The Syrian Oral History Archive (SOHA) attempts to create a comprehensive Syrian narrative about what happened in Syria from the beginning of the peaceful movement in 2011 until today, collecting oral histories and building a unified archive. This initiative project seeks to create collective memorialisation and tells detailed stories of Syrian men and women, who lived through this period.
The Syrian Oral History Archive serves as a crucial documentation effort, capturing individual and local knowledge often excluded from official records, aiming to address the marginalisation of these voices. By relying on transparent and inclusive storytelling, SOHA seeks to communicate the diverse experiences, needs, and priorities of Syrians to the wider public and decision-makers, all while ensuring the safety of narrators and maintaining interview transparency in secure environments.
The Syrian Oral History Archive is available in English and Arabic.
The SOHA program was established in 2016 by Dawlaty and its partners. Since then, a total of +400 testimonies have been collected under two collections: a) the experiences of women relatives of the missing, the disappeared, and the detained and b) the experiences of youth between 18 and 24. These testimonies have been collected through field interviews of relevant narrators who volunteered to provide their testimonies.
HURIDOCS supported Dawlaty in building this database in Uwazi, for collective memorialisation and to pursue transitional justice in the future, focusing on the rights of victims and their families.