Syrian Author Zoulfa Katouh Talks Shattering Perceptions Of Refugees And Celebrating Muslim Women

Canadian-Syrian author Zoulfa Katouh, who is based in Switzerland, talks to Awallprintss’ Safeeyah Qadhi about taking on the monumental task of altering perceptions surrounding Syria through her debut novel As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow.

“It kind of came from guilt that I had because I didn't know how to help,” Zoulfa says about how she conceptualised the book.

“Because when I was living in Dubai, all I did was Facebook posts, which… who’s mind are you changing? Who are you telling about what's going on? They already know what's going on. So, moving [to Switzerland] when I met people that don't know what was going on, I was like, ‘Oh, now I can make a difference. Now I can write something that would educate people about the situation and teach them empathy.’ Because that's what stories do. They teach empathy and I'm very happy that I was able to do that.”

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is set in the heart of the Syrian conflict and tells the story of 18-year-old pharmacist Salama desperately attempting to flee Syria before her pregnant best friend Layla gives birth – all whilst trying to stay alive amid countless attacks and her own vivid hallucinations.

Syria has been in a state of crisis since March 2011 when pro-democracy protesters took to the streets, demanding increased freedoms under President Assad’s rule. The situation has since escalated leaving 13.4 million Syrians in need of humanitarian aid. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates there are 6.6 million Syrian refugees around the world, 5.6 million of them hosted in surrounding countries.

Zoulfa, who is the first Syrian author to be published in both the U.K and the U.S with a novel for young adults, explains how she felt impassioned to ensure people could see beyond Syria’s statistics and see individual human beings in them instead.

“[I wanted to] take those hard, cold facts and turn them into a story because stories bring the image closer to reader's minds, ears and eyes,” she says. “I slowly started taking in all the stories that I know personally and stories that were on the news and on Facebook pages of what happened in Syria and just fashion them into a story.”

When I ask Zoulfa about the one thing she wants people to know about Syrian refugees, the message is clear; help others in their time of need because there may be a time you need it too.

“Syrians and refugees, in general, are more than numbers - they are people. It's just that this [is their] situation, this is the way of the world right now,” she says. “But the world keeps changing and maybe there will come a time when places are changed. So we have to have empathy for others because who knows what would happen to us? We would want someone to help us when we are down.”

'As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow' is out now.

But Lemon Trees, as Zoulfa has lovingly nicknamed it, is a novel that wants to do more than educate the masses, it paves the way for Muslim women to be seen and celebrated. This is evident in the intent behind Zoulfa’s decision to hero a strong female, Muslim, hijabi character in Salama.

“It was healing for my 13-year-old self,” she says about writing Salama. “I would have loved to see myself represented in a book like this, where the whole plot isn’t her parents or her religion, or a boy in school, it’s just trying to survive and she happens to be Muslim. It was awesome to write a book that exists outside the boundaries that usually see Muslim stories in.”

Powerfully, the book also showcases a stunning love story between Salama and local boy Kenan, something she is optimistic will contribute towards combating negative stereotypes of Muslims.

“I wanted to have a love story [as] a symbol of the hope between the loud moments because the moments they share amplifies the loud moments that happen in the book,” she explains.

“I want Muslim readers everywhere to see themselves represented outside the negative stereotypes that we usually see. They are not what the media writes them to be, they are more than that and hopefully, this book will be their comfort.”

Surprisingly, despite the profound themes addressed throughout the book, the one message Zoulfa wants people to take away is simple; hope.

“There will always be hope despite everything that is going on. Hopefully, people will never go through what Salama and Kenan go through but you will still go through hardships in your life and I hope that people carry that at the end of the day, that things always get better.”

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is out now.