This session explores the aftermath of domicide – the deliberate destruction of homes – and its profound impact on communities, urban spaces, and collective identities in Syria.

Starting with a keynote by Dr. Ammar Azzouz, the discussion will reflect on the psychological, social, and urban consequences of losing home and place.

Fulco Treffers (RO3KVIT Ukraine) and Dr. Abbey Steele (UvA) will join the dialogue, moderated by Mohammed Badran, to explore how displaced communities can rebuild not only their houses but also their sense of belonging, governance structures, and future cities.

Bringing together expertise from architecture, urban planning, and political science, the session addresses the crucial question: how can reconstruction be a tool for justice, memory, and democratic futures instead of exclusion and fragmentation?

This event is part of an ongoing series by Syrian Volunteers Netherlands (SYVNL) dedicated to Syria’s future, amplifying Syrian voices and fostering connections that go beyond borders.

Dr. Ammar Azzouz Ammar Azzouz is a British Academy Research Fellow at University of Oxford. Azzouz is the author of Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria, published by Bloomsbury in 2023, with a foreword by Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent.  He is currently conducting research on art and culture in exile with a focus on the Syrian diaspora. 

Dr. Abbey Steele is an associate professor of political science at the UvA with a focus on displacement and resettlement during civil wars, and state-building efforts in Colombia (TBC).

Fulco Treffers is an architect and urban researcher on urban development in post-conflict and fragile contexts, particularly Ukraine (RO3KVIT), but also focuses on participatory urbanism and rebuilding processes that center local communities.

Mohammed Badran is a member of the Network for Refugee Voices (NRV), and he is the founder of Syrian Volunteers in the Netherlands (SYVNL), a refugee-led network with more than 600 volunteers. He is the moderator of the evening.