Waad was an economics student at the University of Aleppo when the Syrian revolution began in 2011. For Sama (الى سما) is an incredibly personal account of the war depicts what Waad, Dr. Hamza (Waad’s husband), their friends, and coworkers went through and why they chose to stay for so long. Much of the footage takes place in the make-shift hospitals Hamza built. For Sama is an up-close look at the horror and heartbreak on the front lines of The Battle of Aleppo, and the bits of beauty that shine through.

Vocabulary / مفردات

انتبه / دير بالك
Be careful

شو قصدك؟
What do you mean?

كمامة
Mask (like a surgical mask)

كابوس / كوابيس
Nightmare/s

تصوّر
To film

خليني مرتاحة
Put me at ease or calmed me

النظام
The regime

خاطر
Danger or risk

مخنق/ة
Suffocating or strangled

ننطصر (نطصر)
We win or we are victorious

مستعدين موت كرمالو
They were ready to die for it (their new country)
كرمال/ك/ي/تم/و/ها/هم
To do something for the benefit of someone or something else

هشة
Fragile

قتل
To kill

أمل
Hope

مشفة (مستشفة)
Hospital
In writing you should probably go with the full مستشفة but if you're speaking casually, you can drop a few letters and just say مشفة

هاد شي لعم يحلقو لقلبي (حلق)
This is the thing that's breaking my heart

ساعدونا (ساعد)
Help us

التهجير
Displacement or exile

حتى هلا
Until now or up to this point

فرصة الوحيدة
Only chance

الصمت
The silence

خسرنا كل شي (خسر)
We lost everything
يا خسارة
A phrase used to show sympathy when someone is down on their luck

صدمة
Trauma

انا ما اندم اي شي (ندم)
I don't regret anything