Alice Fordham
Alice Fordham is an NPR International Correspondent based in Beirut, Lebanon.
In this role, she reports on Lebanon, Syria and many of the countries throughout the Middle East.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Fordham covered the Middle East for five years, reporting for The Washington Post, the Economist, The Times and other publications. She has worked in wars and political turmoil but also amid beauty, resilience and fun.
In 2011, Fordham was a Stern Fellow at the Washington Post. That same year she won the Next Century Foundation's Breakaway award, in part for an investigation into Iraqi prisons.
Fordham graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics.
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Syria's President Bashar Assad, seems to be keeping his promise to retake every inch of the country with brutal force. But people in the areas he controls are suffering economically, too.
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In Lebanon, a woman in a Palestinian refugee camp tested positive for the coronavirus. It's a worrying case for a country whose response to the virus is threatened by economic problems.
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The pandemic has "had a particularly heartbreaking impact on refugees — in the sense that it's cut off their ability to travel, and trapped them in precarious situations," says an immigration lawyer. -
Although people fleeing war or humanitarian crises know about the dangers of COVID-19, many are also worried about being persecuted if the disease spreads in their communities. -
"If one person gets sick then everyone will get sick," says a Syrian refugee in a Greek camp. Officials worry the rapidly spreading virus could overwhelm nearby communities soon after ravaging a camp.
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Syrian refugees in Lebanon, who number more than 1 million, are afraid to come forward for coronavirus testing or treatment.
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St. Charbel is revered for his healing miracles. "He gives us faith and strength, especially in this time of sickness," says a pilgrim visiting his tomb. "He is the only cure, in my opinion." -
State media in Syria on Sunday reported the country's first coronavirus case. The number of cases is likely higher because war-torn Syria faces challenges in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"We're scared of coronavirus and we don't know what God has written for us," says an aid worker. "The precautions being taken here are very little and very weak." -
Turkey and Russia agreed to the cease-fire after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Thursday in Moscow.
