Peace and War in Hawi al-Hawa

Abstract

Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Forty years have passed since the original research, during which Syria has witnessed decades of change and been plunged into civil war. This chapter gives a brief update on the participants and their families. It also describes developments within the village of Hawi Al-Hawa, which was severely impacted by the ISIS caliphate in Raqqa (2013–2018). With careful locating of old and new cultural forms, this book reveals important insights into the study of social relations in peace and war. With an emphasis on dialectical change and transformations, we can better situate what has happened in this part of Syria, and how this has affected social life. Transformative change and conflict have been part of the peace-time history of Syria, and war did not erase certain continuities. The chapter can help refine the study of social life in war and in peace, by paying attention to the lives lived, the struggles fought, and the ‘messy’ complexity of human social life. Despite the disruption and dislocation caused by conflict, using social media the families continue to be socially engaged with each other and the village. The village and the family are still important categories of belonging for the people of Hawi al-Hawa.