 A suburb of Damascus after it was recaptured by regime forces (Getty) On a recent trip to Damascus, an acquaintance surprised me by announcing his plans to leave the country. Concerned friends have been trying to get him to move to Lebanon for the past two years, but he always refused. Like many Syrians, he felt that even with a civil war raging, Damascus had a soulfulness and integrity that Beirut lacks. Now he’s had enough. "Its not the shelling," he explained. "It's the greed." Read more | 
