Born in the UK, to an English mother and a Syrian father. Raised in Syria and Dubai (mostly), where the sun shone every day. I never knew how to appreciate the sun until I came to live in the UK.
Having spent a great deal of my life in the Arab world, I have experienced firsthand the issues that are detrimental to its progress just as I have experienced its greatest strengths. It has been a constant battle to reconcile my own feelings of devotion to and frustration with the Arab world.
I now devote my time to reading, writing and thinking about the interaction of power, of histories, of nations and of people - especially relating to the Middle East.