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| The View From Syria as a Cease-Fire Takes Effect | The View From Syria as a Cease-Fire Takes Effect |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The timing of the cease-fire in Syria, which took effect on Monday at sundown and was largely holding on Tuesday, is fraught with symbolism. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — The timing of the cease-fire in Syria, which took effect on Monday at sundown and was largely holding on Tuesday, is fraught with symbolism. |
| It coincides with Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God. The tale is central to the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths — and a recurring literary metaphor for society’s sacrifice of the young in the wars of their elders. | It coincides with Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God. The tale is central to the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths — and a recurring literary metaphor for society’s sacrifice of the young in the wars of their elders. |
| United Nations agencies and other aid groups have scrambled to prepare long-awaited aid deliveries to the divided city of Aleppo. But on Tuesday they were still awaiting official word that the route was secure. | United Nations agencies and other aid groups have scrambled to prepare long-awaited aid deliveries to the divided city of Aleppo. But on Tuesday they were still awaiting official word that the route was secure. |
| We are tracking the experiences and observations of people in many parts of Syria as the truce changes, or fails to change, their lives. Read more about the terms of the deal here. | We are tracking the experiences and observations of people in many parts of Syria as the truce changes, or fails to change, their lives. Read more about the terms of the deal here. |
| Samsam, 26, is an aid worker in the government-held western part of Aleppo, which was once Syria’s largest city. She asked to be identified by only a nickname — it means “sesame” in Arabic — because she was not authorized by the government to speak to foreign reporters. She said in a telephone interview from Aleppo, which is divided between the government in the west and the rebels in the east, that residents found cease-fires frightening. When the truces inevitably break down, she said, violence escalates, and the halt in fighting also interrupts war’s predictable routine. | |
| Dr. Omar Abu Mariam, 30, a neurosurgeon, asked to be identified by only his first name and a nickname, for the safety of his family. He is the only neurosurgeon working in the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, where many patients with brain injuries die because doctors lack equipment and the evacuation route to Turkey has lately been cut off by shelling. | Dr. Omar Abu Mariam, 30, a neurosurgeon, asked to be identified by only his first name and a nickname, for the safety of his family. He is the only neurosurgeon working in the rebel-held part of eastern Aleppo, where many patients with brain injuries die because doctors lack equipment and the evacuation route to Turkey has lately been cut off by shelling. |
| He often operates around the clock and does not expect the cease-fire deal to change that, he said in a text message. | He often operates around the clock and does not expect the cease-fire deal to change that, he said in a text message. |
| For Eid, he went to a friend’s house for dinner. His friend had managed to find a sheep to slaughter, though it was more difficult and expensive to come by than usual, and they ate sheep’s liver and honey-soaked baklava, traditional Eid sweets. On the way back, the city was almost pitch black. | For Eid, he went to a friend’s house for dinner. His friend had managed to find a sheep to slaughter, though it was more difficult and expensive to come by than usual, and they ate sheep’s liver and honey-soaked baklava, traditional Eid sweets. On the way back, the city was almost pitch black. |
| “The streets were empty. Dark,” he said. “No fuel for cars. Few generators.” | “The streets were empty. Dark,” he said. “No fuel for cars. Few generators.” |
| The first evening of the truce passed without a call to the emergency room. But when he got home, he could hear explosions in the distance. Surface-to-surface missiles, he speculated. | The first evening of the truce passed without a call to the emergency room. But when he got home, he could hear explosions in the distance. Surface-to-surface missiles, he speculated. |
| The doctor wondered if he would make it through another day without heading back to the operating room. “The cease-fire is a big lie,” he said. | The doctor wondered if he would make it through another day without heading back to the operating room. “The cease-fire is a big lie,” he said. |
| Ibrahim Abo Allith, one of the volunteer rescue workers with the White Helmets, also known as the Syria Civil Defense, recounted a tense prelude to the planned cease-fire in Aleppo. According to unconfirmed reports from Mr. Allith and other activists on the ground, there were barrel bomb attacks on Monday in the neighborhood of al-Shokaief in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. | Ibrahim Abo Allith, one of the volunteer rescue workers with the White Helmets, also known as the Syria Civil Defense, recounted a tense prelude to the planned cease-fire in Aleppo. According to unconfirmed reports from Mr. Allith and other activists on the ground, there were barrel bomb attacks on Monday in the neighborhood of al-Shokaief in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. |
| Dani Qappani, 28, graduated from Damascus University with a degree in English literature in 2011, the first year of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Mr. Qappani became an antigovernment media activist in Moadhamiyeh, a suburb less than two miles from downtown Damascus, the Syrian capital. He uses a pseudonym for his safety to post videos. | Dani Qappani, 28, graduated from Damascus University with a degree in English literature in 2011, the first year of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Mr. Qappani became an antigovernment media activist in Moadhamiyeh, a suburb less than two miles from downtown Damascus, the Syrian capital. He uses a pseudonym for his safety to post videos. |
| Mr. Qappani writes poems and notes about politics on Facebook. He is worried about divisions in the Moahdhamiyeh, between those who want to accept reconciliation with the government and others, like him, who do not. Here’s how he described the situation in an online chat: | Mr. Qappani writes poems and notes about politics on Facebook. He is worried about divisions in the Moahdhamiyeh, between those who want to accept reconciliation with the government and others, like him, who do not. Here’s how he described the situation in an online chat: |
| “It’s a bit better today,” he said on Tuesday in a text message. “I can hear music being played in the Eid square.” | “It’s a bit better today,” he said on Tuesday in a text message. “I can hear music being played in the Eid square.” |
| Khaled Khalifa, 52, is an author well known for his novel “In Praise of Hatred,” about the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in 1982 and the government’s crackdown. In the dark hours of Monday morning, he posted on his public Facebook page about his plans for Eid in Damascus. | Khaled Khalifa, 52, is an author well known for his novel “In Praise of Hatred,” about the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in 1982 and the government’s crackdown. In the dark hours of Monday morning, he posted on his public Facebook page about his plans for Eid in Damascus. |
| He chatted online about his plans for Eid with the Beirut bureau of The New York Times a short while later: | He chatted online about his plans for Eid with the Beirut bureau of The New York Times a short while later: |
| Elham, 32, has two children and is married to a government employee. She woke up to quiet on Tuesday in Damascus, instead of outgoing blasts from a nearby army position.She spoke to a Times reporter, who is identifying her by her first name only for her safety. | |
| Muhammed Najdat Kaddour, 31, went to Binnish, in rebel-held territory in Idlib Province, to film the aftermath of an airstrike over the weekend and to interview survivors. In a phone interview on Monday, he described a local Eid celebration (he sent photos, below) and his own pessimism about the cease-fire and his distrust of President Assad and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia: | Muhammed Najdat Kaddour, 31, went to Binnish, in rebel-held territory in Idlib Province, to film the aftermath of an airstrike over the weekend and to interview survivors. In a phone interview on Monday, he described a local Eid celebration (he sent photos, below) and his own pessimism about the cease-fire and his distrust of President Assad and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia: |
| Bashar al-Suleiman, 29, taught in a government elementary school in a village north of Raqqa until the Islamic State took over and made the city the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate. Now he stays home except to shop for groceries. He spoke in a call over the internet. | Bashar al-Suleiman, 29, taught in a government elementary school in a village north of Raqqa until the Islamic State took over and made the city the de facto capital of its self-declared caliphate. Now he stays home except to shop for groceries. He spoke in a call over the internet. |