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Syria’s Secret Library

The story of the library in a besieged Syrian town which is providing a lifeline to a community shattered by war.

Away from the sound of bombs and bullets, in the basement of a crumbling house in the besieged Syrian town of Darayya, is a secret library. It is home to thousands of books rescued from bombed-out buildings by local volunteers, who daily brave snipers and shells to fill its shelves. In a town gripped by hunger and death after three years without food aid, Mike Thomson reveals how this literary sanctuary is proving a lifeline to a community shattered by war.

*Omar, the FSA soldier pictured above who was the last voice heard in this programme has been killed in fighting.*

(Photo: Omar Abu Anas, a Free Syrian Army soldier reads on the front line)

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27 minutes

Last on

Mon 1 Aug 2016 06:06GMT

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Broadcasts

  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 02:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 04:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 05:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 06:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 12:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 18:32GMT
  • Thu 28 Jul 2016 19:32GMT
  • Mon 1 Aug 2016 01:06GMT
  • Mon 1 Aug 2016 06:06GMT

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