A review of The Home that was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria, by Alia Malek
The Home that Was Our Country is a deeply insightful and engaging memoir that interweaves the textures of Syrian history during the time of the author’s great-grandfather, with her personal experience of Syria in the years following the Arab Spring. Born in the US, Alia Malek decided to move to Damascus in 2011 when hopes of freedom filled the air, to reclaim the apartment of her grandmother that had been lost to the family during the first Assad regime.
The story ”… chronicles Syria’s descent into authoritarianism and war, highlighting the resilience of a family whose roots run deep in the nation’s soil.”
The story told by Malek masterfully entwines personal and political history across decades of struggle, until 2017 when her book was published. It chronicles Syria’s descent into authoritarianism and war, highlighting the resilience of a family whose roots run deep in the nation’s soil. Tracing the history of her family, Malek uncovers generations of shifting Syrian realities that formed the backdrop to the fall of the authoritarian state in December 2024 and the rise of the move toward democracy.
The life of Malek’s grandmother, Salma, lies at the heart of the story but the narrative begins with Salma’s father, who was born into a Christian family in Homa, the only son of a widowed mother. Abdeljawwad al-Mir grew up under Ottoman rule, when Christians were a small minority. He became a wealthy landowner and to protect his extensive role in the semi-feudal society, he cultivated the public identity of a Sunni.
During WWI and the Armenian slaughter that followed, when survivors sought refuge in Syrian towns, the political situation in Homa became extremely complex. Rivalries grew between powerful individuals, Islamic sects, and foreign nations seeking to control Syria. The author describes how involvement in the patronage system led Abdeljawwad to aid rival Arab individuals vying for power, seeking protection for his family, his village and workers, and his wealth. The roots of Syria’s political culture of favors, bribes, and secret deals are exposed in this account.
Salma, the eldest daughter of Abdeljawwad, adored her father to the point that she sacrificed the love of her life to marry someone of whom he approved. Although he later omitted her from his will, Salma saw herself in her father’s image. She and her husband moved to Damascus, where she began to establish herself as a social force, despite having no money of her own and no possibility, as a woman, of playing a role in civic life.
Salma and her husband purchased an apartment in a multifamily building, where the reader learns of the generosity, hospitality, and community involvement so important to Syrian people. Strangers became like family, working, living and suffering in close proximity. Residents and guests included Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians and Kurds. Social gatherings were frequent, people of importance were cultivated and help was given when needed. Salma’s three children were born there, the eldest of whom was Alia Malek’s mother. The drama of daily life unfolds there for two decades, before Salma decided that she wanted to live in a new house.
“Though independence was achieved in 1949, Syria was caught between foreign powers all vying for Middle East dominance: the US, the USSR, plus regional powers, Egypt in particular.”
Interspersed with anecdotes about family and friends are accounts of social unrest and political upheaval. Though independence was achieved in 1949, Syria was caught between foreign powers all vying for Middle East dominance: the US, the USSR, plus regional powers, Egypt in particular. Power struggles also took place between sectarian groups inside Syria and within its military. In this chaos and confusion, Hafez al-Assad rose to power in 1970 through a series of coups and the promise of stability. To consolidate power and control he utilized patronage, creating a thoroughly corrupt regime.
The Syrian people continued to cope as well as they could through years of deception and dishonesty, plus rising inflation, upholding the values of individual generosity and hospitality. In 1974, Salma’s oldest daughter married a physician on his way to the United States for training. They decided to make their home in Baltimore, where Alia Malek was born. The second part of the book focuses on Malek’s reconnection with Syria.
She first traveled there as a teenager, in 1992, to visit relatives and soon fell in love with the country. In 2003, she returned briefly and decided to move there in 2011. In exquisite detail, she depicts the nature of life in a world where one could never speak without concern about being reported to the government, known for its abject cruelty. That was also the time of the revolution, with fierce battles occurring across the country.
“The reader is left with a vivid picture of… life… preceding the downfall of the Assad regime, a life that stands in stark contrast to the vision of Syria impelling its new leaders.”
In 2013, Malek left Damascus to return to the United States where she wrote this memoir. The reader is left with a vivid picture of the forces that shaped Syria’s past and the quality of life during the decade preceding the downfall of the Assad regime, a life that stands in stark contrast to the vision of Syria impelling its new leaders.
August 2025