The Battle for Home

Marwa Al-Sabouni's memoir offers a unique perspective on the Syrian conflict through the lens of architecture and urban design. As an architect who remained in Homs throughout the civil war, Al-Sabouni provides an intimate account of how the built environment both reflected and contributed to the social fractures that erupted into violence. Her professional expertise allows her to examine the war not merely as a political or military phenomenon, but as a catastrophe with deep roots in the physical spaces Syrians inhabited.

The book chronicles Al-Sabouni's experience living through the siege of Homs, one of the conflict's most devastating chapters. Rather than presenting a conventional war memoir focused solely on survival and suffering, she weaves together personal narrative with architectural analysis. This approach reveals how decades of poor urban planning, modernist housing projects, and the abandonment of traditional Syrian architectural principles created neighborhoods that isolated communities from one another. Al-Sabouni argues that the destruction of Homs's Old City, with its mixed-use buildings and shared courtyards, eliminated spaces where diverse groups once interacted organically.

The author's central thesis challenges readers to consider architecture as more than aesthetic preference or functional necessity. She contends that the brutal concrete apartment blocks erected during the Assad era's modernization campaigns physically segregated Syrian society along sectarian and economic lines. These developments replaced traditional neighborhoods where different religious and ethnic groups lived in close proximity, sharing common spaces and resources. When violence erupted, these isolated enclaves became battlegrounds, with the very structures designed to house people transformed into fortresses and targets.

Al-Sabouni does not romanticize pre-war Syria or its architectural heritage. She acknowledges the complexities of Syrian society and the multiple factors that contributed to the conflict. However, she maintains that the deliberate erasure of architectural traditions that fostered community interaction removed crucial social bonds. Her observations about how poorly designed urban spaces can exacerbate tensions resonate beyond Syria, offering insights relevant to urban planners and policymakers worldwide.

The memoir's strength lies in its dual narrative structure. Al-Sabouni recounts daily life under siege with visceral detail: the sounds of shelling, the scramble for water and electricity, the anxiety of navigating checkpoints, and the gradual emptying of her neighborhood as friends and neighbors fled or perished. These personal moments ground the architectural arguments in lived experience, preventing the book from becoming an abstract treatise. Readers witness how theoretical concepts about urban design manifest in real human suffering and resilience.

Her professional observations about which buildings survived bombardment and why, how certain architectural features provided shelter or exposure, and what the patterns of destruction revealed about the conflict add layers of understanding often absent from war reporting. Al-Sabouni's technical knowledge transforms ruins into evidence, demonstrating how built environments can either support or undermine social cohesion during times of stress.

The book also serves as a preservation effort, documenting architectural heritage that has been partially or completely destroyed. Al-Sabouni describes traditional Syrian houses with their courtyards, water features, and careful attention to climate and community needs. These descriptions create a record of what has been lost and why it mattered, both aesthetically and socially. Her argument for rebuilding with attention to these principles, rather than simply replicating the failed developments of the past, provides a framework for post-conflict reconstruction that considers social healing alongside physical restoration.

Critics might note that Al-Sabouni's focus on architecture, while innovative, cannot fully explain the conflict's origins or progression. Political repression, economic inequality, regional interventions, and sectarian tensions all played crucial roles that extend beyond urban planning decisions. The memoir acknowledges these factors but maintains that the built environment deserves more attention in conflict analysis than it typically receives.

The writing itself remains accessible despite the technical subject matter. Al-Sabouni explains architectural concepts clearly, allowing readers without specialized knowledge to follow her arguments. The personal narrative prevents the book from becoming dry or overly academic, while the architectural analysis elevates it beyond standard memoir territory.

This work stands as both historical document and professional reflection, offering perspectives that complement traditional political and military histories of the Syrian conflict. Al-Sabouni's decision to remain in Homs, combined with her professional expertise, created a unique vantage point. The result is a memoir that challenges assumptions about the relationship between physical spaces and social dynamics, suggesting that rebuilding after conflict requires attention not just to structures, but to the communities they shape and reflect.