Interviews Releases
August 15, 2024
In Conversation with Samar Yazbek: ‘The World Needs Sincerity and Empathy’

In Conversation with Samar Yazbek: ‘The World Needs Sincerity and Empathy’

Maki Hoshii, in Asahi Shimbun Digital, on June 17, 2024

Amid the ongoing civil war in the Middle East, Syrian writer Samar Yazbek, visited Japan and gave a lecture in Tokyo on the 16th. She spoke about her newly translated book, the situation in her homeland Syria, and the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. She emphasized, “Dialogue fosters empathy, and that becomes a bridge between cultures and civilizations.”

Yazbek began her writing career in 1995 and was active as a writer, but in 2011, she joined the anti-government movement against the Assad regime and was arrested by the authorities. She has since fled Syria and now resides in Paris, where she continues her creative work while also running a women’s support organization that she founded.

Her newly translated novel, The Blue Pen (published by Hakusuisha), features a girl who doesn’t speak and cannot stop walking once she starts. Although set in 2013, during the height of the Syrian civil war, the novel has a mysterious atmosphere, filled with abstract expressions, vivid imagery, and fantastical elements.

After the civil war began and death became a daily reality, Yazbek shifted from writing fiction to documenting the harsh realities of war. She explained that she has now returned to literary fiction because she “started to believe in the power of imagination to resist violence” and that “creating a human connection with readers is a crucial role of literature.”

Yazbek also engaged in support activities for Palestinians who were injured and transported to Qatar after the Gaza attacks began. She stated, “The world has never needed sincerity and empathy as much as it does now. I believe this is the last truth we have left.”