War is taking over Syria. The government is crashing, and innocent civilians are dying. Farouk Al Sharaa was the only hope to save Syria from the devastating war outbreak that couldn’t be controlled.

Though they spell their last names differently, M. Al Shara (’19), an ASD student, is the granddaughter of the former Syrian vice president, Farouk Al Sharaa.

Al Sharaa is a very well known and respected politician and diplomat in Syria. He first served as the foreign minister of Syria starting in 1984 until he was granted vice presidency in 2006. According to Al Shara, her grandfather was very passionate about what he did. He was a kind and caring leader who thought about the people’s needs and provided assistance in any way that he could.

When violence started spreading across Syria in 2012, Al Sharaa decided to step down because he didn’t wish to take part in this cruelty. He kept himself on “house arrest,” Al Shara stated, in order to ensure his safety from citizens who didn’t respect his decisions.

When Al Shara asked her grandfather how he felt about this matter, he replied, “It breaks my heart to see my country like this.”

ASD student N. Suliman (’19), says that she was sad to see Syria in such a horrific state. She believes that with the right guidance they can return to their original condition.

The people of Syria and other politicians believe that Farouk Al Sharaa fled to Jordan after he stepped down; however, Al Shara (’19) confirmed that “He never left Syria. He was scared that if he left, they wouldn’t let him back into the country,” she said.

Al Shara (’19) has not been to Syria, nor seen her grandfather since 2009. Her family did not wish to go back due to the war that was spreading across the country.

She is currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program in ASD, studying social studies classes such as economics, and global politics, in the hopes of one day following in her grandfather’s footsteps.