An interview by Ruth Reif, for Der Standaart, published on October 2, 2015

“My soul remains in Syria»
A year after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, Samar Yazbek was forced to flee. Her name was blacklisted. Since then she has returned several times secretly to her home to interview people.

This article by Angela Schader, was published by NZZ, on September 22, 2015
“Where the sceptre of war leads: Atef Abu Saif has breakfast with drones, and Samar Yazbek travels through destroyed Syria”
(…)
At the beginning of “The Stolen Revolution” [The Crossing], Samar Yazbek takes a peculiar position.
All the details of this report are real, she writes, there is only one fictitious character here – myself:

This article was commissioned to the author by Handelsblatt, September 25, 2015
Things must seem a little familiar for the Europeans, at least for the older generations. The images are the same, even if this time they are in color and are shown in their living rooms, instead of being black-and-white pictures viewed at the local movie theater. They are the images from the years after both World Wars, images of flight and displacement. Horrible images.

The interview was conducted by Rosa Gosch for Qantara, and published in October 2015

Pen Pinter prize winner Samar Yazbek talks to Rosa Gosch about her latest book, ″The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria″, the current situation in her home country and her expectations of the West.

The interview was conducted by, Korbinian Frenzel for Deutschland radio kultur, on September 16th, 2015. Below are translated excerpts. Photo credit: Deutschland Radio, Torben Waleczek
Everybody makes the terrorist organizationof ISIS responsible for the failure of the Syrian revolution. But the Syrian journalist and writer Samar Yazbek says that responsibility does not only lie with ISIS, but also in the inaction of the international community.
Samar Yazbek, who was just a guest at the International Literature Festival in Berlin (…), claims to the German radio that it is too easy to say that ISIS has stolen the revolution (…)

A review by  Elke Engelhardt, for Fixpoetry, September 17, 2015. Below are translated excerpts.
Regarding Syria, there is a tragic mismatch in the perception of the situation in that country, and the needs of the people there. On the one hand there are people like Samar Yazbek, who expose themselves to great risks in order to repeatedly report on the situation on the ground, give a voice to the people there that no one listens to, and on the other hand, there is persistent policy of turning a blind eye for over four years (…)