Susannah George

Susannah George is a freelance reporter based in Beirut.

I’m Susannah George, a radio and print journalist based in Beirut covering the Middle East. I write for NPR, PRI, Global Post and Foreign Policy. My assignments have taken me to Iraq, Egypt, Libya and southern Turkey.
Prior to moving to Beirut I was a producer and editor for NPR based in Washington DC, but traveling all over: from the campaign trail in Iowa to Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
Thousands of migrants and refugees arrive daily by train into Tabonovzce, Macedonia, on their way north. Volunteers with flashlights illuminate their path as they walk to an informal crossing point into Serbia.

Volunteers light the way for refugees crossing through Macedonia

Driton Maliqi was studying for his PhD in political science when the migrant crisis exploded. Now he's volunteering 24/7 to help them get through Macedonia.

Volunteers light the way for refugees crossing through Macedonia
Refugees on a private bus in Serbia en route to the border with Croatia.

Some Serbians are doing a brisk business in private bus trips for refugees

Some Serbians are doing a brisk business in private bus trips for refugees
Sanja Golubovic (r) and her friend Branka Saric (l) at a rally demanding the Danish government accept more refugees and migrants. Both came to Denmark as refugees from Bosnia.

A former refugee in Denmark says she's embarrassed by her adopted country's stance on refugees

A former refugee in Denmark says she's embarrassed by her adopted country's stance on refugees
A graveyard on the Greek island of Lesbos, where refugees are buried. Many are buried in unmarked graves in a different section.

Greeks on Lesbos tend to a graveyard for refugees and migrants

Greeks on Lesbos tend to a graveyard for refugees and migrants
Refugees set up tents at the main port. They're hoping to get tickets for a ferry like this that will take them to Greece.

Afghan refugees wonder, 'what about us?'

Afghan refugees wonder, 'what about us?'
Nour in a tent allocated to her uncle and his family in a camp for displaced people in Dohuk, northern Iraq.

Yazidi plan to 'rebaptize' women enslaved by ISIS is working ... sort of

In Iraq, after ISIS, re-baptisms take hold.

Yazidi plan to 'rebaptize' women enslaved by ISIS is working ... sort of
The "Colonel," 48, looks out at a small village outside Kirkuk littered with homemade bombs from ISIS militants. He team has to clear away IEDs set by ISIS militants, but they have little equipment to do the job.

Kurdish bomb experts defuse IEDs on a shoestring

One of the biggest killers of Iraqi forces are IEDs. These are the guys who defuse them.

Kurdish bomb experts defuse IEDs on a shoestring
Yazidi women released from ISIS captivity meet with Lalish's top spiritual leader, Baba Chawish, before being baptized back into the faith. They didn't want to show their faces.

Yazidi society changes to try and rescue a generation of traumatized women

As ISIS overran Iraq's Yazidi heartland in August 2014, the group kidnapped thousands of women and girls, forcing them to convert to Islam. In years past, they would have been forever shunned from Yazidi society. But now, the community and its faith are creating new ways to reintegrate the women.

Yazidi society changes to try and rescue a generation of traumatized women
Raid Latif has been making the Erbil-Baghdad trip for nearly five years. One one trip, he says he saw a car full of Iraqi security forces executed by ISIS fighters on the side of the road.

Iraq's Baghad-to-Erbil route is a lifeline, but still a dangerous one

After ISIS seized control of Mosul this past summer, it's become much more dangerous for Iraqis to travel between cities. But some taxi drivers continue to drive the dangerous Baghdad-to-Erbil road because they say "it's their job."

Iraq's Baghad-to-Erbil route is a lifeline, but still a dangerous one
Kemal Kerkuki, commanding officer of Peshmerga forces outside of Kirkuk, speaks with his troops.

The Kurdish Peshmerga helping the US take back territory from ISIS may be kicking out Arabs

While many in Iraq's north are happy that the Kurdish militias are taking territory back from ISIS, Iraq's Arabs in the north are also afraid about what it will mean for them. Some Kurdish Peshmerga fighters these days are declaring an end to cooperation with Arabs.

The Kurdish Peshmerga helping the US take back territory from ISIS may be kicking out Arabs
Fresh martyr portraits painted on a side street in Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood. Clashes last month in the economically deprived neighborhood left at least 11 soldiers, 8 civilians and 22 militants dead.

Healing this neighborhood would go a long way toward ending the insurgency

The conflict in Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, looks like it may be lessening, but there's still work to do.

Healing this neighborhood would go a long way toward ending the insurgency
The main atrium of this would-be mall is now home to hundreds of Iraqis from villages outside Mosul. Here the concrete floors and walls give families more protection than the displaced families living in tents in a public park just across the street.

Erbil's abandoned construction sites are a 'saving grace' for refugees

Just a few months ago, Erbil — the de-facto capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdish region — was riding high on an economic oil and gas boom. That all came to a halt when ISIS militants took over nearby Mosul. Now those half-finished buildings are home to displaced Iraqi families.

Erbil's abandoned construction sites are a 'saving grace' for refugees
A scene from the new Iraqi TV show, State of Myths, which satirizes the Islamic State.

When faced with ISIS, some Iraqis choose to laugh

Fighters from ISIS, the militant Islamist group in Iraq and Syria, have taken over large parts of Iraq and threaten many others. Most ordinary Iraqis can't do much to stop them, but they can turn to a new show called "State of Myths" that mocks the group.

When faced with ISIS, some Iraqis choose to laugh
Displaced women from the minority Yezidi sect. ISIS is increasingly subjecting women to rape, as well as forced conversions and marriage.

Some Yazidi women who have escaped ISIS barbarism aren't hopeful for their futures

Figures suggest that thousands of Iraqi women from the minority Yazidi sect are being subjected to rape, forced conversions and forced marriages by the militant group ISIS. But even those who have escaped the violence have uncertain futures.

Some Yazidi women who have escaped ISIS barbarism aren't hopeful for their futures
Young Iraqi men gather in Baghdad's Jadriya district every Friday night to "drift" — a form of stunt driving where the driver purposefully skids and partially loses control of the car at high speeds.

Young Iraqis are 'drifting' through their country's crisis

Once a week, when night falls in Baghdad, young men get together to drive fast cars and do stunts. The sport is called drifting, and it’s helping some Iraqis forget about the harsh realities of their country's battle with ISIS.

Young Iraqis are 'drifting' through their country's crisis