria.