Life is not easy. Life is very harsh. We have to be strong. Otherwise, life will destroy us.

Since I was a teenager, I had wanted to come to the United States to establish my name as a writer and to establish my freedom. As a writer and artist, I cannot do anything without freedom. For me, freedom is just like the air or water. I cannot write without freedom.

Some of my good friends who were writers disappeared. Others are still inside Syria and there are others who are refugees. I'm worried about those who disappeared. I don't know anything about them now. They just disappeared like that after the war started, while I was living in the United States.

To see your country being destroyed from afar - it's very hard to only watch and do nothing. My writing is the only way to address my feelings about this disaster and to at least try to find a solution as a writer. I know I have limits. But I have to do my best as a writer.

I have written some stories about weakness. I believe that punishment for a weak man is doubled. So when I feel upset, I always try to fool myself and say to myself, I have to be patient because I have a goal to reach.

There's a lot of sympathy, but some people in America don't care. They think Syria is a very faraway place and that it's none of their business.

I write in Arabic and prefer writing my stories by hand. I need a cup of tea or coffee when I write. When I was in Syria, I was addicted to tea, but now I'm addicted to Starbucks.