This episode of BBC's radio documentary series Crossing Continents takes listeners to Darayya, a Syrian city that has been devastated by the daily violence of war. Darayya is also home to an extraordinary project: an underground library comprised of books that people have collected and, oftentimes, salvaged from buildings and homes destroyed by bombs. As of the show's July 2016 recording, the library was home to 14,000 books of all genres (the volunteers who direct this library adhere to just one rule when collecting books: no censorship). In addition to providing the community of Darayya with books, the Secret Library, has also become a community space that hosts discussions on issues of interest. Recent issues have included Japan's recovery after World War II and the ongoing civil war in Iraq (as one participant explains, "we want to learn how to prevent such awful things from happening to us when this war is over.") This thirty minute episode, which includes interviews with volunteers and patrons of the library alike, poignantly illustrates resilience in Darayya.
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