“My Memory Is Full of Ghosts”: A Documentary Portrait of Homs After the Syrian Civil War

Anas Zawahri, a Palestinian-born filmmaker residing in Syria, completed filming in the summer of 2023 for his documentary *My Memory Is Full of Ghosts*. The film presents a series of static shots of bomb-damaged streets, hollowed-out buildings, and walls riddled with bullet holes in the western Syrian city of Homs. Interwoven with these images are testimonies from local residents, children at play amid the ruins, and occasional lamentation songs, creating a visual record of the city’s post-conflict condition. The Guardian’s review described the work as “deeply moving.”

The Guardian

From 2011 to 2014, Homs served as a major industrial hub and a focal battleground between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and various rebel groups. The city endured intensive artillery and aerial bombardments, resulting in extensive structural damage and civilian casualties. The conflict prompted large-scale displacement, with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants either forced to flee or confined within their homes.

The Guardian

Zawahri, who has lived in Syria for several years, directed and produced the documentary. The film foregrounds the perspectives of ordinary Homs residents, including a man who reflected on the city’s shift from “a city of laughter to one of agony and grief,” and another who expressed relief at being blind, thereby avoiding the visual trauma of the devastation. Children and adolescents appear throughout, depicted both as laborers compensating for lost adult work and as participants in spontaneous play among the rubble.

The Guardian

• Civilian displacement: “hundreds of thousands” of people were displaced or trapped during the 2011-2014 fighting.

The Guardian

• Physical damage: Nearly every exterior wall in the surveyed neighborhoods bears bullet holes; many structures are reduced to skeletal frames.

The Guardian

The documentary captures personal narratives that illustrate the psychological imprint of the war. One interviewee described the transformation of daily life, noting that communal spaces once filled with laughter now echo silence. Another resident highlighted a paradoxical sense of gratitude for his blindness, which shields him from the visual reminder of his hometown’s ruin. These testimonies, set against the stark visual backdrop, convey both trauma and a lingering attachment to place.

The Guardian

The film underscores the dual reality of lingering trauma and emergent resilience. The presence of children engaging in play suggests a degree of social continuity, yet their involvement in adult-type labor signals disrupted educational pathways. The documentary’s emphasis on personal testimony aligns with broader humanitarian assessments that stress the need for psychosocial support alongside physical reconstruction.

The Guardian

While the documentary notes that peace remains “more fragile than ever,” it does not specify forthcoming political initiatives. The visual record serves as a resource for scholars, aid organizations, and policymakers seeking to understand the long-term effects of urban warfare on civilian populations and to design interventions that address both material and psychological recovery in Homs.

The Guardian